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ldv's review against another edition
4.0
This book assumes you know and care about Lillian Hellman and Dash Hammett before you begin reading. That's why you picked it up, isn't it?
I admit I've never heard of them prior to this novel. I picked it up because I kept seeing the book in various places and something about the font on the cover begged me to read it.
The commencing chapter is a "he said, she said" kind of retelling of their first meeting. It's saucy and clever and the two accounts diverge so much that you know they're both interesting characters. But I still had to push my way through reading, because I didn't care about them. I felt like I was reading about the object of someone else's obsession.
Then, about half way through the novel, I began to like them. They're not people I'd ever be friends with, admire, or encounter in real life, but the novel makes them both larger than life and very human. Theirs is a love story and a story about Hollywood and a political commentary rolled into one. It's tragic and comedic and romantic.
The author did a fabulous job of weaving fact and fiction together in this account. Even if you've never heard of them, you should read about them. It's American history from its golden age. It's good literature.
I admit I've never heard of them prior to this novel. I picked it up because I kept seeing the book in various places and something about the font on the cover begged me to read it.
The commencing chapter is a "he said, she said" kind of retelling of their first meeting. It's saucy and clever and the two accounts diverge so much that you know they're both interesting characters. But I still had to push my way through reading, because I didn't care about them. I felt like I was reading about the object of someone else's obsession.
Then, about half way through the novel, I began to like them. They're not people I'd ever be friends with, admire, or encounter in real life, but the novel makes them both larger than life and very human. Theirs is a love story and a story about Hollywood and a political commentary rolled into one. It's tragic and comedic and romantic.
The author did a fabulous job of weaving fact and fiction together in this account. Even if you've never heard of them, you should read about them. It's American history from its golden age. It's good literature.
lola425's review against another edition
3.0
I second the reviews that say that it reads more like a biography than a novel. Too much exposition, not enough drama, which is surprising considering how much drama you could have wring out of the relationship. I found myself bored and had to force myself not to put it down.
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
2.0
This may resonate more with someone who's already a fan of Dashiell Hammett or Lillian Hellmann, but it doesn't work for me. It reads toooooo much like a biography - not in a good way, but in a stilted, excess backstory kind of way. It also bounces around from two different first-person perspective (Dash's and Lillian's) and a third-person biographer-ish perspective to fill in the gaps. It makes the narrative too cluttered, too busy.
melanie_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Meh ... I really wanted to like this book, but I never felt like I connected with the primary characters.
ldv's review
4.0
This book assumes you know and care about Lillian Hellman and Dash Hammett before you begin reading. That's why you picked it up, isn't it?
I admit I've never heard of them prior to this novel. I picked it up because I kept seeing the book in various places and something about the font on the cover begged me to read it.
The commencing chapter is a "he said, she said" kind of retelling of their first meeting. It's saucy and clever and the two accounts diverge so much that you know they're both interesting characters. But I still had to push my way through reading, because I didn't care about them. I felt like I was reading about the object of someone else's obsession.
Then, about half way through the novel, I began to like them. They're not people I'd ever be friends with, admire, or encounter in real life, but the novel makes them both larger than life and very human. Theirs is a love story and a story about Hollywood and a political commentary rolled into one. It's tragic and comedic and romantic.
The author did a fabulous job of weaving fact and fiction together in this account. Even if you've never heard of them, you should read about them. It's American history from its golden age. It's good literature.
I admit I've never heard of them prior to this novel. I picked it up because I kept seeing the book in various places and something about the font on the cover begged me to read it.
The commencing chapter is a "he said, she said" kind of retelling of their first meeting. It's saucy and clever and the two accounts diverge so much that you know they're both interesting characters. But I still had to push my way through reading, because I didn't care about them. I felt like I was reading about the object of someone else's obsession.
Then, about half way through the novel, I began to like them. They're not people I'd ever be friends with, admire, or encounter in real life, but the novel makes them both larger than life and very human. Theirs is a love story and a story about Hollywood and a political commentary rolled into one. It's tragic and comedic and romantic.
The author did a fabulous job of weaving fact and fiction together in this account. Even if you've never heard of them, you should read about them. It's American history from its golden age. It's good literature.
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