05-04-2016, 03:26 PM
It's the story of Los Angeles and particularly Hollywood, sort of, through the eyes of it's more famous denizens. It also tells the story through five houses.
The story is broken up into five sections. Each section is about a particular person during a particular age. Each section is told through interviews the author conducted. I wasn't a big fan of the style since a lot if came down to he said- she said stories. There was a lot of personal shading to people's recollections rather than factual accounts.
It starts with Doheny, the oil business, and Graystone mansion. Graystone mansion has appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows. As a matter of fact, it was on last nights episode of SHIELD. Ultimately, the story was tragic since it details the murder suicide of one of the Doheny sons. As a matter of fact, each of the sections has a suicide or death at it's heart.
The we move on to Jack Warner and his house. Stein writes about Jennifer Jones and her marriage. Which was interesting because it talks about Norton Simon who always just knew as a name on a museum in Pasadena. They talk about Jane Garland, notable for her house in malibu. It ends with the author's own house, revelatory since she is the daughter of the founder of MCA, Jules Stein.
There is a lot of talk about the famous people of Hollywood. Lew Wasserman and David O. Selznick pop in. There are anecdotes from Gore Vidal and Warren Beatty. A lot of insider stuff. It was just all sordid and tragic. In the Garland section, ( no relation to Judy) it was basically about a schizophrenic and how they hired men to befriend her.
I also didn't care for the anecdotal style of the book. Interesting, but it seemed removed. And some of the stories, if you don't have a deep interest in Hollywood lore, will mean nothing to you. This book has been getting a lot of critical attention. I don't see it.
The story is broken up into five sections. Each section is about a particular person during a particular age. Each section is told through interviews the author conducted. I wasn't a big fan of the style since a lot if came down to he said- she said stories. There was a lot of personal shading to people's recollections rather than factual accounts.
It starts with Doheny, the oil business, and Graystone mansion. Graystone mansion has appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows. As a matter of fact, it was on last nights episode of SHIELD. Ultimately, the story was tragic since it details the murder suicide of one of the Doheny sons. As a matter of fact, each of the sections has a suicide or death at it's heart.
The we move on to Jack Warner and his house. Stein writes about Jennifer Jones and her marriage. Which was interesting because it talks about Norton Simon who always just knew as a name on a museum in Pasadena. They talk about Jane Garland, notable for her house in malibu. It ends with the author's own house, revelatory since she is the daughter of the founder of MCA, Jules Stein.
There is a lot of talk about the famous people of Hollywood. Lew Wasserman and David O. Selznick pop in. There are anecdotes from Gore Vidal and Warren Beatty. A lot of insider stuff. It was just all sordid and tragic. In the Garland section, ( no relation to Judy) it was basically about a schizophrenic and how they hired men to befriend her.
I also didn't care for the anecdotal style of the book. Interesting, but it seemed removed. And some of the stories, if you don't have a deep interest in Hollywood lore, will mean nothing to you. This book has been getting a lot of critical attention. I don't see it.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm