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Too Damn Famous
Joan Collins - to damned famous - bases this riveting novel about a beautiful woman and a disastrous passion on her own marriage to Peter Holm.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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50 people want to read
About the author
Joan Collins
83 books97 followersJoan Henrietta Collins, OBE is a Golden Globe Award-winning English actress and bestselling author.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 5, 2026
A prominent book that shows the realities of Hollywood and of being an actress. I grew to respect the profession much more.
What makes the book so great is that we get to see not only the professional aspect of the main character Kitty's life, but also her personal hardships. Katherine Bennet is the representation of women who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and are still obligated to show up at their best every single day. Moreover, while potraying multiple men who are ruining these women's lives, Collins made sure to also present male characters who were inherently good people.
My favorite aspect of this book was how multifaceted the personas were. Even Kitty herself was not set forth as a perfectly good heroine - her character was layered.
Throughtout the read I would think about how all of it was written by a Hollywood actress, who experienced the harshness of that world first hand. This also leads me to believe that almost none of the scenes were hyperbolized.
In my opinion, Too Damn Famous deserves more attention. It is a must-read for all the young people who idealize the world of cinema and aim to become a part of it.
What makes the book so great is that we get to see not only the professional aspect of the main character Kitty's life, but also her personal hardships. Katherine Bennet is the representation of women who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and are still obligated to show up at their best every single day. Moreover, while potraying multiple men who are ruining these women's lives, Collins made sure to also present male characters who were inherently good people.
My favorite aspect of this book was how multifaceted the personas were. Even Kitty herself was not set forth as a perfectly good heroine - her character was layered.
Throughtout the read I would think about how all of it was written by a Hollywood actress, who experienced the harshness of that world first hand. This also leads me to believe that almost none of the scenes were hyperbolized.
In my opinion, Too Damn Famous deserves more attention. It is a must-read for all the young people who idealize the world of cinema and aim to become a part of it.
December 28, 2022
Reading this is like binge-watching Dynasty. You know it’s cheesy, and crammed full of rich starlets with big hair, and their cliched no-good husbands, but it’s too enjoyable to turn away.
August 3, 2025
Katherine “Kitty” Bennet adalah bintang layar kaca terkenal. Usianya 40-an, dia cantik dan banyak yang memujanya. Namun, di balik ketenarannya, hidupnya tidak baik-baik saja. Pernikahannya kandas setelah sekian lama bersama, banyak bintang layar kaca lain yang iri padanya dan sampai membuat rumor jahat tentang dirinya, kariernya juga tidak aman lantaran menjadi bintang televisi artinya dia menggantungkan nasib pada rating.
Setelah beberapa waktu sendirian, Kitty mencoba membuka hati kembali, pada seorang pria Prancis bernama Jean Claude Valmer. Pria ini memiliki segala-galanya yang Kitty cari. Hanya saja Jean Claude adalah seorang narsistik. Sifatnya ini berubah menjadi teror bagi Kitty.
Sebenarnya buku ini lumayan bagus di awal, karena fokus pada wanita yang berkarier di Hollywood, apalagi penulisnya, Joan Collins, adalah aktris terkenal bahkan sampai sekarang, jadi semacam dapat bangku terdepan kehidupan seorang bintang. Tapi justru di sini jeleknya. Saking dapat bangku terdepan, dapat pula kita pemikiran ala wanita Hollywood yang “sok ga pakai botox tapi ngejudge yang lain yang pakai botox”. Seakan itu hal paling buruk sedunia. Ditambah alurnya yang mendadak jadi teror dari suami narsis. Cukup bikin degdegan tapi endingnya bikin geregetan. Apakah Jean ini si cikalbakal Joe Goldberg. 🤪
Aku menemukan buku ini di tumpukan, cetakan pertama tahun 1999, diterjemahkan oleh Monica Dwi Chresnayani, penerjemahnya Twilight dan beberapa buku lain di GPU, kangen terjemahannya, meski untuk buku ini menurutku masih banyak yang kurang enak dibaca.
Setelah beberapa waktu sendirian, Kitty mencoba membuka hati kembali, pada seorang pria Prancis bernama Jean Claude Valmer. Pria ini memiliki segala-galanya yang Kitty cari. Hanya saja Jean Claude adalah seorang narsistik. Sifatnya ini berubah menjadi teror bagi Kitty.
Sebenarnya buku ini lumayan bagus di awal, karena fokus pada wanita yang berkarier di Hollywood, apalagi penulisnya, Joan Collins, adalah aktris terkenal bahkan sampai sekarang, jadi semacam dapat bangku terdepan kehidupan seorang bintang. Tapi justru di sini jeleknya. Saking dapat bangku terdepan, dapat pula kita pemikiran ala wanita Hollywood yang “sok ga pakai botox tapi ngejudge yang lain yang pakai botox”. Seakan itu hal paling buruk sedunia. Ditambah alurnya yang mendadak jadi teror dari suami narsis. Cukup bikin degdegan tapi endingnya bikin geregetan. Apakah Jean ini si cikalbakal Joe Goldberg. 🤪
Aku menemukan buku ini di tumpukan, cetakan pertama tahun 1999, diterjemahkan oleh Monica Dwi Chresnayani, penerjemahnya Twilight dan beberapa buku lain di GPU, kangen terjemahannya, meski untuk buku ini menurutku masih banyak yang kurang enak dibaca.
January 25, 2012
OK,I would never have chosen this, but I was looking after a poorly relative and had read all the cereal packets a dozen times, and in desperation found this on a bookshelf. And shouldn't the title have been 'Too damned famous'? I was expecting a lot better, Joan seems to be a humorous, been-round-the-block sort of woman, and I was expecting to get a view of what it was really like to be a celebrated TV star in the 80's. What Joan delivers is a 'B' movie version of a totally selfish and deluded Diva.
The point of view veers wildely - for instance:
Cook: 'Miss Bennett, I'm so sorry, my husband has just abandoned me and dinner will be 15 minutes late as a result'.
Miss Bennett: My god, servants are so stressful, don't I have enough to deal with, what with looking beautiful and having to get up for work and choosing what to have for dinner. This is very inconvenient, cook, make dinner 5 minutes late'.
'Yes mam', thinks Cook, wow that woman is so beautiful and thoughtful, I love her so much.
OK, so I'm paraphrasing and improving the dialogue, but you get the gist.
Joan had the opportunity to reveal what being an 80's star was really like from the inside. Instead she delivers a melodrama of a self-regarding woman that you are astounded at that only one character was trying to kill her.
The point of view veers wildely - for instance:
Cook: 'Miss Bennett, I'm so sorry, my husband has just abandoned me and dinner will be 15 minutes late as a result'.
Miss Bennett: My god, servants are so stressful, don't I have enough to deal with, what with looking beautiful and having to get up for work and choosing what to have for dinner. This is very inconvenient, cook, make dinner 5 minutes late'.
'Yes mam', thinks Cook, wow that woman is so beautiful and thoughtful, I love her so much.
OK, so I'm paraphrasing and improving the dialogue, but you get the gist.
Joan had the opportunity to reveal what being an 80's star was really like from the inside. Instead she delivers a melodrama of a self-regarding woman that you are astounded at that only one character was trying to kill her.
September 2, 2025
Bacaan dah lama bgt.. jaman sma.. hehe..
Lupa2 inget cerita detilnyanya.. tapi ya tentang kehidupan realita seorang artist yg terkenal dan sukses dan kuuayaaa.. tapi tetep ada yg kurang, dalam hal kebahagiaan cinta dan keluarga.. klise sih, tapi mungkin begitu kali ya kehidupan para artis.. kelas hollywood lagi..
Lupa2 inget cerita detilnyanya.. tapi ya tentang kehidupan realita seorang artist yg terkenal dan sukses dan kuuayaaa.. tapi tetep ada yg kurang, dalam hal kebahagiaan cinta dan keluarga.. klise sih, tapi mungkin begitu kali ya kehidupan para artis.. kelas hollywood lagi..
November 29, 2012
I like this book because even though the lead character is a very famous actress, her problems are as real as our problems - domestic abuse, envy, loneliness.
Joan Collins writes well and her books are mostly set in Hollywood. She's an actress so reading her stories about Hollywood feels like you're talking to a Hollywood insider who feeds you juicy details about the movie and TV industry.
Joan Collins writes well and her books are mostly set in Hollywood. She's an actress so reading her stories about Hollywood feels like you're talking to a Hollywood insider who feeds you juicy details about the movie and TV industry.
September 25, 2012
It took me a bit to get into this book but once I did I thought it was a great read. I was looking forward to Jean-Claude being such a great guy for her and I was so disappointed when he turned out to be an ass. I'm glad she ended up with one of her best friends in the end though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2013
holiday read about the stars of tv and film. A novel by Joan Collins.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews