A big thank you goes out to Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy of this book!
TITLE: Stardust
AUTHOR: Joseph Kanon
GENRE: Fiction
RATING: 4 stars
I have never been a big fan of the movies or more specifically the behind the scenes going ons of making a movie, yet, I must admit that I have always had a bit of a "thing" for what it must have been like to be in a big studio in the glamour years of Hollywood - the 1940's specifically. I imagine lots of glamour, schmoozing and BS.
Well, this is one of the basic premises of the book Stardust and that is what hooked me on the storyline.
Author Joseph Kanon has created a whodunnit type of book, set, of all places in the 1940's of glitzy Hollywood. Our main character, Ben, has faced the war in Europe and returns home only to find that his brother has died under very mysterious circumstances. Little does Ben know that he is about to confront a war within his own surroundings!
Well, this is one of the basic premises of the book Stardust and that is what hooked me on the storyline.
Author Joseph Kanon has created a whodunnit type of book, set, of all places in the 1940's of glitzy Hollywood. Our main character, Ben, has faced the war in Europe and returns home only to find that his brother has died under very mysterious circumstances. Little does Ben know that he is about to confront a war within his own surroundings!
In an attempt to find out what happened to his brother, who happens to be a bigshot in movies, Ben finds himself investigating the movie business, more specifically all the BS and goings on of the studio for which his brother worked. As Ben digs deeper, he finds a maze of political and financial tangles that will lead him to discoveries about his own family that he wishes he had never found out.
What I loved so much about this book is the author's knack for keeping the suspense alive, among the dirty secrets behind the old Hollywood, yet, at the same time giving us priceless descriptions and scenarios of what old Hollywood must have been like. There is a "fake gentlemen" feel to the whole storyline that makes it delicious to read about, almost like I am listening in on some gossip that I am not supposed to be hearing! The main character is great, especially when he finds himself confronted with his own unanswered questions and his own dilemnas about what is right or wrong.
While the whodunnit aspect is certainly an important part of this book, the old Hollywood background gives this read a scrumptuous sinful feeling and I loved it.
While the whodunnit aspect is certainly an important part of this book, the old Hollywood background gives this read a scrumptuous sinful feeling and I loved it.
No comments:
Post a Comment