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Hollywood
Anxious Ophelia steps off the elevated train in the big city, hoping to start a new life with her summer hookup, far from her dissolving family and all of the traumas of industrial Rockville. Over the course of the next few hours Ophelia will lose her roommate, her money, and eventually, her sense of sanity when she sees a mile-long shark out on the lake, unwitnessed by anyone else, but obviously there, because if it wasn't how did she get so soaked? Ophelia cannot go back to who she was before sighting the beast, and the friends and opportunities she discovers all proceed from what and how she acts on that first, fierce, drunken night.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 3, 2024
1 person is currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Connor Coyne
29 books76 followersConnor Coyne is a writer living and working in Flint, Michigan.
He's published several novels, including the award winning serial novel Urbantasm, as well as a short story collection. His work has been featured in Vox.com, Belt Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife, two daughters, and a geriatric rabbit in Flint's College Cultural Neighborhood (aka the East Village), less than a mile from the house where he grew up.
He's published several novels, including the award winning serial novel Urbantasm, as well as a short story collection. His work has been featured in Vox.com, Belt Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife, two daughters, and a geriatric rabbit in Flint's College Cultural Neighborhood (aka the East Village), less than a mile from the house where he grew up.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 19, 2024
So this book was... surprising. Not bad, just I feel like the back of the book was very accurate - and also omitted a lot. I mean, I know most descriptions of books do as they don't want to give everything away, but I wasn't aware of how slice-of-life this was going to be - after all, the back mentions a mile-long shark and the press was founded by a man who often writes or edits horror books or anthologies.
I wasn't really disappointed - although I have been on a weird horror kick, including buying a book about intelligent, man-eating sharks in a dystopia that was signed by the author - but I also was: I definitely was hoping this would be something it wasn't, but was so charmed and delighted as the tale unfolded, I also can't hold it not being that against it.
That being said, I would call this magical realism more than horror, or even science fiction or fantasy. I'd definitely read another book by this author, but I wouldn't quite trust the description to tell me everything about the book: I'd always be slightly suspicious it would turn on me.
Then again, if the author is good enough, I don't mind a little of that kind of fuckery because I trust I'll get a good story. This might be my first Connor Coyne book, but I already trust him and I hope it's not my last.
I wasn't really disappointed - although I have been on a weird horror kick, including buying a book about intelligent, man-eating sharks in a dystopia that was signed by the author - but I also was: I definitely was hoping this would be something it wasn't, but was so charmed and delighted as the tale unfolded, I also can't hold it not being that against it.
That being said, I would call this magical realism more than horror, or even science fiction or fantasy. I'd definitely read another book by this author, but I wouldn't quite trust the description to tell me everything about the book: I'd always be slightly suspicious it would turn on me.
Then again, if the author is good enough, I don't mind a little of that kind of fuckery because I trust I'll get a good story. This might be my first Connor Coyne book, but I already trust him and I hope it's not my last.
October 23, 2025
4.5 - this was SO GOOD!!! it felt like a complete novel while only being 97 pages, though i could have immersed myself in this story for a whole novel’s worth of story 😂
January 11, 2024
Connor Coyne is back with the new novella Hollywood from Lethe Press. It is a tale that brings magical realism to young people in their slum apartments serving as ersatz dorms for college has-beens and never-wases. They are the folks in their early 20s who form fast families with those around them while battling roaches, rats, and thin walls.
Rather than Tinseltown, this Hollywood refers to an area on the north side of Chicago with particular emphasis on Kathy Osterman (AKA Hollywood) Beach. It is there where our main character Ophelia meets her mentor, thus completing step three of her Hero’s Journey. Of course, here our mentor is a shark the size of Godzilla that no one but Ophelia can see. It serves as a tarotic death card, but is it ominous or merely a symbol of incoming change?
And as with many journeys, Ophelia’s becomes a quest for self. How could Ophelia know what she wants when she doesn’t know who she is? It is here in this tower of Hollywood that she must learn how to be a full person, and not a passive protagonist in her own story.
Hollywood is a coming-of-age story for new adults, set in a backdrop right out of Larry Fessenden’s Habit, and featuring a kaiju-sized fish in Lake Michigan; I read it in one sitting.
Rather than Tinseltown, this Hollywood refers to an area on the north side of Chicago with particular emphasis on Kathy Osterman (AKA Hollywood) Beach. It is there where our main character Ophelia meets her mentor, thus completing step three of her Hero’s Journey. Of course, here our mentor is a shark the size of Godzilla that no one but Ophelia can see. It serves as a tarotic death card, but is it ominous or merely a symbol of incoming change?
And as with many journeys, Ophelia’s becomes a quest for self. How could Ophelia know what she wants when she doesn’t know who she is? It is here in this tower of Hollywood that she must learn how to be a full person, and not a passive protagonist in her own story.
Hollywood is a coming-of-age story for new adults, set in a backdrop right out of Larry Fessenden’s Habit, and featuring a kaiju-sized fish in Lake Michigan; I read it in one sitting.
March 21, 2024
Gotta admit, I have binge-watched tons of Friends on various services. This book struck such a cord with me; it is like reading a great friend's ep.
This is the story of one girl trying to find her way. It is set way back in the early oughts but is relevant for today's youth. I had to get out of my own small town. I ended up in someplace bigger and I can see the lake a lot so this book could almost be my biography!
Great characters that are so real. People might think the life being lived by the Hollywood gang is unrealistic but maybe they have never been 19 or 20 before. Totally captures the lifestyle of people trying to figure out their path.
The author shows us through Ophelia that he gets relationships. They are the best and the worst for young people. Some relationships are like shooting stars. Exciting but just so brief. Some are like lazy summer afternoons. Some are like 4-day weekends. Young people can't predict what a relationship will be. We just have to have them. The joy is in the living. That is the lesson of this book.
Also had to look this up, but an old-time book by Thomas Wolfe said, 'You can't go home again' and that is also a lesson I took from this book.
Something I want to read over and over. Just a book that will be perfect for everyone who is in their early 20s or once was. What a fun and comfy read.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Tiger
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
This is the story of one girl trying to find her way. It is set way back in the early oughts but is relevant for today's youth. I had to get out of my own small town. I ended up in someplace bigger and I can see the lake a lot so this book could almost be my biography!
Great characters that are so real. People might think the life being lived by the Hollywood gang is unrealistic but maybe they have never been 19 or 20 before. Totally captures the lifestyle of people trying to figure out their path.
The author shows us through Ophelia that he gets relationships. They are the best and the worst for young people. Some relationships are like shooting stars. Exciting but just so brief. Some are like lazy summer afternoons. Some are like 4-day weekends. Young people can't predict what a relationship will be. We just have to have them. The joy is in the living. That is the lesson of this book.
Also had to look this up, but an old-time book by Thomas Wolfe said, 'You can't go home again' and that is also a lesson I took from this book.
Something I want to read over and over. Just a book that will be perfect for everyone who is in their early 20s or once was. What a fun and comfy read.
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Tiger
This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...
May 27, 2024
Connor Coyne has definitely created a new American myth in this superb tale. Despite Ophelia’s difficulties from her past in the fictitious industrial town of Rockville, she reinvents herself when she moves to a new city, but only after hitting rock bottom; only after seeing a mile-long shark.
The narrative took me back to my own wild college years in Detroit. Those days when I was always searching my purse for enough change to buy my morning coffee. When meeting crazy poets at all-night parties was the norm.
Coyne does an excellent job both in his portrayal of Ophelia, as well as in conveying the importance of her newfound friends. The realism here is gritty, and the relationships are credible. Dialogue is fast-paced and natural. It would be a good novel without the shark—but with its numinous presence—the book becomes a riveting one. Suspense builds as you wait for its reappearance. Dream symbolism tells us that sharks are symbols of bravery, determination, and the ability to survive, though they are also associated with anxiety or fear. Overall a positive symbol. Ophelia’s shark sightings help us understand her, of course. It gives her added depth.
While this is a fine example of Magic Realism, it wasn’t until I finished reading the book that I realized that another sort of magic was occurring: the magic of human connection seen in Ophelia and Clyde’s relationship. How marvelous it is that Clyde not only believes Ophelia’s shark sighting, but tells her that the others do, too! I highly recommend this book.
The narrative took me back to my own wild college years in Detroit. Those days when I was always searching my purse for enough change to buy my morning coffee. When meeting crazy poets at all-night parties was the norm.
Coyne does an excellent job both in his portrayal of Ophelia, as well as in conveying the importance of her newfound friends. The realism here is gritty, and the relationships are credible. Dialogue is fast-paced and natural. It would be a good novel without the shark—but with its numinous presence—the book becomes a riveting one. Suspense builds as you wait for its reappearance. Dream symbolism tells us that sharks are symbols of bravery, determination, and the ability to survive, though they are also associated with anxiety or fear. Overall a positive symbol. Ophelia’s shark sightings help us understand her, of course. It gives her added depth.
While this is a fine example of Magic Realism, it wasn’t until I finished reading the book that I realized that another sort of magic was occurring: the magic of human connection seen in Ophelia and Clyde’s relationship. How marvelous it is that Clyde not only believes Ophelia’s shark sighting, but tells her that the others do, too! I highly recommend this book.
February 14, 2024
Great read!
Ophelia, travels from her small town to seek her fortune and future in the big city. Plans quickly fall through and regret fills her. Ophelia is a heroine we can all relate to and support as she tries to cope with the unexpected. She encounters a “vison” no one else has seen, finds new friends and love. Will these be enough to keep her on track?
Ophelia, travels from her small town to seek her fortune and future in the big city. Plans quickly fall through and regret fills her. Ophelia is a heroine we can all relate to and support as she tries to cope with the unexpected. She encounters a “vison” no one else has seen, finds new friends and love. Will these be enough to keep her on track?
February 27, 2024
This is such a great book. I couldn't put it down. Crackles with inspired writing and puts you right there with the characters in a particularly adept way. Read this!!
March 25, 2024
In all his work, Coyne has a knack for beautifully articulating both the pure joy and brutality of life, and this skill is on full display in his novella Hollywood. At its core, this is the story of a young woman finding her way amongst a sprawling cityscape, in the company of a band of artists, geniuses, weirdos, and partiers. In this short piece, our hero learns to believe the world can have wonderful things in it, even as she has to face the hard realities of being the only functioning adult in her family. It’s also a story on the absolute necessity of community, be that community friends or even a magical entity only oneself can see. I love any book that makes me feel this much.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews