Book Review- Alexandra Kleeman's Something New Under the Sun

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of Alexandra Kleeman’s novel, Something New Under the Sun, in exchange for an honest review.

Patrick Hamlin is thrilled and beyond flattered to learn that his novel will be turned into a major Hollywood movie. His ego is further stroked when he is invited to be a production assistant. Patrick’s dreams are soon crushed, when he realizes that he is a glorified water boy and that his screenplay bears little resemblance to his novel.

Still dazzled by the idea that this could be his Hollywood “In” Patrick sticks around and becomes a chauffeur for the leading lady, Cassidy Carter. Cassidy Carter is a former child star and notorious party girl. She is trying to break-free from her association with the character that made her famous, a teen detective. This hit show not only propelled her to stardom, but inspired a cult-like following that believes that the show was riddled with hidden messages that affect the real world.

While people are focused on conspiracies and Hollywood, a real life and death scandal is unfolding on the west coast. Severe droughts have created a situation where a synthetic water product called “Wat-r” has replaced much of the real water. The product is insidious, and only the very wealthy are able to access authentic water. Cassidy even negotiates to be paid in real water for her role.

Wat-R has been linked to cognitive decline in certain individuals, affecting people of all ages and races. This situation has been shrouded in secrecy with the affected being whisked away to private hospitals, but the more popular that Wat-R becomes, the more people are being affected, and the problem is increasingly more difficult to hide. Patrick and Cassidy begin to suspect that the producers of their film are involved in a nefarious Wat-R scheme and they become amateur sleuths, not unlike Cassidy’s former character.

Something New Under the Sun is an anxiety producing read. It deals with some true fears of mine, including extreme drought, harmful substances, and general environmental woes. I finished Kleeman’s novel this morning and the first news story I read was about a dire climate change report. Something New Under the Sun takes place in a near-future and it is not unreasonable to think that some of the fictional results from this story could be a reality.

I’m originally from Los Angeles, it’s always going to be my home. Kleeman did an excellent job with her descriptions of the city and the landscape, including the Palm Desert area. She also does a fabulous job at creating the characters that populate a movie set, those opportunistic loafers who are just waiting for their own big break. It’s an interesting contrast to have a story regarding the doom of humanity set against the Hollywood movie scene.

Although I found the premise and the characters to be intriguing, I struggled to connect with the story, especially during the last third. Possibly my connecting block came from the sheer volume of anxiety I felt thinking about my beloved hometown devolving into a wasteland. It’s a bleak novel. Also, I think the end took such a strange and surreal twist that I wanted off the ride. My mind was wandering and I found myself skimming the last thirty or so pages.

Book Review- Melissa Broder's Milk Fed

Thank you to Scribner for providing me with a copy of Melissa Broder’s novel, Milk Fed, in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel is in her mid-twenties and living the fast life in Hollywood, California. She works for a talent agency by day and moonlights as a stand-up comedian with a weekly gig. However, Rachel’s primary job is her all-consuming obsession with staying skinny. Her life is ruled by a sadistic exercise and calorie restriction routine. This singular focus leads to not only incredible unhappiness, but also isolation, as she prefers to eat alone and fears social events due to food.

Rachel’s life changes when she meets Miriam. Miriam is the daughter of the owners of a frozen yogurt shop that Rachel frequents. It may seem contradictory, but Rachel has a sweet-tooth and she has worked out the exact order size/combo of a low-fat frozen yogurt that gives her a treat that doesn’t kill her calorie count. Previously, Rachel had only met Miriam’s brother, who was precise with Rachel’s yogurt order, no questions asked. Miriam not only dares to question Rachel’s order, but pushes her to try a different, calorific combination. Rachel caves and indulges.

This experience sends Rachel into a spiral of overconsumption as she lets go and experiences all of the food pleasures that she had been denying herself for so long. She also becomes infatuated with Miriam, who is seemingly innocent and inexperienced.

The two women are polar opposites. Miriam is from a strict and observant Jewish family, while Rachel is lapsed in her Jewish faith. Miriam is tightly bonded with her parents, while Rachel’s parental situation is beyond complicated. Physically, Miriam is overweight, living in a body that Rachel fears. Yet, despite their different lives, there is a mutual sexual attraction. Will Rachel learn to love herself? Will a new romance with the magnetic Miriam change Rachel’s perspective?

Milk Fed is a force of a novel, a lightening-fast read that I found impossible to put down. The primary question of the story is whether or not someone has the guts to live their authentic life. When we first meet Rachel, she is an absolute mess, which goes far beyond her eating disorder. Rachel is desperate for validation. The relationship that she has with her mother is so toxic ( including childhood weight related trauma) that Rachel’s therapist encourages Rachel to take a detox from her mom, which involves a temporary cut in contact. This might have worked, except for Rachel has latched on to a “mother substitute” in a friendship that she has with an older coworker, a woman who constantly praises Rachel’s methods of depriving herself. It might be even more messed up than Rachel’s relationship with her real mother.

On the surface, Miriam seems to be happy in her own skin. She indulges in the things she enjoys and she is open about the love she has for her own family. She has qualities that Rachel so desperately wants. However, what Rachel initially mistakes for innocence, is actually fear and repression. Miriam knows that the only way to remain in her family is to follow expectations. She must eventually marry a man and bear children. She cannot have a future with Rachel, without being rejected by her family. In Miriam’s eyes, she sees the ease in which Rachel can love another woman and wishes that she could be more like Rachel. Miriam sees freedom in Rachel’s life.

In Miriam and Rachel, Broder has create two strong and complex women. Rachel’s journey is inspiring and the story ends on the right note, a realistic note.

There are magical and dream elements in Milk Fed,and many times, I stopped to admire Broder’s vivid descriptions and lush prose. I felt mixed emotions with the love story aspect. I’m a heterosexual, middle-aged married woman who does not have very much experience reading erotica. I may be off-base, but I would define large sections of Milk Fed as erotica. It was steamy. I don’t want to offend Broder with the comparison, but the erotic scenes in Milk Fed, were what I was hyped-up to expect the much milder, Fifty Shades of Grey to be.

To be clear, there are no comparisons at all between these two novels!

That said, I did not find the erotic sections to be very stimulating, but I suspect that comes down to personal taste. I found the romantic moments, where they were testing the waters to be very sensual and sexy. For example, when Rachel first holds Miriam’s hand in a movie theatre or when she helps Miriam put on lipstick. These awkward moments when neither woman can admit to their desire, yet the desire is palpable, were intense. I think this is where I responded because I prefer the intimacy of the indirect, uncertain moments early on, to the blatant erotic images. When I mentioned personal taste above, I’m speaking more to this, rather than the fact that I’m heterosexual. I think think anyone can appreciate and embrace a great love story or sex scene no matter their orientation.

Milk Fed is an original story involving the various things we can long for in our lives, especially relationships, both with others and ourselves. Although, thankfully, I cannot relate to Rachel’s myriad of troubles, I can relate to her quest to live her authentic life. I felt empathy for Rachel and Miriam, ultimately rooting for both of them to choose the life that will bring them happiness.

Book Review - Lauren Acampora's The Paper Wasp

Thank you to Grove Atlantic for providing me with Lauren Acampora’s novel, The Paper Wasp, in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and Elise were childhood best friends raised in a small town in Michigan. They began to grow apart when as a teenager, Elise became involved in acting and her career took off.

Flash-Forward to their late 20’s: Elise is an actress living in Hollywood, while Abby is stuck in their small town, a college dropout. She is working retail and dreaming of a career in the film industry. Abby obsesses over Elise, saving every magazine article that features her former friend. The two women reconnect, when they both attend their high school reunion. Following the reunion, Abby decides to run off to Hollywood, showing up on Elise’s doorstep. Elise, takes Abby in for an extended stay, treating Abby to a taste of her lavish lifestyle. Soon, the boundaries of their relationship are blurred, when Abby accepts a job being Elise’s personal assistant. The situation is further strained by Abby’s growing ambition, a ticking time-bomb that is ready to explode.

I absolutely loved The Paper Wasp. Acampora is a masterful writer, combing gorgeous prose with complex characters. I could not put The Paper Wasp down and plowed through it in a single afternoon.

I’m a Los Angeles native and I found the way that Acampora captured the city to be perfect. There is a wonderful moment where Elise drives Abby through Hollywood for the first time, noting its lackluster, dingy atmosphere, which is a strong contrast both Abby’s perceived image of Hollywood and to Elise’s glamorous lifestyle. Elise takes meditation classes at an exclusive institute and although I’m not sure of a real-life counterpart, it is certainly something that exists in Los Angeles. It has strange, ethereal quality, but is also is a bit of a cult. I could easily imagine the type of fellow Angeleno’s, not only celebrities, who would have a membership to this type of club. One of the more memorable aspects of the institution, is their crazy costume parties, where members come dressed as images from their dreams. It’s strange and magical, with a hint of a nightmarish quality; akin to a scene from Alice in Wonderland.

There is another contrast, when Abby travels back to Michigan to see her sister. Her sister is a drug addict, who has recently had a baby daughter. Abby visits her sister and niece, seeing that they live in a filthy trailer barely able to make ends meet. Abby’s heart tells her to kidnap her niece and save her from the poverty and neglect, but she can’t act on it.

Abby’s obsession with Elise creates a tension throughout the story. In the start, she appears to be a bit of a stalker, but then as we see the dynamic between the two women, it is clearer that Abby is more concerned with the lack of direction that her life has taken. She is envious of Elise, who doesn’t seem to deserve her lucky breaks. Rather than wishing to be Elise, Abby thinks that she is more deserving or at least, if she were to have a good opportunity, she would know how to make the most of it. We learn that Abby has been carrying around a terrible secret that is making her more motivate to take risks in life. Abby becomes emboldened throughout the story, making her actions increasing erratic, creating a sense of danger.

When Abby is confronted with the real Elise, not the Elise from the magazine articles, she realizes that her friend lacks self-confidence. Elise lives a messy life. This sets up a social commentary on how we view celebrity, or even ordinary people, via carefully curated social media accounts. Abby couldn’t imagine the real Elise, because she was so caught-up in the fake, media version. Not only that, Abby spent a decade so hyper-focused on this fake Elise, that when she was confronted with the truth, her world cracked open.

The Paper Wasp is my current favorite read of 2019. I was hooked from the first page and cannot wait to read Acampora’s collection of short stories, The Wonder Garden. She is such a talented writer.