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Hollywood's Garden of Allah #1
The Garden on Sunset
When Marcus Adler’s father runs him out of Pennsylvania, he can think of only one place to go: 8152 Sunset Boulevard, the home of luminous silent screen star Alla Nazimova, who visited him on his sickbed when he was a child. But when Marcus gets to Hollywood, Madame Nazimova’s home has been converted to a hotel. Marcus checks into The Garden of Allah and starts his new life. He soon finds friends in Kathryn Massey, who ran away from her overbearing stage mother to become a journalist, and Gwendolyn Brick, a hopeful actress from the Other Hollywood—Hollywood, Florida—who wants to try her luck in Glitter City. The three naïve hopefuls band together to tread water against a tidal wave of threadbare casting couches, nervous bootleggers, human billboards, round-the-world zeppelins, sinking gambling boats, waiters in blackface, William Randolph Hearst, the Long Beach earthquake, starlets, harlots, Harlows and Garbos. But how will they get their feet inside Hollywood’s golden door?
324 pages, Paperback
First published December 17, 2011
1365 people are currently reading
2981 people want to read
About the author
Martin Turnbull
22 books241 followersMartin Turnbull has worked as a private tour guide showing both locals and out-of-towners the movie studios, Beverly Hills mansions, Hollywood hills vistas and where all the bodies are buried. For nine years, he has also volunteered as an historical walking tour docent with the Los Angeles Conservancy. He worked for a summer as a guide at the Warner Bros. movie studios in Burbank showing movie fans through the sound stages where Bogie and Bacall, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and James Cagney created some of Hollywood’s classic motion pictures.
From an early age, Martin was enchanted with old movies from Hollywood’s golden era–from the dawn of the talkies in the late 1920s to the dusk of the studio system in the late 1950s–and has spent many, many a happy hour watching the likes of Garland, Gable, Crawford, Garbo, Grant, Miller, Kelly, Astaire, Rogers, Turner, Welles go through their paces.
When he discovered the wonderful world of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs, his love of reading merged with his love of movies and his love of history to produce a three-headed hydra gobbling up everything in his path. Ever since then, he’s been on a mission to learn and share as much as he can about this unique time.
Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Martin moved to Los Angeles in the mid-90s.
From an early age, Martin was enchanted with old movies from Hollywood’s golden era–from the dawn of the talkies in the late 1920s to the dusk of the studio system in the late 1950s–and has spent many, many a happy hour watching the likes of Garland, Gable, Crawford, Garbo, Grant, Miller, Kelly, Astaire, Rogers, Turner, Welles go through their paces.
When he discovered the wonderful world of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs, his love of reading merged with his love of movies and his love of history to produce a three-headed hydra gobbling up everything in his path. Ever since then, he’s been on a mission to learn and share as much as he can about this unique time.
Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Martin moved to Los Angeles in the mid-90s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 356 reviews
January 16, 2025
Solid 3.5*** effort for the first book in the Garden of Allah series. Here we meet the 3 main characters who have come to Hollywood under differing circumstances to try and "make it." We have one who wants to be an actress, one who wants to be journalist and one who wants to be a writer/screenwriter. Along the way they move into the Garden of Allah and so we follow them on their journey to finding success in their endeavors. By the end of this book all three have met a slew of friends, we get to meet many of the stars of the 1930's and get a glimpse of their lifestyle, and see that while they are on the way to success, nobody is exactly where they want to be and so I am sure that the remaining books in the series will give us a lot of enjoyment to see how they succeed in the Hollywood jungle. Enjoyable read!!
October 14, 2023
A fun book about 3 fictional people who move into the real life Garden of Allah while chasing their Hollywood dreams and meet several Hollywood bigwigs in the process. It could get slow at points and I did end up putting it down for a couple of months before picking it back up.
December 30, 2014
Martin Turnbull is not a friend of mine. I've never met him. Nor does he share the same publisher, so this is not one of those obligatory reviews one-author-to-another I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine reviews that you often see. This is a completely legit glowing review from a reader.
I picked up The Garden on Sunset because it came across my Amazon suggestions. I was doing some research on Hollywood in the thirties for an upcoming book of my own, and The Garden on Sunset looked interesting. It was tangential to what I was researching, but I'd read just enough about the Garden of Allah to be fascinated, so I gave it a try.
Boy am I glad I did! This book -- this whole series -- is fantastic! The setting, the place and time, the worldbuilding and the detail, is perfect. Not a cup of coffee, not a palm tree, is out of place. Every last detail of life in the twenties and thirties is exquisite. It's so perfect that it looks effortless, always the intention of authors but as difficult to do as the perfect triple in figure skating. When it's perfect it looks easy, and Martin Turnbull makes it look easy.
But it's not, of course. It's clear that his mastery of the material is encyclopedic. The few movie history details I know (ah yes, that was in Conquest with Garbo and Boyer, wasn't it?) are tossed off so casually that I am certain that everything I don't know is equally well researched. But don't think that makes these books dry historical tomes. Turnbull has achieved the holy grail of historical novelists -- turning mastery of the material into an engaging and delightful story.
It's fun. It's kind. The characters are a blast. Gwendolyn, Kathryn and Marcus are all enormous fun, and their scrapes and foibles are endearing and relatable. That Marcus is gay is a huge bonus. And let's stop for a moment and talk about that. Marcus is gay, but the books don't reduce gayness to a trope. Nor is he miserable. As a queer author, I am sick to death of the sad, suffering saintly gay characters who populate fiction, who wake up every morning full of moral qualms and self hatred and who suffer attractively so that straight characters can have gay friends. Marcus, on the other hand, is a delight. Yes, he's got issues and yes, he's got a past. But he's also got a present and a future. He spends far more time agonizing about his career than his sexuality. Quite realistically, he spends more time trying to figure out if a certain movie star could ever care for him than he does in woe. He's more worried about whether he'll get caught than about whether he's psychologically flawed.
And that too is perfect. The author has deftly managed to convey what it's like to be queer before Queer as Folk and ballot measures with grace and humor. He's reminded me of all the wonderful things about the Community before Lawrence v. Texas, about the kindness and strength and friendship.
Ultimately, if I were describing these books in one word it would be this: kind. All of the characters, all of the scenes -- this world -- are presented with love. It's clear the author loves this world. And he's tremendously adept at conveying that love to the reader. All the characters large and small, from the engaging main characters to stars and studio people who have walk ons, are described with a soft focus lens. Even when they play against the grain, against the readers' expectations, like George Cukor and Ramon Navarro, their flaws are gently described. There are so many books that are essentially mean, essentially tell-all shockers that leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth. This isn't one of them. This makes you happy to read. You find yourself smiling. You find yourself looking for a spare moment while doing something else to catch just one more chapter, to find out what happened with Gwendolyn's latest daffy plan or Marcus' newest mishap. These are books that bring you joy as you enter this softly-lit world. In short, reading these books is like watching the films of the time. Even the blackest noir films, or the ones that make you think, are not filmed with cynicism and cruelty, nor do they cultivate those things in the audience. There are serious things in these books to be sure. It's not all madcap adventures. But they remain essentially kind and essentially loving.
I've devoured the first three books in a week, and that over the holidays with family staying and a million things to do. I literally found myself sneaking off to the restroom to finish the second book! They are amazing. They are engaging. They may be the best books I've read in all 2014. I am waiting with bated breath for the fourth book!
I picked up The Garden on Sunset because it came across my Amazon suggestions. I was doing some research on Hollywood in the thirties for an upcoming book of my own, and The Garden on Sunset looked interesting. It was tangential to what I was researching, but I'd read just enough about the Garden of Allah to be fascinated, so I gave it a try.
Boy am I glad I did! This book -- this whole series -- is fantastic! The setting, the place and time, the worldbuilding and the detail, is perfect. Not a cup of coffee, not a palm tree, is out of place. Every last detail of life in the twenties and thirties is exquisite. It's so perfect that it looks effortless, always the intention of authors but as difficult to do as the perfect triple in figure skating. When it's perfect it looks easy, and Martin Turnbull makes it look easy.
But it's not, of course. It's clear that his mastery of the material is encyclopedic. The few movie history details I know (ah yes, that was in Conquest with Garbo and Boyer, wasn't it?) are tossed off so casually that I am certain that everything I don't know is equally well researched. But don't think that makes these books dry historical tomes. Turnbull has achieved the holy grail of historical novelists -- turning mastery of the material into an engaging and delightful story.
It's fun. It's kind. The characters are a blast. Gwendolyn, Kathryn and Marcus are all enormous fun, and their scrapes and foibles are endearing and relatable. That Marcus is gay is a huge bonus. And let's stop for a moment and talk about that. Marcus is gay, but the books don't reduce gayness to a trope. Nor is he miserable. As a queer author, I am sick to death of the sad, suffering saintly gay characters who populate fiction, who wake up every morning full of moral qualms and self hatred and who suffer attractively so that straight characters can have gay friends. Marcus, on the other hand, is a delight. Yes, he's got issues and yes, he's got a past. But he's also got a present and a future. He spends far more time agonizing about his career than his sexuality. Quite realistically, he spends more time trying to figure out if a certain movie star could ever care for him than he does in woe. He's more worried about whether he'll get caught than about whether he's psychologically flawed.
And that too is perfect. The author has deftly managed to convey what it's like to be queer before Queer as Folk and ballot measures with grace and humor. He's reminded me of all the wonderful things about the Community before Lawrence v. Texas, about the kindness and strength and friendship.
Ultimately, if I were describing these books in one word it would be this: kind. All of the characters, all of the scenes -- this world -- are presented with love. It's clear the author loves this world. And he's tremendously adept at conveying that love to the reader. All the characters large and small, from the engaging main characters to stars and studio people who have walk ons, are described with a soft focus lens. Even when they play against the grain, against the readers' expectations, like George Cukor and Ramon Navarro, their flaws are gently described. There are so many books that are essentially mean, essentially tell-all shockers that leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth. This isn't one of them. This makes you happy to read. You find yourself smiling. You find yourself looking for a spare moment while doing something else to catch just one more chapter, to find out what happened with Gwendolyn's latest daffy plan or Marcus' newest mishap. These are books that bring you joy as you enter this softly-lit world. In short, reading these books is like watching the films of the time. Even the blackest noir films, or the ones that make you think, are not filmed with cynicism and cruelty, nor do they cultivate those things in the audience. There are serious things in these books to be sure. It's not all madcap adventures. But they remain essentially kind and essentially loving.
I've devoured the first three books in a week, and that over the holidays with family staying and a million things to do. I literally found myself sneaking off to the restroom to finish the second book! They are amazing. They are engaging. They may be the best books I've read in all 2014. I am waiting with bated breath for the fourth book!
October 18, 2018
Set in 1930's Hollywood, populated with real people of the time, some of whom I recognized and others I didn't. The story is really about 3 young people who find each other in Hollywood and become friends as they all try to make it big. They live in a hotel that consists of villas set on a former star's estate. Google tells me that the star, Alla Nazimova, really did exist and really did convert her estate to a hotel, where apparently a lot of stuff happened. This is not a tell-all about the old Hollywood elite, though. The aspiring actress, writer, and journalist never feel like stock characters or cliché. They are real people living their lives. The writing style and settings are reminiscent of Maupin's Tales of the City with a dash of Jackie Collins.
This is one of those books that makes me wish I had been there.
This is one of those books that makes me wish I had been there.
January 19, 2018
I’m slowly working my way through the complex and exciting world of lesbians and gays during the pre and post-code years of Hollywood. Big names like Alla Nazimova, Marlene Dietrich, Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro, Mercedes de Acosta, Greta Garbo, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Crawford, Dorothy Arzner, Louise Brooks and many more… linked together like a colorful daisy-chain.
I also read about the infamous Garden of Allah, once the lavish house of Alla Nazimova and the scene of many wild Hollywood party. When I came upon a series of books set in the Golden Era of Hollywood (the 30ies) with the same Garden of Allah as a focus I knew I had to take a closer look.
The Garden on Sunset: A Novel of Golden-Era Hollywood (Hollywood's Garden of Allah #1) by Martin Turnbull turned out to be a lovely read and Book Club Buddie D. and I will certainly go for the next one in the series.
The book features three people as they find their way to Hollywood and through the doors of Garden of Allah to start their new life in the city of dreams.
Marcus Adler wants to be a famous writer. He has been forced to leave his hometown in Pennsylvania after his father discovered his indiscretion with another man. The great silent movie actress Nazimova visited him once on his sickbed when he was a child and he never forgot her kindness. So now he wants to look her up but little does he know her home has been recently converted into a hotel and he is to be the first official new resident of 8152 Sunset Boulevard.
He soon makes friends with fellow resident Kathryn Massey, who ran away from her overbearing mother to become a journalist, and Gwendolyn Brick, a hopeful actress from Hollywood (the other Hollywood), Florida.
Together the three have to stick together and try to make it in this strange new world of movie studios, casting couches, illegal hooch, human billboards, sinking gambling boats, an earthquake, talent agents, and the crushing competition. Hopes and dreams, love and loss, it’s all there.
If you like Old Hollywood you will get a kick out of the many historical facts, famous locations and big name stars – most of them at the beginning of their career - Turnbull weaves into his story.
m/m, m/f
Themes: Hollywoodland, so many talented hopefuls looking for a chance to be seen, some key items become very important in this story, a diamond broach, a small wooden horse, and the search for Alla Nazimova.
4 stars
I also read about the infamous Garden of Allah, once the lavish house of Alla Nazimova and the scene of many wild Hollywood party. When I came upon a series of books set in the Golden Era of Hollywood (the 30ies) with the same Garden of Allah as a focus I knew I had to take a closer look.
The Garden on Sunset: A Novel of Golden-Era Hollywood (Hollywood's Garden of Allah #1) by Martin Turnbull turned out to be a lovely read and Book Club Buddie D. and I will certainly go for the next one in the series.
The book features three people as they find their way to Hollywood and through the doors of Garden of Allah to start their new life in the city of dreams.
Marcus Adler wants to be a famous writer. He has been forced to leave his hometown in Pennsylvania after his father discovered his indiscretion with another man. The great silent movie actress Nazimova visited him once on his sickbed when he was a child and he never forgot her kindness. So now he wants to look her up but little does he know her home has been recently converted into a hotel and he is to be the first official new resident of 8152 Sunset Boulevard.
He soon makes friends with fellow resident Kathryn Massey, who ran away from her overbearing mother to become a journalist, and Gwendolyn Brick, a hopeful actress from Hollywood (the other Hollywood), Florida.
Together the three have to stick together and try to make it in this strange new world of movie studios, casting couches, illegal hooch, human billboards, sinking gambling boats, an earthquake, talent agents, and the crushing competition. Hopes and dreams, love and loss, it’s all there.
If you like Old Hollywood you will get a kick out of the many historical facts, famous locations and big name stars – most of them at the beginning of their career - Turnbull weaves into his story.
m/m, m/f
Themes: Hollywoodland, so many talented hopefuls looking for a chance to be seen, some key items become very important in this story, a diamond broach, a small wooden horse, and the search for Alla Nazimova.
4 stars
May 30, 2019
I bought this book in 2014 and filed it away. This is the introductory novel in a series set in 'old Hollywood'. Or three main characters are Catherine, Gwendolyn and Marcus. Marcus is a Pennsylvania boy whose lifestyle choices have him run out of town on a rail. Based on a childhood experience he ends up in Hollywood on the opening night of the Garden of Allah hotel. His dream is to be a screenwriter but until he gets his break he's going to deliver telegrams for Western Union. Kathryn is an adult who has survived and escaped her stage mother and dreams of being a journalist. Gwendolyn is a wanna be actress who left Hollywood (FL) and dreams of being discovered.
They all live at the Garden of Allah with a rotating cast of 'golden age stars'. The story has adult themes but isn't graphic. The story moves quickly and time flies.
They all live at the Garden of Allah with a rotating cast of 'golden age stars'. The story has adult themes but isn't graphic. The story moves quickly and time flies.
July 3, 2014
After coming off a recent reading high after finishing “Love Me” by Rachel Shukert, (review coming soon) I found the perfect solution in “The Garden on Sunset” by Martin Turnbull, book 1 in the Garden of Allah series. This self-published novel was pretty hard to track down, but eventually my library found just one copy in a library in Illinois and sent it my way.
Needless to say, I eagerly devoured this unknown gem in a few short days. It had everything I wanted in a novel about the Golden Age of Hollywood: exotic film stars, intrigue, and excellent descriptions of locales that were familiar to me via other books and movies like Schwabb’s, the Brown Derby, and the Paramount lot. Although some of the content was surprising, it fit very naturally in this plot, and I’m left wondering why this book hasn’t found a home with a traditional publishing house.
My only criticism would be about the timeline and pacing. As a reader, I was not sure if the plot had jumped forward a day, two days, a month or six months with each chapter. A little more time could have been taken for character development and I believe a little subscript at the top of the new chapters like “Six weeks later” or “Christmas, 1934” might have helped to keep readers a bit more oriented with the timeline.
For fans of the Starstruck series by Rachel Shukert, although definitely intended for an older reader, this series surely has the ability to go further in the publishing industry with some well-placed publicity.
Needless to say, I eagerly devoured this unknown gem in a few short days. It had everything I wanted in a novel about the Golden Age of Hollywood: exotic film stars, intrigue, and excellent descriptions of locales that were familiar to me via other books and movies like Schwabb’s, the Brown Derby, and the Paramount lot. Although some of the content was surprising, it fit very naturally in this plot, and I’m left wondering why this book hasn’t found a home with a traditional publishing house.
My only criticism would be about the timeline and pacing. As a reader, I was not sure if the plot had jumped forward a day, two days, a month or six months with each chapter. A little more time could have been taken for character development and I believe a little subscript at the top of the new chapters like “Six weeks later” or “Christmas, 1934” might have helped to keep readers a bit more oriented with the timeline.
For fans of the Starstruck series by Rachel Shukert, although definitely intended for an older reader, this series surely has the ability to go further in the publishing industry with some well-placed publicity.
August 27, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this book about 3 young people in very early Hollywood trying to break into acting, reporting, and writing. The characters were fun and sincere; the situations they found themselves in were believable. I loved how the author's research showed through in the descriptions of buildings, studio lots, settings in Hollywood. I will be reading the other books in this series. I can't wait to read what happens to these 3 characters.
June 10, 2014
Long on namedropping, short on story, and a wee bit too much Mary Sue. The characters are reasonably interesting but not much happens, other than meeting every movie star in town. Might be first novel blues.
December 13, 2016
The first in a charming series of novels chronicling the exploits, mishaps, and self discoveries of three hopefuls during Hollywood's Golden Age. I've had my eye on Martin Turnbull for quite some time and with the release of the sixth novel (Twisted Boulevard), I didn't want the bus to get too far ahead of me. The Garden at Sunset begins at the release of talking pictures and jettisons up to the rumblings of an exciting new novel by Margaret Mitchell--"Gone With the Wind". The central characters, Marcus, Kathryn, and Gwendolyn, are a sheer delight and the situations in which they find themselves echo shades of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. My only criticism is that this first novel packs in a lot of plot in a short 322 pages and there are secondary characters aplenty (excluding the likes of Tallulah Bankhead, Clark Gable, George Cukor and other assorted Hollywood royalty). Other than that, the book is a definite winner and I'll be starting the second in the series promptly.
July 5, 2015
Not even bothering with much of a review, but it had terrible transitions, awkward interactions, and felt like it threw 'cameos' in just to remind you of the time period. Huge disappointment, glad it was free.
March 9, 2017
Eh. It was incredibly long, chapters ended abruptly with no explanation or closure, and nothing really got achieved through the course of the story.
After I finished it, I noticed there is a second book in the series but I don't think I'll continue.
After I finished it, I noticed there is a second book in the series but I don't think I'll continue.
June 26, 2022
For a self-published book this one was pretty good. There were no editing or proof reading mistakes. I liked it.
October 4, 2017
The paradise at Sunset Strip
This is a work of fiction where historical figures from the Hollywood silent era intertwine with imaginary characters. The story is set in the famous (? infamous) Garden of Allah, a haven for the Hollywood elite. This was the place where a celebrity could have nonstop, uninhibited fun to the wee hours of the morning. The Hollywood wannabees would hang out at the nearby places such as Schwab’s Pharmacy across from the Villa to be noticed by someone important so that they can live out the dreams in film industry.
This is a novel of friendship between three people who come and stay in Garden of Allah to find success as screenwriters. Marcus Adler, Kathryn Massey and Gwendolyn Brick. They meet very famous men and women; Alla Nazimova, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, George Cukor, Studio and casting directors. Adler like to make acquaintances with a quintessential personality like Nazimova. Known for her flamboyancy who lived in a grand style surrounded by lesbians, gays and couple in lavender marriages. She was also a very influential person to know if one wants to succeed in movie industry. Life at the Villa was at its fullest. Sexual experiments crossed the boundaries of gender in unrestricted form at the Garden of Allah, a residential complex demolished in 1959.
This book recollects the history of Hollywood through the eyes of three residents. Stars like Alla Nazimova, Harpo Marx, Sergei Rachmaninoff, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Errol Flynn, Ginger Rogers, John Barrymore, Tallulah Bankhead, Kathryn Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and at one time even Albert Einstein stayed here. This work takes back readers with its exciting history in the form of a fictional story.
The writing of this volume is about average, and the story does not get into any exciting part of the history. This book is the first of the seven book series and it is recommended to readers interested in fiction and the history of Hollywood.
This is a work of fiction where historical figures from the Hollywood silent era intertwine with imaginary characters. The story is set in the famous (? infamous) Garden of Allah, a haven for the Hollywood elite. This was the place where a celebrity could have nonstop, uninhibited fun to the wee hours of the morning. The Hollywood wannabees would hang out at the nearby places such as Schwab’s Pharmacy across from the Villa to be noticed by someone important so that they can live out the dreams in film industry.
This is a novel of friendship between three people who come and stay in Garden of Allah to find success as screenwriters. Marcus Adler, Kathryn Massey and Gwendolyn Brick. They meet very famous men and women; Alla Nazimova, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, George Cukor, Studio and casting directors. Adler like to make acquaintances with a quintessential personality like Nazimova. Known for her flamboyancy who lived in a grand style surrounded by lesbians, gays and couple in lavender marriages. She was also a very influential person to know if one wants to succeed in movie industry. Life at the Villa was at its fullest. Sexual experiments crossed the boundaries of gender in unrestricted form at the Garden of Allah, a residential complex demolished in 1959.
This book recollects the history of Hollywood through the eyes of three residents. Stars like Alla Nazimova, Harpo Marx, Sergei Rachmaninoff, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Errol Flynn, Ginger Rogers, John Barrymore, Tallulah Bankhead, Kathryn Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and at one time even Albert Einstein stayed here. This work takes back readers with its exciting history in the form of a fictional story.
The writing of this volume is about average, and the story does not get into any exciting part of the history. This book is the first of the seven book series and it is recommended to readers interested in fiction and the history of Hollywood.
January 5, 2018
Set in Hollywood from 1927 - 1936, this 300 page novel follows 3 ambitious twenty-somethings trying to make it in the movie industry. How, you may wonder, can the author manage to develop 3 characters (who only occasionally have overlapping stories) for over a decade in only 300 pages? It turns out, he can't!
The book is an odd mishmash of disjointed incidents that don't tie together or further the plot. Of course, there needs to be a plot in the first place in order for it to be advanced. Everything happens and yet nothing happens. Turnbull would start to unfold a scene and then abruptly end it and either never refer to it again or randomly, say 50 pages later, he would reference the earlier incident and summarize what ended up happening in a sentence or two. I'm talking what should have been major plot points. A character falling off a billboard, a character knocking someone unconscious and perhaps killing them, a character trapped underground in the subway after an earthquake, etc. The climax of the scene is reached and then - poof - the chapter ends and when the next chapter begins it is 6 months later and we are with a different character. Huh. I started wondering if the pages were printed out of order.
The scene in the book that jumped the shark for me was when an earthquake strikes while Kathryn is buying flowers at a florist(for her mother she is going to see after a 3 year absence) and the building collapses and she is trapped in the rubble. There are so many possibilities here. Kathryn could have an epiphany about the meaning of life - how she is chasing success at the price of family and friends. She could become traumatized by the event and turn to alcohol/drugs or become agoraphobic, she could end up being a hero, rescuing other people trapped in rubble - so many different directions for the story to take. So what does Turnbull do? He has Kathryn, trapped in rubble, her leg pinned, LOSE HER VIRGINITY to a strange man who is trapped in the rubble with her, lying on top of her. I can't even. I literally said "What???" out loud while reading it. First, technically, how is that even possible. She is pinned by a falling crossbeam and they are confined to a small space. How could she get her underwear off in order to have sex? Maybe she's not wearing any? She is off to visit her mother, whom she hasn't seen in years. That doesn't strike me as a very non-panty wearing event. The air is full of dust and she is lying on debris. Not very conducive for sexy times. The situation is also not feasible on an emotional level. You are trapped in rubble, it's hard to breathe, there are going to be aftershocks, you are worried you won't be found in time & could die, you are worried about your loved ones - are they ok? - you are in physical pain. Obviously with all that going on, you feel amorous and start making out with the stranger trapped next to you in the rubble. Of course! Who wouldn't do that, right? To top if off, then the scene abruptly ends and Kathryn is checking out of the hospital. Wait.....what? How were they rescued?! What.is.going.on.
"Straining against the beam did little other than drive Kathryn's orange sundress up to her hips. Roy said apologetically that he didn't think he could hold his head up much longer and would it be very forward of him to rest his forehead against hers.
(The very next paragraph) Kathryn smiled to herself as she gazed along the curved driveway of the Long Beach Hospital, waiting for Roy to pick her up. Looking back now it was a wonder it took us a full ten minutes to start kissing. Was it because , by then, the sun had slipped away and we could hardly see each other? Kathryn laughed out loud. Sun or no sun, it was a hell of a way for a girl to lose her virginity."
Words fail me.
The book gets two stars because I enjoy reading about that era, which is why I picked it up in the first place.
It is one star for the absolutely atrocious writing and lack of plot development. Turnbull needs to go to the Iowa's Writer's Workshop or something, and learn how to write a novel. Stringing together a bunch of underdeveloped scenes does not a novel make.
The book is an odd mishmash of disjointed incidents that don't tie together or further the plot. Of course, there needs to be a plot in the first place in order for it to be advanced. Everything happens and yet nothing happens. Turnbull would start to unfold a scene and then abruptly end it and either never refer to it again or randomly, say 50 pages later, he would reference the earlier incident and summarize what ended up happening in a sentence or two. I'm talking what should have been major plot points. A character falling off a billboard, a character knocking someone unconscious and perhaps killing them, a character trapped underground in the subway after an earthquake, etc. The climax of the scene is reached and then - poof - the chapter ends and when the next chapter begins it is 6 months later and we are with a different character. Huh. I started wondering if the pages were printed out of order.
The scene in the book that jumped the shark for me was when an earthquake strikes while Kathryn is buying flowers at a florist(for her mother she is going to see after a 3 year absence) and the building collapses and she is trapped in the rubble. There are so many possibilities here. Kathryn could have an epiphany about the meaning of life - how she is chasing success at the price of family and friends. She could become traumatized by the event and turn to alcohol/drugs or become agoraphobic, she could end up being a hero, rescuing other people trapped in rubble - so many different directions for the story to take. So what does Turnbull do? He has Kathryn, trapped in rubble, her leg pinned, LOSE HER VIRGINITY to a strange man who is trapped in the rubble with her, lying on top of her. I can't even. I literally said "What???" out loud while reading it. First, technically, how is that even possible. She is pinned by a falling crossbeam and they are confined to a small space. How could she get her underwear off in order to have sex? Maybe she's not wearing any? She is off to visit her mother, whom she hasn't seen in years. That doesn't strike me as a very non-panty wearing event. The air is full of dust and she is lying on debris. Not very conducive for sexy times. The situation is also not feasible on an emotional level. You are trapped in rubble, it's hard to breathe, there are going to be aftershocks, you are worried you won't be found in time & could die, you are worried about your loved ones - are they ok? - you are in physical pain. Obviously with all that going on, you feel amorous and start making out with the stranger trapped next to you in the rubble. Of course! Who wouldn't do that, right? To top if off, then the scene abruptly ends and Kathryn is checking out of the hospital. Wait.....what? How were they rescued?! What.is.going.on.
"Straining against the beam did little other than drive Kathryn's orange sundress up to her hips. Roy said apologetically that he didn't think he could hold his head up much longer and would it be very forward of him to rest his forehead against hers.
(The very next paragraph) Kathryn smiled to herself as she gazed along the curved driveway of the Long Beach Hospital, waiting for Roy to pick her up. Looking back now it was a wonder it took us a full ten minutes to start kissing. Was it because , by then, the sun had slipped away and we could hardly see each other? Kathryn laughed out loud. Sun or no sun, it was a hell of a way for a girl to lose her virginity."
Words fail me.
The book gets two stars because I enjoy reading about that era, which is why I picked it up in the first place.
It is one star for the absolutely atrocious writing and lack of plot development. Turnbull needs to go to the Iowa's Writer's Workshop or something, and learn how to write a novel. Stringing together a bunch of underdeveloped scenes does not a novel make.
June 11, 2018
I found this quite fun to read! realistic? not hardly. but I found the celebrity cameos fun and charming, they didn't pull me out of the narrative. I also love reading stories set in LA and seeing how it's developed and changed over the years.
November 30, 2012
Being a huge fan of vintage Hollywood, I was eager to read this novel. It presents a fascinating premise of three Hollywood wannabes all living at one of the most interesting places in Los Angeles history: the Garden of Allah hotel on Sunset, originally the lavish home of famous film and stage actor Alla Nazimova. The three all have ambitions, but in differing directions: one a screenwriter, one an actor and one a journalist. Their careers have the usual fits and starts but eventually begin to align along the desired path.
Overall, I loved this story. It's the first of a projected series of books following (one assumes) the same characters as they grow, mature, evolve and learn (most likely) the ins and outs of the cynical world of movie making. They've already seen the seedier sides of life and had to make some difficult choices along the way. Turnbull deftly combines real events and people with his fictional world in a way that almost makes you want to have been one of his characters. Oh, well.
The only criticism I have of this first entry in the series is the lightning fast pace it maintains. There was almost never a moment to allow the reader to pause and reflect either on the characters or the events. In some cases, it seemed as if the characters' success depended on them racing from famous event to famous event, from historic location to historic location. Judging from the failure rate in Hollywood (then and now), I can't imagine real life would have been that way. Regarding the splendid and well-deserved reviews this book has received, perhaps such a fast pace is what readers want, rather than time to get to know the characters. If that's true, I find it rather sad (especially if we're to spend time with them over several books), because Turnbull's characters seem like interesting people with interesting back stories. I wish I could have gotten to know them a little better.
Overall, I loved this story. It's the first of a projected series of books following (one assumes) the same characters as they grow, mature, evolve and learn (most likely) the ins and outs of the cynical world of movie making. They've already seen the seedier sides of life and had to make some difficult choices along the way. Turnbull deftly combines real events and people with his fictional world in a way that almost makes you want to have been one of his characters. Oh, well.
The only criticism I have of this first entry in the series is the lightning fast pace it maintains. There was almost never a moment to allow the reader to pause and reflect either on the characters or the events. In some cases, it seemed as if the characters' success depended on them racing from famous event to famous event, from historic location to historic location. Judging from the failure rate in Hollywood (then and now), I can't imagine real life would have been that way. Regarding the splendid and well-deserved reviews this book has received, perhaps such a fast pace is what readers want, rather than time to get to know the characters. If that's true, I find it rather sad (especially if we're to spend time with them over several books), because Turnbull's characters seem like interesting people with interesting back stories. I wish I could have gotten to know them a little better.
June 21, 2015
This book is a lovely journey into the early golden days of Hollywood, complete with all the glitz and glamour, the scandalous underbelly, and a star-studded parade of minor and supporting characters. The three main characters are fictional, but are inserted beautifully into very detailed and believable portrayals of early Tinsel Town.
The main characters are well-developed and each have their own distinct journeys of growth throughout the book. My only disappointment was in the ending of the book - two of the characters achieved a portion of their goals, while the third didn't. It's not necessary for a character to always achieve their goals in a book, but the ending to this story felt more like a pause rather than a conclusion. It is the first of a series, however, and so I assume that the next book picks up right where this one left off. Still, I personally would have preferred more of a definite ending.
My only major complaint was about the way the author handled the passage of time. There were no transitions for the jumps of time - sometimes months or years went by all within the same chapter, with no formatting breaks or other indicators. Key milestones in history helped mark the passage of time (like the opening of the first talkie movie, or the stock market crash, or the ending of Prohibition) but it was still a bit confusing - especially for a reader who might not be well-versed in the details of early 1930s history.
But aside from the time-jumping issue, this book was a great read. I would highly recommend this to anyone with a love for the early days of Hollywood.
The main characters are well-developed and each have their own distinct journeys of growth throughout the book. My only disappointment was in the ending of the book - two of the characters achieved a portion of their goals, while the third didn't. It's not necessary for a character to always achieve their goals in a book, but the ending to this story felt more like a pause rather than a conclusion. It is the first of a series, however, and so I assume that the next book picks up right where this one left off. Still, I personally would have preferred more of a definite ending.
My only major complaint was about the way the author handled the passage of time. There were no transitions for the jumps of time - sometimes months or years went by all within the same chapter, with no formatting breaks or other indicators. Key milestones in history helped mark the passage of time (like the opening of the first talkie movie, or the stock market crash, or the ending of Prohibition) but it was still a bit confusing - especially for a reader who might not be well-versed in the details of early 1930s history.
But aside from the time-jumping issue, this book was a great read. I would highly recommend this to anyone with a love for the early days of Hollywood.
May 18, 2017
I've had this book on my to-read list for several months now and I actually bought it on my kindle back in December but I just hadn't gotten around to reading it. So, Monday at work I was in the need for something to read between calls and I was in the mood for some good historical fiction and I wanted something longer than 200 pages! Cue The Garden on Sunset. Despite the fact that it is just shy of 400 pages I finished it before I left work Monday night and immediately purchased the second book (which I finished tonight and immediately bought the third).
I fell in love with the three principal characters right away. Marcus, Kathryn, and Gwendolyn are such real characters. They screw up, they have good and bad relationships, they work hard, they are supportive friends, and they are just so freaking likable.
I read this book on my computer with one tab open to Wikipedia so that I could look up all of the actors and other Hollywood stars that play a part in this book. I was already familiar with many as this is an era that I have always been interested, but I learned about quite a few new folks while reading. This book covers a lot of years though and sometimes the transition just jumped. That's really my only issue with the entire book and that's not much of an issue and the author does have much smoother transitions in the second book.
I originally gave it 4 stars but after reading the second book, I loved it even more than I did when I finished reading it so I upped it a star. Definitely recommended.
I fell in love with the three principal characters right away. Marcus, Kathryn, and Gwendolyn are such real characters. They screw up, they have good and bad relationships, they work hard, they are supportive friends, and they are just so freaking likable.
I read this book on my computer with one tab open to Wikipedia so that I could look up all of the actors and other Hollywood stars that play a part in this book. I was already familiar with many as this is an era that I have always been interested, but I learned about quite a few new folks while reading. This book covers a lot of years though and sometimes the transition just jumped. That's really my only issue with the entire book and that's not much of an issue and the author does have much smoother transitions in the second book.
I originally gave it 4 stars but after reading the second book, I loved it even more than I did when I finished reading it so I upped it a star. Definitely recommended.
January 22, 2021
I must have been 50 pages into this book before I realized I wasn't editing as I read. This may mean little to you but it's a bit of my past coming out uninvited & it's very distracting. It was about 100 pages before I realized I was enjoying the prose, imaging and flow of the story.
This book was a rare find in historical fiction--it had a bit of everything...drama, light romance, comedy and yes history from a time in Hollywood before the streets were paved.
Read it & enjoy!
This book was a rare find in historical fiction--it had a bit of everything...drama, light romance, comedy and yes history from a time in Hollywood before the streets were paved.
Read it & enjoy!
February 6, 2017
I am so glad I started re-reading this series. I wish the main characters were real because they're the kind of people I would LOVE to hang out with. Martin Turnbull does such a great job weaving their stories into Old Hollywood. It's almost like the movie Midnight in Paris, you believe these characters would absolutely bump into all these stars.
October 10, 2019
Martin Turnbull has created a delightful world in this first of the "Garden of Allah" books. The setting is the Garden of Allah hotel, on Sunset Boulevard, in the early days of motion pictures.
We have a number of characters: Marcus, a young gay man who has been thrown out by his family, is an aspiring screen writer. Gwendolyn is an aspiring actress. Kathleen, whose mother wanted her to be an actress, wants nothing more than to be a serious journalist. With these three friends, we get a look at the world of casting couches, fancy clubs, and the glitterati of the 1920s and 30s.
All of the characters are well-drawn and believable. The prose was such that I found myself caught up in every chapter, being able to see and feel what the characters were experiencing.
If there is a complaint, it's that the chapters don't clearly cite how much time has passed. You have to figure out from context whether it's the next day, month, or even year. That was a little disconcerting at times.
Still, this is a bang-up beginning to a series ... and that's kind of a warning. Very little is tied up in a tidy bow at the end of this title, because there are seven more. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and classic films.
We have a number of characters: Marcus, a young gay man who has been thrown out by his family, is an aspiring screen writer. Gwendolyn is an aspiring actress. Kathleen, whose mother wanted her to be an actress, wants nothing more than to be a serious journalist. With these three friends, we get a look at the world of casting couches, fancy clubs, and the glitterati of the 1920s and 30s.
All of the characters are well-drawn and believable. The prose was such that I found myself caught up in every chapter, being able to see and feel what the characters were experiencing.
If there is a complaint, it's that the chapters don't clearly cite how much time has passed. You have to figure out from context whether it's the next day, month, or even year. That was a little disconcerting at times.
Still, this is a bang-up beginning to a series ... and that's kind of a warning. Very little is tied up in a tidy bow at the end of this title, because there are seven more. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and classic films.
September 13, 2021
This is the first book of 9 novels and it starts in 1927 Hollywood with our three bright-eyed hopefuls, Marcus Adler, an aspiring screenwriter escaping his small town Pennsylvania home and it's intolerance for his homosexual leanings. Gwendolyn Brick a sweet Southern beauty trying to make it as an actress and Kathryn Massey, who wants to escape her stage mother from hell and become a reporter. The three meet and become friends at the famous Garden of Allah apartments. They meet a cavalcade of stars and soon to be stars, like Errol Flynn, Marlene Deitrich, Joan Crawford, Bing Crosby, Louis B. Mayer to name a few. Our plucky trio have adventure after adventure including an earthquake, an exploding gambling ship, a dangerous dance number on the Hollywoodland sign to name just a few. Each chapter seems to end with one of our group in jeopardy just like a good old-fashioned Saturday afternoon serial. I'm a classic movie buff, so I enjoyed all the references to the stars and movies of yesteryear.
January 16, 2020
As an old movie buff, I really enjoyed the Hollywood backdrop and the famous stars and director "cameos" were a lot of fun, but I found aspects of the story frustrating--namely, with all the famous people that they were running into on a daily basis, why didn't they ask any of them for the help they were looking for? I mean, one character works for Tallulah Bankhead AND Robert Benchley but never asks them for an inroad for her writing? Also, they all continue to live at the hotel for 7 years? Couldn't they just room together and save money? All that being said, I found the story interesting enough and will give the series a chance.
April 5, 2017
This was a fun read. I rooted for the characters, newbies navigating Hollywood in the 20s and 30s. The historical events and mentions of famous people could have been incorporated a little more smoothly, but overall, I liked the story and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
May 12, 2020
I can't say this that good of a book, but I like it enough to want to know what happened to Marcus, Kathryn, and Gwendolyn.
It was a bit hard getting through it at times, there was just way too much namedropping, to the point where it didn't really make sense and the namedropping made as much sense as the plot. But the writing was good and I got attached to the characters, so I'm going to trudge along and hope for the best with the series.
It was a bit hard getting through it at times, there was just way too much namedropping, to the point where it didn't really make sense and the namedropping made as much sense as the plot. But the writing was good and I got attached to the characters, so I'm going to trudge along and hope for the best with the series.
July 19, 2018
I'm normally not a big fan of historical fiction, but "The Garden on Sunset" looked to be interesting, if nothing else. Reading about young people struggling to make it big in Golden Age Hollywood should have been an entertaining ride, especially with so many big names of the era also populating these pages. And for the most part, author Martin Turnbull manages to provide a colorful picture of a Tinseltown on the cusp of a revolution, as talking pictures emerge on the scene and stand to change the movie industry forever. Sadly, while the setting is vivid, the plot is lacking, and the abysmally slow pacing of the novel almost seems to mock the reader.
In the midst of the Prohibition, shortly after "The Jazz Singer" has made history as the first commercial motion picture with sound, three young people arrive in Hollywood to seek their fortunes. Marcus, thrown out of his small-town home for being caught in a homosexual act, seeks to find the actress he idolizes and become a writer -- first for short stories, later for screenplays. Kathryn, having had enough of her mother's attempts to make an actress out of her, flees her own home to realize her own dream to become a journalist. And Gwendolyn, a pretty Southern belle, has actress dreams of her own and will do almost anything to climb to the top. As these three dreamers' lives intertwine, they watch a parade of stars pass through Hollywood, get caught up in scandals and disasters of all kinds, and witness the slow but inexorable evolution of Tinseltown firsthand.
Turnbull pays close attention to detail in this novel, giving us a vivid look at the golden days of Hollywood. He's clearly done his homework and presented us with a careful rendition of how the entertainment capitol of the world looked in its heyday, as well as which stars were present and what films were playing at the time. At first I thought I'd caught a goof in there being a nightclub called the Cocoanut Grove -- the one I knew about was in Boston and was destroyed in a tragic fire in the '30s -- but a little research on my part shows that there did indeed exist an establishment of that name. And there are plenty of famous names of the time peppering the novel as well -- George Cukor, William Randalph Hurst, Groucho Marx, Errol Flynn, Greta Gabor, etc., though these characters are mostly just window dressing (with the exception of Cukor, who actually figures into the plot).
The setting, sadly, is the best part of the novel. The plot, such as it is, is barely present, and the story serves to just nudge our three characters from one random event after another. And every time our characters make a little progress in realizing their dreams, the author seems to yank the rug out from under them for no reason other than cheap drama -- either a golden opportunity falls through due to accident or stupidity, or what looks like a golden opportunity turns out to be a sham or less than expected. The reader can only have their chain yanked so many times before they start to get more annoyed than sympathetic toward the characters... Also, it gets obnoxious to see Marcus mostly preoccupied with sex. I get that he's just starting to explore his sexuality in a time when homosexuality was far more taboo than it is today, but many of his scenes involve him chasing men to the point of doing remarkably stupid things. (There's also a scene where Kathryn ends up trapped in a collapsed building with a man... and they end up sleeping with each other right there in the ruins. What?!)
The characters themselves are also lacking. Despite having different dreams and backgrounds, they largely have the same voice, and despite everything they go through they remain largely static throughout the novel. Give them some character development, please -- or at least have what happens to them have repercussions past the end of a chapter. Seriously, even with massive career setbacks or personal upsets, nothing seems to faze these characters emotionally, or at least past a chapter or two...
While a nice look at golden-age Hollywood, there wasn't much of a story to be had here, and by the end of the novel nothing much seems to be resolved -- our characters have only progressed a few steps by the novel's final pages. Possibly to set up for the sequel? I doubt I'll be reading it... and unless you have a deep passion for this era of Hollywood's history and are more interested in exploring the setting than getting a compelling story or characters, I wouldn't recommend this novel.
In the midst of the Prohibition, shortly after "The Jazz Singer" has made history as the first commercial motion picture with sound, three young people arrive in Hollywood to seek their fortunes. Marcus, thrown out of his small-town home for being caught in a homosexual act, seeks to find the actress he idolizes and become a writer -- first for short stories, later for screenplays. Kathryn, having had enough of her mother's attempts to make an actress out of her, flees her own home to realize her own dream to become a journalist. And Gwendolyn, a pretty Southern belle, has actress dreams of her own and will do almost anything to climb to the top. As these three dreamers' lives intertwine, they watch a parade of stars pass through Hollywood, get caught up in scandals and disasters of all kinds, and witness the slow but inexorable evolution of Tinseltown firsthand.
Turnbull pays close attention to detail in this novel, giving us a vivid look at the golden days of Hollywood. He's clearly done his homework and presented us with a careful rendition of how the entertainment capitol of the world looked in its heyday, as well as which stars were present and what films were playing at the time. At first I thought I'd caught a goof in there being a nightclub called the Cocoanut Grove -- the one I knew about was in Boston and was destroyed in a tragic fire in the '30s -- but a little research on my part shows that there did indeed exist an establishment of that name. And there are plenty of famous names of the time peppering the novel as well -- George Cukor, William Randalph Hurst, Groucho Marx, Errol Flynn, Greta Gabor, etc., though these characters are mostly just window dressing (with the exception of Cukor, who actually figures into the plot).
The setting, sadly, is the best part of the novel. The plot, such as it is, is barely present, and the story serves to just nudge our three characters from one random event after another. And every time our characters make a little progress in realizing their dreams, the author seems to yank the rug out from under them for no reason other than cheap drama -- either a golden opportunity falls through due to accident or stupidity, or what looks like a golden opportunity turns out to be a sham or less than expected. The reader can only have their chain yanked so many times before they start to get more annoyed than sympathetic toward the characters... Also, it gets obnoxious to see Marcus mostly preoccupied with sex. I get that he's just starting to explore his sexuality in a time when homosexuality was far more taboo than it is today, but many of his scenes involve him chasing men to the point of doing remarkably stupid things. (There's also a scene where Kathryn ends up trapped in a collapsed building with a man... and they end up sleeping with each other right there in the ruins. What?!)
The characters themselves are also lacking. Despite having different dreams and backgrounds, they largely have the same voice, and despite everything they go through they remain largely static throughout the novel. Give them some character development, please -- or at least have what happens to them have repercussions past the end of a chapter. Seriously, even with massive career setbacks or personal upsets, nothing seems to faze these characters emotionally, or at least past a chapter or two...
While a nice look at golden-age Hollywood, there wasn't much of a story to be had here, and by the end of the novel nothing much seems to be resolved -- our characters have only progressed a few steps by the novel's final pages. Possibly to set up for the sequel? I doubt I'll be reading it... and unless you have a deep passion for this era of Hollywood's history and are more interested in exploring the setting than getting a compelling story or characters, I wouldn't recommend this novel.
September 25, 2017
Unfortunately the desire to introduce too many big names into this book, robbed it of authenticity or realism for me. It follows three likable young folk running to each other on the opening of Garden of Allah party and becoming best friends. There's the gay guy from Pennsylvania, kicked out of home, going west to meet his idol Alla Nazimova. Gwendolyn, the pretty blonde from Hollywood, FL, who wants to be a star; and Kathryn, daughter of washed up stage mom, who wants to be a reporter. So far so good.
Marcus becomes a telegraph messenger and falls in love with Ramon Novarro and suddenly decided to become a screenwriter. Kathryn gets a job as Tallulah Bankhead's assistant and spends the book trying to get hired by the Hollywood Reporter. And Gwendolyn becomes a cigarette girl at a nightclub and tries to get her name out there, while fending off drunken advances. Still so far so good, and the book has a fun charm, but I have trouble believing how naive some of the characters are at times (especially when you work for Tallulah) or having trouble getting introductions to a publisher or producers when all your best friends are famous writers and actresses.
Instead of trying to cram in as many cameos as possible, I would have been happier if the book had maybe been nothing but Alla & Ramon & Tallulah. I didn't like how Alla was depicted as like a decrepit old lady hiding away from the world. It's been a minute since I've read a biography on her, but that does not square with my recollections. And it seems in just double checking, she was still pretty active touring in theater in the 30s, trying to get her fortunes back, and was in a relationship (so not cowering in Dorothy Arzner's attic). Tallulah didn't primarily live in CA during the 30s, she went back and forth a lot, especially once her pictures didn't do as well as hoped. Their jobs seemed to be more convenience for the plot and to see celebrities than anything else. The book also tried to juggle far too many plot points. Treacherous friends! Blackmail! Earthquake sex! Abortion! Arrests! Diamond necklace! Shipwrecks!
The book was still enjoyable, but not sure if I'll be reading the next six to find out what happened.
Marcus becomes a telegraph messenger and falls in love with Ramon Novarro and suddenly decided to become a screenwriter. Kathryn gets a job as Tallulah Bankhead's assistant and spends the book trying to get hired by the Hollywood Reporter. And Gwendolyn becomes a cigarette girl at a nightclub and tries to get her name out there, while fending off drunken advances. Still so far so good, and the book has a fun charm, but I have trouble believing how naive some of the characters are at times (especially when you work for Tallulah) or having trouble getting introductions to a publisher or producers when all your best friends are famous writers and actresses.
Instead of trying to cram in as many cameos as possible, I would have been happier if the book had maybe been nothing but Alla & Ramon & Tallulah. I didn't like how Alla was depicted as like a decrepit old lady hiding away from the world. It's been a minute since I've read a biography on her, but that does not square with my recollections. And it seems in just double checking, she was still pretty active touring in theater in the 30s, trying to get her fortunes back, and was in a relationship (so not cowering in Dorothy Arzner's attic). Tallulah didn't primarily live in CA during the 30s, she went back and forth a lot, especially once her pictures didn't do as well as hoped. Their jobs seemed to be more convenience for the plot and to see celebrities than anything else. The book also tried to juggle far too many plot points. Treacherous friends! Blackmail! Earthquake sex! Abortion! Arrests! Diamond necklace! Shipwrecks!
The book was still enjoyable, but not sure if I'll be reading the next six to find out what happened.
May 8, 2020
This is a,wonderful old fashion novel that's like TCM channel come to life. We meet the three MC's in search of fame & fortune in Hollywood. We first meet Marcus Adler, a young man whose literally fresh off the bus from Pennsylvania. Matt was given 15 minutes by his dad to get out of the family homestead after being caught with another young man doing the forbidden with each other. This novel takes,place in the latter 1920's so doing the deed with a neighbor boy is definite no-no. Marcus only remembers of one place to go,8152 Sunset Boulevard, which is the home of silent movie star Alla Nazmova who as a child Marcus met when he was ill.Marcus remembers the screen star inviting him to her home if he ever was in Hollywood. Unfortunately, when Marcus gets there he realizes that the screen star's home is being converted into a hotel. Marcus books himself a small room into the Garden of Allah Hotel. He has dreams of being a famous writer of some sort.There he runs into Kathryn Massey, who lives in the area but has runaway from a stagemother who has forced her since an early age to go on audition after audition.Kathryn never wanted to be an actress, she knows she lacks the talent and beauty for that. Kathryn dreams of becoming a journalist. The duo meets the beautiful and young Gwendolyn Brick.Gwendolyn is also staying at this hotel and she's heeds from Hollywood Florida and has big dreams of becoming a star.....We follow these three young hopefuls to the many adventures, from menial jobs, to earthquakes, to hob knobbng with the rich and famous, from getting out of scrapes with their wits. Oh, but this is a fun book well written and researched. I'm definitely into this series. It's a good read and highly recommended!
October 9, 2020
Meh. This book is nothing special. It was a freebie from Amazon. I was drawn in by the setting and time period, but it didn't hold up to its promise. The characters seem to witness a lot of things as opposed to being in the story. There's a lot of name dropping that doesn't serve the story. The famous are flat characters, more like tokens to remind you, "Hey, we're hanging around Hollywood in the 1930s." The plots of all the 3 main characters also follow too familiar patterns.
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