The Winners

by Dominick Dunne

Mona Berg knows she will never be a Hollywood star, but she is determined to achieve power in other ways, and prepares for battle in the world of glamour, power and sex. Dominick Dunne is the author of "People Like Us", which was highly successful in both Britain and America.

Genres: Fiction

378 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Dominick Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways high society interacts with the judiciary system. He was a producer in Hollywood and is also known from his frequent appearances on television.

After his studies at Williams College and service in World War II, Dunne moved to New York, then to Hollywood, where he directed Playhouse 90 and became vice president of Four Star Pictures. He hobnobbed with the rich and the famous of those days. In 1979, he left Hollywood, moved to Oregon, and wrote his first book, The Winners. In November 1982, his actress daughter, Dominique Dunne, was murdered. Dunne attended the trial of her murderer (John Thomas Sweeney) and subsequently wrote Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer.

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 One of my favorite authors. Dominick Dunne writes about the criminality of the elite and famous usually in Los Angeles and New York; old money vs new money; politicians and corruptness. His stories are usually fiction but were headliners during its heyday, just name changes. I'm not sure who this one is based on but it was after the William Woodward murder.

This one particular story is about Hollywood. The rise of Mona Berg and the people she tramples to get to the top. I hated Mona Berg. She was an opportunist, a manipulator and a liar. But when she murders her way to the top (not a spoiler, story starts with this) she knows who to call and who to blackmail. The cover up is only something the elite get to do.... You and I would go to jail. We don't have that kind of money.....

[The Celtic Rebel (Richard) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Dominick Dunne's first novel in 1982, and it was a sequel to Joyce Haber's The Users. I chose to read it because I like Dunne but I also read The Users and wanted to see how Dunne picked up the storyline.

I enjoyed Dunne's book much more than I did The Users but was disappointed in that only a few characters from The Users were used or mentioned. The ones that I really wanted to know more about weren't even mentioned or only mentioned by name.

I loved the pace in which Dunne wrote here. It was easy to read and didn't bog down. My only problem with the writing was some repetitiveness in things. For instance, every time he mentioned Mona Berg's secretary Bill, he didn't simply refer to him as Bill, it was constantly thrown in that he was Mona's secretary Bill.

The characters in the book were interesting and well developed, but not many of them likable at all.

Overall an entertaining read.

[Joy H.]

Added 5/3/15. (first published in 1982)
A QUOTE ABOUT DOMINICK DUNNE:
"Dominick Dunne is the best chronicler of American Society since Truman Capote. He is the only person writing about high society from inside the aquarium" -Tina Brown, "Vanity Fair"

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2009

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my usual genre. Chose it because of Mr. Dunne's recent death. Had to start with this one since it was his first book. I finished it, but I called it trash whenever anyone asked me what I was reading. Hollywood climbers using one another to get what they want. Predictable. Abrupt ending.