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I Must Confess
A stinging satire of tell-all showbiz memoirs starring a self-deluded gay icon who has managed to ride every pop culture trend of the last forty years. Marc LeJeune has had a remarkable career in the entertainment business. Despite the carping of critics, cruel twists of fate, and the treachery of former friends who were blind to his exceptional dramatic and musical talents, he has remained true to his unique artistic vision. From his early days as the face of Swinging London, to the late 1960s avant garde theater scene, through the sexually liberated cinema of the 1970s, to his current status as a much-loved household name and TV favorite, he tells all in this, his own astonishing story. Through this fabulous parody of the showbiz confession, Rupert Smith has created a witty and scathing satire of popular culture and entertainment over the last forty years. Marc LeJeune is a brilliant comic creation, inspired by Smith's many years of interviewing celebrities for Time Out and writing about showbiz in The Guardian (U.K.).
- GenresLGBT
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 1998
About the author
Rupert Smith
28 books46 followers Rupert Smith was born in Washington DC in 1960, and grew up in Surrey. He has lived in London since 1978. After graduating with a BA in English, he continued his studies at the University of London and in 1986 completed his PhD in theatre history. He is the author of many novels, under his own name and as James Lear and Rupert James. As a journalist, he has contributed to The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Los Angeles Times, Radio Times, Time Out, Gay Times and probably some other publications with the word "time" in the title.
His latest book GRIM is his first foray into horror.
His latest book GRIM is his first foray into horror.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 21, 2017
Audible
THAT was brilliant. And ingeniously narrated.
If I could I would give this excellent prose 10 stars!
February 27, 2016
We've had it wrong my dears, it's not Rome, the end destination is not Rome
All roads in fact lead to Marcabsolutely no doubt about it. Well according to Marc anyway.
Due to work and other commitments I had to slow read this. Usually I lose interest in a book when I'm forced to read like this but this time the book continued to gain momentum. This goes to show that there is no defeating good writing.
Smith's genius in this is that his brand of tongue firmly in cheek, irony, innuendo kept me reading with a smile and a frown and he even made me worry in the end.
Dance of veils, with a hint of a thigh here and a hint of an ass there. I know that the naked guy is underneath and I see glimpses of him but Marc veils everything. He shows you one thing with one hand and denies it with the other. A true Celebrity in fact. And this is after all a celebrity confession with all the self-aggrandisement, dissembling, delusion, denial. Just as long as the world revolves around Marc then everything is OK. It's like a reality tv Forrest Gump. I'm sure that the idea of a Church of Marc will one day come to him as well.
All this being said and done, beneath the superficial, setting aside the coy, I got a picture of how 'celebrity-hood' works. Celebrity culture grabs our need to be loved, equates that with being seen, acknowledged, applauded and puts its own similar needs and its need for bread and butter and regurgitates it back on us as a 'Celebrity Image'. Sadly the Image ends up feeding on itself, believing its own hype.
April 15, 2016
While I really did enjoy this book (thanks Lena, you know how to pick them for me!) it took me a while to figure out what it was about. It has elements of humor, drama, romance, satire, and social commentary on celebrity culture. In short, it's a parody of the celebrity confessional memoir. Fans of the author's alter ego James Lear will be very familiar with this format, only this is smut free PG-13 version.
I Must Confess falls into the fake memoir genre, as it follows Marc LeJeune through his sometimes tacky, sometimes desperate and sometimes brilliant entertainment career. It takes place mostly in London during the late 1960s through the early 1980s and many historical events and people are featured. Much of this so called confessional is treated as revisionist history, setting the record straight and damage control from bad press, a constant thorn in Marc's side. Marc is terminally torn between embracing his free and fun loving self and a having a carefully curated self image required to sustain an entertainment career.
Marc's life intersects with many cultural touchstones of the 60s, 70s and 80s as he pursues artistic endeavors in rock & roll, modeling, brand ambassador, experimental theater, films and television. There is a bit of Forrest Gump vibe as Marc crosses paths with Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, and mentions David Bowie (pronounced "bau-ie" by the narrator, unclear if that was intentional). He even gets involved with a commune living arrangement with his wife and conveniently realizes the root of his issues with his relationship to men .
Much is made of the fact Marc LeJuene is self professed to be bisexual. Marc couldn't deny that he had sex with men, but coming out was not an option at the time. So bisexuality was the slightly naughty, slightly titillating compromise. Never mind that Marc only had sex with men and only fell in love with men. We live in a time where bi-erasure awareness is important, and so it feels sickly ironic that bisexuality was used to deny being homosexual. But so it went for Marc LeJeune. Denial was not just a river in Egypt for Marc, it was an essential ingredient to his fighting spirit and being a SUPERSTAR...
While Marc's carefully orchestrated self portrayal ends on a high note, the astute reader will have learned to read between the lines as we watch life imitate art imitating life.
A note for James Lear fans... there is a shout-out to The Back Passage. In this case it's a reference to a gay porn film. I Must Confess has minimal on-page sex, consistent with a Rupert James title. However, I can envision how the author might think, wouldn't it be fun to fill it with lots of graphic sex, and then some?
I Must Confess falls into the fake memoir genre, as it follows Marc LeJeune through his sometimes tacky, sometimes desperate and sometimes brilliant entertainment career. It takes place mostly in London during the late 1960s through the early 1980s and many historical events and people are featured. Much of this so called confessional is treated as revisionist history, setting the record straight and damage control from bad press, a constant thorn in Marc's side. Marc is terminally torn between embracing his free and fun loving self and a having a carefully curated self image required to sustain an entertainment career.
Marc's life intersects with many cultural touchstones of the 60s, 70s and 80s as he pursues artistic endeavors in rock & roll, modeling, brand ambassador, experimental theater, films and television. There is a bit of Forrest Gump vibe as Marc crosses paths with Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, and mentions David Bowie (pronounced "bau-ie" by the narrator, unclear if that was intentional). He even gets involved with a commune living arrangement with his wife and conveniently realizes the root of his issues with his relationship to men .
Much is made of the fact Marc LeJuene is self professed to be bisexual. Marc couldn't deny that he had sex with men, but coming out was not an option at the time. So bisexuality was the slightly naughty, slightly titillating compromise. Never mind that Marc only had sex with men and only fell in love with men. We live in a time where bi-erasure awareness is important, and so it feels sickly ironic that bisexuality was used to deny being homosexual. But so it went for Marc LeJeune. Denial was not just a river in Egypt for Marc, it was an essential ingredient to his fighting spirit and being a SUPERSTAR...
While Marc's carefully orchestrated self portrayal ends on a high note, the astute reader will have learned to read between the lines as we watch life imitate art imitating life.
A note for James Lear fans... there is a shout-out to The Back Passage. In this case it's a reference to a gay porn film. I Must Confess has minimal on-page sex, consistent with a Rupert James title. However, I can envision how the author might think, wouldn't it be fun to fill it with lots of graphic sex, and then some?
June 23, 2009
This novel is written like a celebrity confessional, giving readers an intimate look at Marc LeJeune, born Mark Young, a British entertainer who was always on the cutting edge of the next best thing. At heart, his story isn't only an exposé of his own life but also a revealing commentary on today's growing entertainment industry, the carefully calculated mechanics and behind-the-scenes machinations behind the superstars we all love so well.
The story begins at an early age ~ Marc knew he was destined for stardom when, at three years old, he snuck downstairs during one of his parents' cocktail parties and stripped to entertain the guests until his mother managed to put an end to his performance. From there, the story continues through his school years, when he found solace in the drama club and struck up a somewhat unhealthy relationship with his teacher. After graduating, he moved with said teacher to London, where he was introduced to each "next best thing" as it came along. From the clean-cut, wholesome goodness of the 50s through the hippie drug-laced 60s through to the sexually open 70s, Marc was there every step of the way, struggling to keep up with "the kids" as he navigated through his career ... and those who wanted to ruin it.
While reading the story, I didn't particularly care for Marc himself. He seems arrogant, a bit self-serving, and too quick to lay blame for his own misjudgments on managers or the press. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that's exactly what I'd expect from a star of his caliber. Bad reviews are directed at him personally because the reviewer is jealous of his talent. Friendships deteriorate for the same reason. Managers want nothing but complete control over his every move, so he rebels to break out of the mold. When pornographic photos and sex tapes are exposed, he claims they were done for artistic reasons while seething over small-minded producers who wish to either bring him down or share his own success.
That said, I couldn't put the book down. It reads the way most celebrity exposés do ~ you know something bad has to be coming around the bend and you can't stop turning the pages because you don't want to miss a thing. While I might not have liked the main character, I'm not sure I'm meant to. His fans have fallen for the Marc LeJeune they see in commercials and on TV, in movies, or hear on the radio. This story is, instead, an ugly portrayal of the man behind the star, everything bared to light. It's well-written and funny, and fans of pop culture will love it.
Every aspect of the entertainment business is here ~ unscrupulous managers, demeaning contracts that strip the entertainer of all rights, questionable "soft porn" scandals (and in Marc's case, hard porn as well), vicious critics jealous of stars and their talent, circles within circles, parties where everyone who's anyone goes to be seen, personal drama in the face of celebrity. This satirical book is a wonderful look behind the scenes, written by an author whose own career interviewing celebrities and writing about showbiz has helped him create a novel that rings true.
NOTE: Throughout the book, Marc LeJeune insists he is not gay. In the 70s, he marries (though the marriage is never consummated), and makes headlines with the concept of an open, swinging relationship. For a brief moment, he's on top of the pop charts with a hit song entitled "Bi Bi Baby." However, the sexual relationships mentioned in the book are all with men. The few times he falls in love, it is with men. Therefore, I consider this a gay book and not a bisexual story.
The story begins at an early age ~ Marc knew he was destined for stardom when, at three years old, he snuck downstairs during one of his parents' cocktail parties and stripped to entertain the guests until his mother managed to put an end to his performance. From there, the story continues through his school years, when he found solace in the drama club and struck up a somewhat unhealthy relationship with his teacher. After graduating, he moved with said teacher to London, where he was introduced to each "next best thing" as it came along. From the clean-cut, wholesome goodness of the 50s through the hippie drug-laced 60s through to the sexually open 70s, Marc was there every step of the way, struggling to keep up with "the kids" as he navigated through his career ... and those who wanted to ruin it.
While reading the story, I didn't particularly care for Marc himself. He seems arrogant, a bit self-serving, and too quick to lay blame for his own misjudgments on managers or the press. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that's exactly what I'd expect from a star of his caliber. Bad reviews are directed at him personally because the reviewer is jealous of his talent. Friendships deteriorate for the same reason. Managers want nothing but complete control over his every move, so he rebels to break out of the mold. When pornographic photos and sex tapes are exposed, he claims they were done for artistic reasons while seething over small-minded producers who wish to either bring him down or share his own success.
That said, I couldn't put the book down. It reads the way most celebrity exposés do ~ you know something bad has to be coming around the bend and you can't stop turning the pages because you don't want to miss a thing. While I might not have liked the main character, I'm not sure I'm meant to. His fans have fallen for the Marc LeJeune they see in commercials and on TV, in movies, or hear on the radio. This story is, instead, an ugly portrayal of the man behind the star, everything bared to light. It's well-written and funny, and fans of pop culture will love it.
Every aspect of the entertainment business is here ~ unscrupulous managers, demeaning contracts that strip the entertainer of all rights, questionable "soft porn" scandals (and in Marc's case, hard porn as well), vicious critics jealous of stars and their talent, circles within circles, parties where everyone who's anyone goes to be seen, personal drama in the face of celebrity. This satirical book is a wonderful look behind the scenes, written by an author whose own career interviewing celebrities and writing about showbiz has helped him create a novel that rings true.
NOTE: Throughout the book, Marc LeJeune insists he is not gay. In the 70s, he marries (though the marriage is never consummated), and makes headlines with the concept of an open, swinging relationship. For a brief moment, he's on top of the pop charts with a hit song entitled "Bi Bi Baby." However, the sexual relationships mentioned in the book are all with men. The few times he falls in love, it is with men. Therefore, I consider this a gay book and not a bisexual story.
November 24, 2012
First complaint is poor formatting on the Kindle. A few words ran together, maybe 10 times in total, but the big problem is the 100 or so missing periods at the end of sentences. Also the quotation marks are all over the place, sometimes attached to the word before, sometimes appearing randomly. Guys, spell check is is not enough! "Tenor twelve" will pass spell check yet will not turn into "Ten or twelve" magically, it needs proofreading.
Secondly, the story itself. No likeable characters, no humour, no sex, no intrigue. It was okay, I'll forget it in a week.
If it was supposed to be satire, it wasn't over the top enough. If it was supposed to be humour, I didn't laugh. If it was supposed to be narrative, the guy did a ton of things I didn't like.
I really wanted to like this, I LOVED Man's World, but didn't.
Secondly, the story itself. No likeable characters, no humour, no sex, no intrigue. It was okay, I'll forget it in a week.
If it was supposed to be satire, it wasn't over the top enough. If it was supposed to be humour, I didn't laugh. If it was supposed to be narrative, the guy did a ton of things I didn't like.
I really wanted to like this, I LOVED Man's World, but didn't.
April 7, 2024
First 3 pages were funny but I hated the rest of it, most annoying protaganist ever
October 5, 2008
This book really surprised me. It was written in the vein of The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp -- a ficional autobiography of a British gay man living through significant cultural and social changes. In this case, the protagonist lived through the 60's and 70's as an actor and rock and roll musician, experiencing the changes in the gay and art communities in both London and NYC. The book captured the soul of someone who sought compulsively for support and recognition in a time and place where young artists were exploited and often lonely.
November 19, 2013
Rupert Smith has written what I was always thought about 'celebrity' as it appears in the magazines and tabloids. His lead character of Marc LeJeune has real heart and is very believable. It's a fascinating look back through the social, political and cultural aspects of the last 50 years through Marc's eyes as far as the ups and downs of his career/fame are concerned and the people who came and went in his life - especially adored childhood friend Nutter. A great read.
October 28, 2015
I disliked the narrator of this book so much! He sounds like a relentlessly self-promoting fantasist who believes in his own mythologising of his looks and talent. The term "media whore" comes to mind. I also thought the picture the writer draws of the sixties and seventies is a very one-dimensional one and a bit predictable.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews