Imagine if the Bernie Madoff scandal had become public only after his death. This is one of the key plot elements in The Darlings: A Novel by debut author Cristina Alger. The Darlings will not be released until February 20, 2012, but you can read the first 33 pages now:
Joseph Arellano
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Breaking the Rules: A Novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; $7.99)
“She is a top supermodel, one of the world’s most beautiful women. Men love her. Women adore her. So why is someone trying to kill her?”
Who are these people?
Fortitude, commitment and romance are the main ingredients of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Emma Harte series. Breaking the Rules is the seventh and most recent book in the series. Considering the squeaky clean virtuous heroine, M, readers will soon realize that she isn’t the one breaking the rules. Yes, our spunky and independent English lass has some felonious thoughts; however, since M does not follow through with putting them into play, she is able to retain her image.
Author Bradford seems to abhor loose ends and she takes 488 pages to provide her reader with a neatly bundled story. What this reviewer wants to know is who are these people populating the story? Surely there is a family with extreme wealth and power headed by gorgeous women whose great loves are lurking just around the corner. Maybe they exist in never, never land, but not in the real world.
Maybe that’s the draw of romance novels. They are geared to transport the reader away from the mundane and, in recent times, painful reality of every-day-life. What is the target audience? Is there an age group that Bradford aims to please? If so, perhaps happily married, grandmas-to-be aren’t part of the group. Too much fantasy, just like too many cooks, can spoil the story for a reader who takes pleasure in the small joys of life.
By the way, the costly pink champagne used throughout the story is a not-so-subtle indicator that Bradford’s characters are more than a cut above the average celebrant. Too bad she had to hammer the reader over the head with the reference! The Hermes Kelly handbags were proof enough that these people are not at all like you and me!
Recommended if you like that sort of book.
This review was written by Ruta Arellano. A copy of the book was purchased for her. Barbara Taylor Bradford’s new novel is Playing the Game (St. Martin’s Press; $27.99; 400 pages).
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Antonia Fraser is known in England as Lady Antonia Fraser, her father having been an Earl. Her forthcoming book Must You Go? – My Life with Harold Pinter will be released in the U.S. on November 2, 2010 by Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday. Fraser’s memoir centers on her 33-year love affair with, and marriage to, the celebrated playwright and poet Harold Pinter.
We’ll have a review up by the release date of Must You Go? but, in the interim, it’s worth noting that this memoir is getting fantastic write-ups on the other side of the pond. Here’s a small sampling.
“Writing with exemplary clarity and courage… Fraser keeps her gaze steady and her heart open.” – The Independent
“The book is intimate without being confessional, and on certain subjects (Fraser) prefers to say nothing. But she’s not so discreet as to be dull, and there’s a lot of humour.” – Blake Morrison, The Guardian
“It may lack sensational revelations but Antonia Fraser’s memoir of married life with Pinter is eccentric and hilarious.” – Rachel Cooke, The Observer
“It is neither autobiography nor biography but a love story, romantic, poignant and very funny, illuminating her husband’s character and creativity.” The Times
“This book works, just as it appears their lives (together) worked, as the most touching and enduring of love stories… The ending is… almost unbearably moving. The whole of this lovely book fills you with a gratitude that happenstance can, once in a while, not screw up and find the right girl for the right boy.” – Dominic Dromgoole, Financial Times
“It’s enormously enjoyable to read… because this is a book that’s intimate without being confessional, and that’s a very unusual thing today. At the end of it you feel you’ve had an insight into a great romance… She’s really pulled off something of enormous subtlety.” Tina Brown, The Daily Beast
“This book – full of funny and tender things – satisfies on more than one level. It is an intimate account of the life and habits of a major artist; it is a pencil sketch of British high society in the second half of the 20th century; and it is, more than either of these things, and much more unusually, a wonderfully full description of the deep pleasures and comforts of married love.” – The Spectator
“The final third of Must You Go? is dominated by Pinter’s ill-health, his award of the Nobel prize, and his courageous struggle still to speak out on the issues that concerned him. In many ways they are the best part of the book.” – Robert Harris, The Sunday Times
Interested? Lady Antonia Fraser will appear at the Los Angeles Public Library (630 W. 5th Street) at 7:00 p.m. on November 8, 2010; and at the San Francisco City Arts & Lectures Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue) on November 9, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.
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How to Buy a Love of Reading: A Novel by Tanya Egan Gibson (Plume; $15.00; 400 pages)
Two highbrow writers and several low brow nouveau riche folks who reside in a community ruled by excess and one-upmanship are skewered with wicked satire in this irresistible debut novel by Tanya Egan Gibson. Rest assured, Ms. Gibson takes the time, and she has the talent, to fully develop her characters. Everyone from the protagonist, Carley Wells, to the object of her affection, Hunter Cay, takes their turn in the spotlight.
This is far from the usual ugly duckling or misfit gone berserk story. Rather, the reader is permitted to delve into the complexities of what appears to be a very “simple” girl. Carley is the vulnerable 16-year-old daughter of a brassiere mogul. She does not fit in size-wise or intellectually with her prep school classmates. Moreover, Carly has not encountered a book that she likes. This is problematic as she is expected to earn a passing grade in prep school literature and go on to college. To make matters worse, her harridan of a mother, Gretchen, lacks even a smidgen of empathy or love for anyone but herself.
Hunter Cay is a brilliant writer and obscenely beautiful fellow who is one year Carley’s senior. He and Carley formed an unusual friendship when he and his mother became part of the wealthy community following his mother’s divorce from his billionaire father. Carley loves him unconditionally and proves it by her willingness to accept whatever attention and caring he gives her. She dotes on him and is also a first-class enabler of his vices.
There are parties galore to celebrate birthdays, literature and Hunter’s mother’s engagement. The descriptions of the elaborate decorations, clothing and food for these events are spot on for a wealthy enclave, which makes this reviewer think that Ms. Gibson may have attended a few such parties in her own lifetime. Carley’s birthday party has the craziness reminiscent of the masquerade ball in the classic film “The Pink Panther.”
All of this foolishness aside, there is much more to this book than a satirical plot. The theme explores the idea of growing up into who you need to be to allow yourself to lead a meaningful life. There are casualties along the way – the notion of the value of extreme wealth being one of them. Even with billions, some of the characters are hard pressed to escape their personal fears and demons. By the end of the tale, the reader will have a deeper understanding of human frailties and an expanded sense of compassion.
Highly recommended. The trade paper version was recently released.
This review was written by Ruta Arellano. A review copy was received from the publisher.
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