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jaclynday's review against another edition
2.0
If you read this book without any context, it’s entertaining and often gripping (though overlong, with dialogue portions that occasionally fall flat). So, without context, you enter the story through the eyes of a former nun summarily kicked out of the convent—in a kind, Sound of Music-type way—and sent to work as a secretary for movie star Loretta Young. We’re thrown into the deep end of the Golden Age of Hollywood quickly, following Young and her secretary to the frigid Mount Baker area for the on-site filming of Call of the Wild. There, Young meets Clark Gable for the first time and they begin a flirtatious relationship. The book continues to follow this thread throughout, even though it’s never clear whether Trigiani wanted to write a novel or a biography of Young. It seems she decided to throw up her hands and write a hybrid, with neither side getting a fair shot in the end.
The reason for that is obvious with even a cursory Google search. But—but!—should you dig deeper, Trigiani’s portrayal of life-long unrequited love between Gable and Young is very fictional at best and borderline disturbing at worst. In one scene with dialogue from Gable, she describes the problems with her own book more aptly than I can:
I can’t, in good faith, give the book or Trigiani a pass on this. At the very least, her insistence on giving Young (a notoriously private figure) incredibly clear motives and pointed dialogue in terms of her feelings for Gable seems a gross miscarriage of justice. Perhaps Trigiani got some of it right (though we know for certain she got more of it wrong). But regardless, Trigiani seems to be playing with real people, emotions, and issues in a way that reads more like a fairy tale than anything else. Perhaps the stardust clouded her better judgment. Perhaps she didn’t care about appropriating real people in order to craft the most marketable version of a classic Hollywood scandal. Whatever the reason, she could have written the same book in a fictional setting with fictional characters, subjected it to a tighter editing, and done the same work more successfully.
The reason for that is obvious with even a cursory Google search. But—but!—should you dig deeper, Trigiani’s portrayal of life-long unrequited love between Gable and Young is very fictional at best and borderline disturbing at worst. In one scene with dialogue from Gable, she describes the problems with her own book more aptly than I can:
“The river is never what it seems. Now you can look at that river and see the stones on the surface, and think, The water’s shallow. I can handle it. I can make it across. I’ll just stay right on those rocks and get to the other side. And then you get out there, and pretty soon you’re up to your waist. The stone, it turns out, is an old volcanic plate that goes so deep, there’s a mountain under that river that you couldn’t know was there. There’s an undertow. The surface seems calm, but it’s only there to trick you. […] That’s the mystery. You can do everything just right, and the river moves through anyway, and it takes you with it. When you go deep, that’s where the trouble lies."
I can’t, in good faith, give the book or Trigiani a pass on this. At the very least, her insistence on giving Young (a notoriously private figure) incredibly clear motives and pointed dialogue in terms of her feelings for Gable seems a gross miscarriage of justice. Perhaps Trigiani got some of it right (though we know for certain she got more of it wrong). But regardless, Trigiani seems to be playing with real people, emotions, and issues in a way that reads more like a fairy tale than anything else. Perhaps the stardust clouded her better judgment. Perhaps she didn’t care about appropriating real people in order to craft the most marketable version of a classic Hollywood scandal. Whatever the reason, she could have written the same book in a fictional setting with fictional characters, subjected it to a tighter editing, and done the same work more successfully.
ciska's review against another edition
2.0
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review*
I am not really sure what to make of this book. I loved the concept. Taking a real story and romanticizing it. I loved the setting. Hollywood in the 30's. All the movie stars passing by. Telling a story from their point of view. The intense life. A world in its own. I did enjoy that part. But I gave this book 2 stars with a reason.
It annoyed me to no end. Things being repeated over and over again. I am aware that Gretchen/Loretta's father left them. No need to repeat that every 20 pages. It for sure was not the only guy given a hard time. I felt after reading this story that all man are cheating if you let them out of your sight for a week.
Gretchen/Loretta .. the name switching annoyed me to no end. I understood the concept with the artist name but using both names in a sentence and a half. I felt like a Jekyll and Hyde was entering stage right.
The ladies in general were not really easy to connect. They all had this strong personality but still wanted to hang their existence to guys. Yes I know... the 30's.. woman are still fighting for their rights but really.
With Loretta getting older I felt the story got rushed. In the first half there are way to many details on maybe 3 years in her life and the second half is covering the other 70 years.
I am not really sure what to make of this book. I loved the concept. Taking a real story and romanticizing it. I loved the setting. Hollywood in the 30's. All the movie stars passing by. Telling a story from their point of view. The intense life. A world in its own. I did enjoy that part. But I gave this book 2 stars with a reason.
It annoyed me to no end. Things being repeated over and over again. I am aware that Gretchen/Loretta's father left them. No need to repeat that every 20 pages. It for sure was not the only guy given a hard time. I felt after reading this story that all man are cheating if you let them out of your sight for a week.
Gretchen/Loretta .. the name switching annoyed me to no end. I understood the concept with the artist name but using both names in a sentence and a half. I felt like a Jekyll and Hyde was entering stage right.
The ladies in general were not really easy to connect. They all had this strong personality but still wanted to hang their existence to guys. Yes I know... the 30's.. woman are still fighting for their rights but really.
With Loretta getting older I felt the story got rushed. In the first half there are way to many details on maybe 3 years in her life and the second half is covering the other 70 years.
sara_collier's review against another edition
4.0
While I take it all with a pinch of salt regaridng how close to the truth it was, I enjoyed this as it made a change from the usual 'middle aged italian woman finds love' thing in many of her other books.
adrose18's review against another edition
3.0
A big fat meh. I felt the same damn thing happened over and over again.
kahale's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fund book about the love affair between Clark Gable and Loretta Young during "The Call of the Wild". I'll have to back and watch it again. I loved Loretta young in "The Bishop's Wife". I didn't know that she and david Niven were such good friends. For those who like the movies this is a great book. This version was narrated by Blair Brown who did a great job.
nadoislandgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I'm grudgingly giving this 4 stars. Let me say first that I really enjoy Adriana Trigiani. She is one of my good old reliable authors - I know I will almost always enjoy her novels. Though the lives of her characters are not perfect, their view of the world is usually so hopeful that the books leave me feeling uplifted.
This is the first of her novels I've read that bring in real-life characters that we know. A romance between Loretta Young and Clark Gable in this book feels beautiful and terrible and epic. However, it doesn't seem very likely that this was so. I also kind of have a problem with books that attempt to cover an entire life. There is a lot of skipping over years and decades.
Trigiani shows the faults of her characters, but also focuses so much on their redeeming qualities that you think everyone is a "good guy." I actually think that's a great way to look at life. And perhaps that's why I enjoy reading her novels.
All that said, I was always engaged by this book, I couldn't wait to pick it up again and really enjoyed my time reading it. I would definitely recommend it.
This is the first of her novels I've read that bring in real-life characters that we know. A romance between Loretta Young and Clark Gable in this book feels beautiful and terrible and epic. However, it doesn't seem very likely that this was so. I also kind of have a problem with books that attempt to cover an entire life. There is a lot of skipping over years and decades.
Trigiani shows the faults of her characters, but also focuses so much on their redeeming qualities that you think everyone is a "good guy." I actually think that's a great way to look at life. And perhaps that's why I enjoy reading her novels.
All that said, I was always engaged by this book, I couldn't wait to pick it up again and really enjoyed my time reading it. I would definitely recommend it.
mountie9's review against another edition
3.0
The Good Stuff
Brings flesh and life to a forgotten scandalous event that happened during the golden age of movies
Author obviously did some serious research into this one and you can also feel her love for her subject matter
Loved reading about a couple of my favorites, David Niven and Hattie McDaniel and lets face it that time in Hollywood history was so very fascinating
Made me feel for those involved in the movie industry could never be themselves
Loved the banter between Gable and McDaniel - seriously this would have been so risque in anywhere but Hollywood during the time. A black woman flirting with a white man - in anywhere else this would have been shocking to people (Makes me love Hollywood a little and Gable a little bit more)
Enjoyed learning a bit more about Loretta Young
Some absolutely beautiful poetic writing at times
Every scene with David Niven is a delight, hoping he was as wonderful in real life
The scenes between Alda and Loretta are the heart of the story
Made me want to do some research into Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Spencer Tracy and David Niven
Sad how an actress could get pregnant an lose everything, but nothing would happen to the actor who got her pregnant
The Not So Good Stuff
At times it just feels like the author is just telling you what the characters are doing and feeling rather than having the story flow
I do have a problem when someone one gives thoughts and feelings to a real life person - not a bad thing, its just something I have a hard time coming to grips with
Man Loretta Young married such a jerk, for such a talented actress she really had no sense when it came to men
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"You can cut the 'sir' stuff."
The deckhand swallowed hard. "But I'm British, Mr Gable. We sir from the start."
"A ditch digger with a British Accent could walk through the gates of MGM, and Louis B. Mayer would sign him up. An American ditch digger would walk through the same gate and be escorted off the lot. There's something about you people. You sound like you have culture."
"That's why there are so many babies in the world. It's called winter."
"The movies, for a paying customer, could be entertaining and uplifting, but for those who worked on the inside, there was a seven-day-a-week grind with little reprieve from impossible schedules and demanding talent."
"A good father doesn't make a child feel unsafe, unworthy and unwanted and your husband made me feel all those things and still does."
"Nobody thinks about the children," Alda said. "I know they're matinee idols, but they're real and they have lives, and their children have feelings."
3.5 Dewey's
I received this at the HarperCollins Indigo Fall Preview Event & I don't have to review - but I like to share and Cory and Shannon do such a fabulous job of highlighting their books, I want to share - even though this one wasn't my favourite
Brings flesh and life to a forgotten scandalous event that happened during the golden age of movies
Author obviously did some serious research into this one and you can also feel her love for her subject matter
Loved reading about a couple of my favorites, David Niven and Hattie McDaniel and lets face it that time in Hollywood history was so very fascinating
Made me feel for those involved in the movie industry could never be themselves
Loved the banter between Gable and McDaniel - seriously this would have been so risque in anywhere but Hollywood during the time. A black woman flirting with a white man - in anywhere else this would have been shocking to people (Makes me love Hollywood a little and Gable a little bit more)
Enjoyed learning a bit more about Loretta Young
Some absolutely beautiful poetic writing at times
Every scene with David Niven is a delight, hoping he was as wonderful in real life
The scenes between Alda and Loretta are the heart of the story
Made me want to do some research into Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Spencer Tracy and David Niven
Sad how an actress could get pregnant an lose everything, but nothing would happen to the actor who got her pregnant
The Not So Good Stuff
At times it just feels like the author is just telling you what the characters are doing and feeling rather than having the story flow
I do have a problem when someone one gives thoughts and feelings to a real life person - not a bad thing, its just something I have a hard time coming to grips with
Man Loretta Young married such a jerk, for such a talented actress she really had no sense when it came to men
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"You can cut the 'sir' stuff."
The deckhand swallowed hard. "But I'm British, Mr Gable. We sir from the start."
"A ditch digger with a British Accent could walk through the gates of MGM, and Louis B. Mayer would sign him up. An American ditch digger would walk through the same gate and be escorted off the lot. There's something about you people. You sound like you have culture."
"That's why there are so many babies in the world. It's called winter."
"The movies, for a paying customer, could be entertaining and uplifting, but for those who worked on the inside, there was a seven-day-a-week grind with little reprieve from impossible schedules and demanding talent."
"A good father doesn't make a child feel unsafe, unworthy and unwanted and your husband made me feel all those things and still does."
"Nobody thinks about the children," Alda said. "I know they're matinee idols, but they're real and they have lives, and their children have feelings."
3.5 Dewey's
I received this at the HarperCollins Indigo Fall Preview Event & I don't have to review - but I like to share and Cory and Shannon do such a fabulous job of highlighting their books, I want to share - even though this one wasn't my favourite
smaravetz's review against another edition
2.0
I kept with it because of the interesting subject matter, but found the writing kind of dragged out and boring.