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Temptation
A wonderfully sardonic and nightmarish tale of a Hollywood success story gone wrong, from the bestselling author of State of the Union .
Like all would-be Hollywood screenwriters, David Armitage wants to be rich and famous. But for the past eleven years, he’s tasted nothing but failure. Then, out of nowhere, luck comes his way when one of his scripts is bought for television. Suddenly, he’s the new toast of Hollywood as the creator of a hit series.
A new player in Tinsel Town, David reinvents himself at great speed — notably and especially by walking out on his wife and daughter for a young producer who worships only at the altar of ambition. But David’s upward mobility takes a decidedly strange turn when a billionaire film buff named Philip Fleck barges into his life, proposing a very curious collaboration. David takes the bait, and finds he has inadvertently entered a Faustian Pact, one that results in an express ride to the lower depths of the Hollywood jungle.
Like all would-be Hollywood screenwriters, David Armitage wants to be rich and famous. But for the past eleven years, he’s tasted nothing but failure. Then, out of nowhere, luck comes his way when one of his scripts is bought for television. Suddenly, he’s the new toast of Hollywood as the creator of a hit series.
A new player in Tinsel Town, David reinvents himself at great speed — notably and especially by walking out on his wife and daughter for a young producer who worships only at the altar of ambition. But David’s upward mobility takes a decidedly strange turn when a billionaire film buff named Philip Fleck barges into his life, proposing a very curious collaboration. David takes the bait, and finds he has inadvertently entered a Faustian Pact, one that results in an express ride to the lower depths of the Hollywood jungle.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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806 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Kennedy
132 books1,194 followersDouglas Kennedy was born in Manhattan in 1955. He studied at Bowdoin College, Maine and Trinity College, Dublin, returning to Dublin in 1977 with just a trenchcoat, backpack and $300. He co-founded a theatre company and sold his first play, Shakespeare on Five Dollars a Day, to Radio 4 in 1980. In 1988 he moved to London and published a travel book, Beyond the Pyramids. His debut novel The Dead Heart was published in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
November 14, 2022
After finishing Oliver's superb Vanishing Girls, an abundantly well-written gem of a novel, I needed to detox and recover emotionally, haha don't laugh. But I still wanted to read a human book before doing any dancing with the fae again. So I read this because people in Kennedy's books are more human than the humans around us.
As I read this, about the ups and downs of being a writer and the usual pitfalls, it felt like a milder version of Fools Die and oddly enough our hero sounded like Dexter but he wasn't a serial killer, there aren't really any real similarities, just something that struck me.
The book was fun to read, fast but as I read this, I vaguely thought about what was DK trying to convey here, and what point did he want to come across. Was it how money squanders US or the squalor of it? Or was the point doubt, that is; not to doubt yourself? Doubt is a killer. I think the point was we are in control of our lives, and what we make of them, more or less. Oh, I liked that the protagonist wasn't a pushover and that he knew how to stand up for himself. I like how the book shows us what the power of words and writing can do in real life.
And when the eventual peripeteia happened, it was swift and brutal, dominoes fell hard. However, everything was resolved a little too neatly and a little too quickly, but what the heck, it was supposed to be a light read anyway and there were enough quotable lines in this one to forgive its minor transgressions.
Here's the bottom line; the book took me out and showed me a good time on the boulevard of broken dreams. I also dug how it ended, just on the right note, very realistically, it ended by giving advice that was uplifting. It didn't feel like a copout.
I've always liked Douglas Kennedy's work but this book made me a fan.
May 1, 2025
Me ha gustado y, sobre todo, enganchado mucho. Y en la forma de narrar y el estilo del autor se confirma que Douglas Kennedy es uno de mis autores contemporáneos favoritos. Me ha fallado un poco el final, que esperaba de otra manera, y quizá el exceso de moralina en algunos puntos. Pero es una lectura que recomiendo sin duda.
August 4, 2012
I keep scratching my head and wondering why it is that every other review I’ve read of this book talks about how utterly amazing it is and I keep asking myself why I felt bored while I was reading it. Other reviews of Temptation: A Novel by Douglas Kennedy discuss how “thrilling the ride” is while turning the pages and how they were “enraptured by the story” and I just keep thinking, “Really? Because I had a hard time forcing myself to pick it up.”
Initially, the story did start off with a promising hook. A writer finally gets his big break and shoves off his wife and kid. See ya later, deadweights. Who wouldn’t want to read that? He immediately hooks up with a beautiful, rich producer who would never leach him for his fame and money and gets pulled into a reclusive bazillionaire’s plot to get a writing credit. I think this is where the twists and turns are supposed to occur, but, by this point in the story, I no longer cared. David Armitage, the main character of the novel, was unlikable and I had a difficult time wanting to read about him, much less care about why his story should be something I should waste my time reading. My guess is that all the Hollywood type characters were written with a fiendishly cartoonish portrayal so I wouldn’t have to stretch my brain cells too far and try to wrap them around the idea that people could be dynamic.
Fair enough. I’d give it a 1 out of 5 stars, possibly a 1 1/2, because truly the first thirty or so pages were entertaining.
It’s a good thing I got this book for free to review because I would have been irritated if I’d spent money on it.
Initially, the story did start off with a promising hook. A writer finally gets his big break and shoves off his wife and kid. See ya later, deadweights. Who wouldn’t want to read that? He immediately hooks up with a beautiful, rich producer who would never leach him for his fame and money and gets pulled into a reclusive bazillionaire’s plot to get a writing credit. I think this is where the twists and turns are supposed to occur, but, by this point in the story, I no longer cared. David Armitage, the main character of the novel, was unlikable and I had a difficult time wanting to read about him, much less care about why his story should be something I should waste my time reading. My guess is that all the Hollywood type characters were written with a fiendishly cartoonish portrayal so I wouldn’t have to stretch my brain cells too far and try to wrap them around the idea that people could be dynamic.
Fair enough. I’d give it a 1 out of 5 stars, possibly a 1 1/2, because truly the first thirty or so pages were entertaining.
It’s a good thing I got this book for free to review because I would have been irritated if I’d spent money on it.
August 14, 2016
Magnífica novela, como siempre, Kennedy no decepciona. Una historia sobre el éxito, la suerte, la caída, las buenas y malas decisiones, los afectos movidos por los intereses. Y la importancia del momento, el momento que lo cambia todo (recurrente siempre en este autor). Plagado de referencias artísticas como siempre: cine, arte, música.
Mención aparte se la lleva Esther Roig y su magnífica traducción.
Mención aparte se la lleva Esther Roig y su magnífica traducción.
March 25, 2008
Having read several other Douglas Kennedy books I thought I'd give this one a go and wasn't disappointed. This is the first one I've read that wasn't written from a woman's perspective (something I found particularly impressive about the other books seeing as the writer is a man) but it was still a pageturner. Didn't make me think as much as his other books, but was still worth the read.
September 29, 2008
I remember where I was whilst reading this book, my husband and I were house sitting for a friend, I was pregnant and kept getting interrupted by my now son doing summersaults when I was in bed trying to read! Other than that I remember thinking that this book was a bit tame, lame, disappointing compared to his earlier works.
April 5, 2020
Review to follow
April 22, 2022
Why doesn’t the story of The Three Little Pigs work without the Big Bad Wolf? To quote Kennedy in this novel:
“Because all stories are about crisis. Yours. Mine. The guy sitting opposite you on the train as you read this. Everything’s narrative, after all. And all narrative – all storytelling – confronts a basic truth. We need crisis: the anguish, the longing, the sense of possibility, the fear of failure, the pining for the life we imagine ourselves wanting, the despair for the life we have. Crisis somehow lets us believe that we are important; that everything isn’t just of the moment; that, somehow, we can transcend insignificance. More than that, crisis makes us realize that, like it or not, we are always shadowed by the Big Bad Wolf. The danger that lurks behind everything. The danger we do to ourselves.
“But who, ultimately, is the mastermind of our crisis? Who is the controlling hand? To some, it’s God. To others, the state. Then again, it might be the person you want to blame for all your griefs: your husband, your mother, your boss. Or maybe – just maybe – it’s yourself.
“That’s what I still couldn’t figure out about everything that had recently happened to me. Yes, there was a bad guy in the story (…). And yes, I knew the name of this man. But… and it’s a big but… might he have been me?”
And that is the moral that sums up TEMPTATION. Not the best I’ve ever read, but certainly riveting, enjoyable, readable like a movie script, entertaining, funny, dramatic, poignant, and especially realistic, as it greatly succeeds in depicting the dark world of Hollywood, a world of endless temptations and the highs and downs of achieving success.
“Because all stories are about crisis. Yours. Mine. The guy sitting opposite you on the train as you read this. Everything’s narrative, after all. And all narrative – all storytelling – confronts a basic truth. We need crisis: the anguish, the longing, the sense of possibility, the fear of failure, the pining for the life we imagine ourselves wanting, the despair for the life we have. Crisis somehow lets us believe that we are important; that everything isn’t just of the moment; that, somehow, we can transcend insignificance. More than that, crisis makes us realize that, like it or not, we are always shadowed by the Big Bad Wolf. The danger that lurks behind everything. The danger we do to ourselves.
“But who, ultimately, is the mastermind of our crisis? Who is the controlling hand? To some, it’s God. To others, the state. Then again, it might be the person you want to blame for all your griefs: your husband, your mother, your boss. Or maybe – just maybe – it’s yourself.
“That’s what I still couldn’t figure out about everything that had recently happened to me. Yes, there was a bad guy in the story (…). And yes, I knew the name of this man. But… and it’s a big but… might he have been me?”
And that is the moral that sums up TEMPTATION. Not the best I’ve ever read, but certainly riveting, enjoyable, readable like a movie script, entertaining, funny, dramatic, poignant, and especially realistic, as it greatly succeeds in depicting the dark world of Hollywood, a world of endless temptations and the highs and downs of achieving success.
February 8, 2016
Douglas Kennedy is my favorite "cotton candy" suspense novelist. Unfortunately, this one is not at all in the same league as "The Job" or "A Special Relationship", "The Big Picture" or "State of the Union". "Temptation" has a similar plot line as some of the others - super-successful guy, get conspired against, falls deep and takes revenge. It's good page-turner stuff, but this one seems to have been written in rush, almost like on of these contract fulfillment script jobs that the main protagonist has to work through. Not bad for a few days' entertainment but nothing more. Try "The Big Picture", which is totally riveting, if you haven't tried Kennedy before.
Oh and ... the covers of his books are god-awful. If I hadn't known "The Big Picture" before, I certainly would have put these books in completely the wrong category based on these awful cover photos.
Oh and ... the covers of his books are god-awful. If I hadn't known "The Big Picture" before, I certainly would have put these books in completely the wrong category based on these awful cover photos.
July 9, 2012
After 13 years of trying, David Artmitage finds success in Hollywood with a tv show. He is making big money, and leading the life he's always dreamed of. He leaves his wife and daughter, latches on to a woman influential at the Fox Network and basks in fame and fortune. But the tide always does turn, and David discovers what and who) really matters in life.
September 16, 2007
Another great read from Kennedy though not quite enjoyable as 'State of the Union', to be fair, 'State of the Union' was partly set in the late 60's and that might have something to do with why I preferred it.
March 27, 2009
I've read quite a few books by this author and this was the first one that wasn't written from the female perspective - perhaps that was why I didn't enjoy it quite as much as previous books.
The story line was okay - but I did feel it was fairly predictable.
The story line was okay - but I did feel it was fairly predictable.
January 30, 2011
I'm relatively new to Douglas Kennedy but I have not been disappointed by any of his books. This book is no exception. It's the story of an aspiring writer who made the big time, lost it and then got it back again. Loved it!
December 22, 2011
At first I was a bit disappointed. I had enjoyed 'A Special Relationship' very much and expected more from this author. However by the middle of the book I became hooked and very much enjoyed the second half.
July 5, 2008
What a slow and boring book. I could not finish it it was getting more and more tedious. I did get half way and maybe it gets better but there is too much out there to read.
June 3, 2020
Un buen argumento para una "película de avión". La trama es muy predecible pero no por eso dejé de disfrutarla. Poca empatía pude sentir por los problemas de quien "tras caer en desgracia" debe vender su avión privado para poder pagar su Loft de 600m2... pero los personajes terminan por "caerte bien".
El libro era un regalo por la compra de 2 libros de bolsillo. Y como dicen por ahí: a caballo regalado...
[Conf. BCN - 24]
El libro era un regalo por la compra de 2 libros de bolsillo. Y como dicen por ahí: a caballo regalado...
[Conf. BCN - 24]
March 29, 2020
Это было достаточно примитивно и скучно. Складывается ощущение что у главного героя вообще нет чувства собственного достоинства.
Люди раскидываются словами я люблю тебя, не вкладывая в эти никакие смыслы.
Из всего что читала у этого автора, это самок худшее.
Люди раскидываются словами я люблю тебя, не вкладывая в эти никакие смыслы.
Из всего что читала у этого автора, это самок худшее.
May 26, 2012
Temptation by Douglas Kennedy is a fictional book which takes the reader on a ride from the height of success to the lows in life. What happens when a gilded door opens to a man who suddenly has ample opportunities and Hollywood clout?
David Armitage, a Hollywood screen writer, has gotten his big break. One of his scripts was bought for TV and hailed as ingenious.
David reinvents himself, walks out on his wife and daughter and is hired by Philip Fleck, a billionaire, to work on a very strange collaboration.
Taking the plunge, David finds himself on a rollercoaster in the celluloid jungle where nothing is appears as it is and everyone is out for themselves.
I have never read any of Douglas Kennedy’s books before, Temptation was my first one. The novel was a fast read, sarcastic and the narrative flowed from the start to the end.
I could never put my finger on why I liked this book. I’ve been to California but I don’t “get” the culture, mind set, and attitude of the west coast. I also don’t “get” much-ado-about-nothing scandals and why do people actually care.
Yet, from some strange reason the book grabbed me, which I can only attribute to Mr. Kennedy’s storytelling. I found the characters to be very relatable, David the screenwriter and protagonist isn’t exactly likeable but I could certainly feel his struggle.
The story of rise to the pinnacles of professional success and the sharp descent from those heights is an attention grabber. I was yelling in my head for David to slow down a bit, but I cannot say I wouldn’t have done the same given the circumstances and opportunities – as far fetches as they might be.
The book asks some questions which I often asked myself – mainly about the bad choices we make in life. Of course it’s easy to look back and see where you made these mistakes, but are they really mistakes?
Is putting your faith in a “financial professional” who is only after your wallet a mistake or a scam? Or are they one and the same?
This is a fun book, something to read on these lazy summer weekends.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
David Armitage, a Hollywood screen writer, has gotten his big break. One of his scripts was bought for TV and hailed as ingenious.
David reinvents himself, walks out on his wife and daughter and is hired by Philip Fleck, a billionaire, to work on a very strange collaboration.
Taking the plunge, David finds himself on a rollercoaster in the celluloid jungle where nothing is appears as it is and everyone is out for themselves.
I have never read any of Douglas Kennedy’s books before, Temptation was my first one. The novel was a fast read, sarcastic and the narrative flowed from the start to the end.
I could never put my finger on why I liked this book. I’ve been to California but I don’t “get” the culture, mind set, and attitude of the west coast. I also don’t “get” much-ado-about-nothing scandals and why do people actually care.
Yet, from some strange reason the book grabbed me, which I can only attribute to Mr. Kennedy’s storytelling. I found the characters to be very relatable, David the screenwriter and protagonist isn’t exactly likeable but I could certainly feel his struggle.
The story of rise to the pinnacles of professional success and the sharp descent from those heights is an attention grabber. I was yelling in my head for David to slow down a bit, but I cannot say I wouldn’t have done the same given the circumstances and opportunities – as far fetches as they might be.
The book asks some questions which I often asked myself – mainly about the bad choices we make in life. Of course it’s easy to look back and see where you made these mistakes, but are they really mistakes?
Is putting your faith in a “financial professional” who is only after your wallet a mistake or a scam? Or are they one and the same?
This is a fun book, something to read on these lazy summer weekends.
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
April 19, 2011
The first book I read during my week away, I picked up this book on the back of having read his previous work 'The Pursuit Of Happiness' and was surprised at the change in his writing and the story.
I identified with this book in the sense that it tells the story of a man who reaches the biggest heights of success, that many of us can only dream of, before being faced with a struggle to maintain his position - haven't we all had to fight for something we've worked hard for now and again?
The book also acts as a warning to readers; it teaches and reminds us that not everyone we come into contact has our best interests at heart, that who we trust and why can be of huge impact upon our lives.
Although I probably wouldn't read it again (I am happy to send it to someone should they wish to read it), fans of Kennedy's previous works will thoroughly enjoy this.
I identified with this book in the sense that it tells the story of a man who reaches the biggest heights of success, that many of us can only dream of, before being faced with a struggle to maintain his position - haven't we all had to fight for something we've worked hard for now and again?
The book also acts as a warning to readers; it teaches and reminds us that not everyone we come into contact has our best interests at heart, that who we trust and why can be of huge impact upon our lives.
Although I probably wouldn't read it again (I am happy to send it to someone should they wish to read it), fans of Kennedy's previous works will thoroughly enjoy this.
February 13, 2014
Temptation is a classic tale of the dangers of ambition. David Armitrage, the main character, struggles for much of his early career in virtual anonymity trying to make it as a screenwriter. Finally he gets his pay day, and is quick to forget those who stuck with him through the hard times to get him there. Only David forgets that fame is cheap and Hollywood fickle. The stars quickly align to give David his comeuppance.
Kennedy is a brilliant writer, and the reader is quick to sympathize with David, despite his questionable ethics and morality. The characters are appropriately murky, keeping the reader engaged as we truly discover where their moral compasses lie. An easy page-turner, the reader is eager to watch David climb back up to the top of Hollywood, but we are left wondering, has he really accomplished anything?
Kennedy is a brilliant writer, and the reader is quick to sympathize with David, despite his questionable ethics and morality. The characters are appropriately murky, keeping the reader engaged as we truly discover where their moral compasses lie. An easy page-turner, the reader is eager to watch David climb back up to the top of Hollywood, but we are left wondering, has he really accomplished anything?
March 23, 2012
Accessible and relateable to anyone who suffers from too much ambition: As a complete departure from his earlier book, THE MOMENT, an epic historical novel I also loved, based in Cold War Era Berlin, TEMPTATION demonstrates Douglas Kennedy's creativity and writing abilities in adapting to an entirely new subject matter: the insidious world of Hollywood, the corruption and "temptation" of fame, the illusion of success that is never quite as good as it seemed from afar. I think of the anti-hero David Armitage as a Great Gatsby stuck in a world of Entourage. Like all Kennedy novels, this is a page-turner in the last 100 pages, and poses particularly timely moral questions, accessible and relateable to anyone who suffers from too much ambition.
August 14, 2012
The lesson of this book is, "Be careful what you wish for. You might get it." David Armitage, a struggling screen writer, finally gets his big break and becomes an in-demand Hollywood writer with all of the benefits that go along with the job. He suddenly has more money than he's ever had in his life, entry into all the glamorous places, and attention from very important people. Of course, the success doesn't last and David soon finds himself alone and penniless again.
The plot is very predictable and the story is filled with mostly stereotypical characters. If the book had been written about a female protagonist, it would be classified as chick lit. This book is a good choice to pass a hot summer afternoon, but isn't something to keep the reader turning pages into the night.
The plot is very predictable and the story is filled with mostly stereotypical characters. If the book had been written about a female protagonist, it would be classified as chick lit. This book is a good choice to pass a hot summer afternoon, but isn't something to keep the reader turning pages into the night.
March 13, 2017
Въпреки, че не успя да ме завладее както останалите му книги, ме накара да се замисля за житейските избори. Кое ни кара да правим , това което правим и сами ли сме си виновни за всяка грешка.
Прав ли е автора, че всички истории се базират върху кризисни ситуации? Наистина ли се "нуждаем от кризите, от болката,страданието,стремежите,усещането за постижимост,страха от провал,домогването до живота,който си въобразяваме , че желаем, и отчаянието от другия живот,който в действителност водим.Кризата ни внушава по някакъв начин усещането за собствена значимост,сякаш не всичко е преходно,сякаш има възможност да надскочим собствената си незначителност."
Прав ли е автора, че всички истории се базират върху кризисни ситуации? Наистина ли се "нуждаем от кризите, от болката,страданието,стремежите,усещането за постижимост,страха от провал,домогването до живота,който си въобразяваме , че желаем, и отчаянието от другия живот,който в действителност водим.Кризата ни внушава по някакъв начин усещането за собствена значимост,сякаш не всичко е преходно,сякаш има възможност да надскочим собствената си незначителност."
February 11, 2012
Although I found it hard to relate it to any part of my life, and I was not quite satisfied with the ending ( a bit of cliché, I thought, and Martha and he didn't work out in that way.), still this book is worth a try.
From this book, I learned 5 things.
1, Never remarry.
2, Being responsible for your children.
3, Sometimes things just happen. Let it be.
4, (As the ending suggests, forget about pondering all such impossible questions), working is the best remedy.
5, Have a grateful heart.
From this book, I learned 5 things.
1, Never remarry.
2, Being responsible for your children.
3, Sometimes things just happen. Let it be.
4, (As the ending suggests, forget about pondering all such impossible questions), working is the best remedy.
5, Have a grateful heart.
January 19, 2016
Like all of Douglas Kennedy's books, this was smooth, gripping and highly intelligent.
Douglas always manages to take you into the life of the main character and feel what they feel - a hugely talented writer and one of my all-time favourites.
A large percentage of this book revolved around mentions of finances, investments and hollywood realities and although from the off, that isn't my 'thing', this had such class and I completely loved it.
Douglas always manages to take you into the life of the main character and feel what they feel - a hugely talented writer and one of my all-time favourites.
A large percentage of this book revolved around mentions of finances, investments and hollywood realities and although from the off, that isn't my 'thing', this had such class and I completely loved it.
March 26, 2013
Kirjaston suositushyllystä bongattu, vaikka harlekiinikannen perusteella meinasin hylätä heti kättelyssä. Raadollinen Hollywood aiheena kiehtoi (taas) ja tarinan edetessä aukeni eräänlainen aikuisten kiusaamistapaus. Nopeat käänteet ja selvästikin teeman henkilökohtaisesti tuntevan kirjailijan ääni pitivät iltalukijan hereillä yli nukkuma-ajan.
November 16, 2013
"Kennedy's characters embark on long, complex, provocative journeys, and their ultimate strength is that - like the writer - they can throw off bright sparks in the dark." - Colum McCann. I don't know why it took me so long to discover Douglas Kennedy, but I'm glad I did!
February 17, 2008
BORING AND PREDICTABLE
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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