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Los Angeles: People, Places, and the Castle on the Hill
The surreal City of Angels is a unique amalgam of past and present, tradition and revolution, dreamscape and reality. Whether in history books or on the silver screen, the Los Angeles landscape has long served as an ever-shifting backdrop against which countless American anxieties and aspirations play out. New York-based novelist and short-story writer A. M. Homes distills the elusive, quixotic splendor of this most beguiling of great American cities. She checks us into the famed hotel Chateau Marmont and uses life at this iconic landmark as a multifaceted prism through which to view and experience Los Angeles culture, past and present.
Built in the 1920s, the Chateau Marmont is where the famous and infamous have always come to stay— for a few days or months at a time—and sometimes, to die.
Built in the 1920s, the Chateau Marmont is where the famous and infamous have always come to stay— for a few days or months at a time—and sometimes, to die.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
7 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
A.M. Homes
76 books1,406 followersA.M. Homes is the author of the novels, The Unfolding, May We Be Forgiven, which won the 2013 Women's Prize for Fiction, This Book Will Save Your Life, Music For Torching, The End of Alice, In a Country of Mothers, and Jack, as well as the short-story collections, Things You Should Know and The Safety of Objects, the travel memoir, Los Angeles: People, Places and The Castle on the Hill, and the artist's book Appendix A: An Elaboration on the Novel the End of Alice.
In April of 2007 Viking published her long awaited memoir, The Mistress's Daughter, the story of the author being "found" by her biological family, and a literary exploration and investigation of identity, adoption and genealogical ties that bind.
Her work has been translated into eighteen languages and appears frequently in Art Forum, Harpers, Granta, McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Zoetrope. She is a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair, Bomb and Blind Spot.
She has been the recipient of numerous awards including Fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, NYFA, and The Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at The New York Public Library, along with the Benjamin Franklin Award, and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.
In addition she has been active on the Boards of Directors of Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center In Provincetown, The Writers Room, and PEN-where she chairs both the membership committee and the Writers Fund. Additionally she serves on the Presidents Council for Poets and Writers.
A.M. Homes was a writer/producer of the hit television show The L Word in 2004-2005 and wrote the adaptation of her first novel JACK, for Showtime. The film aired in 2004 and won an Emmy Award for Stockard Channing. Director Rose Troche's film adaptation of The Safety of Objects was released in 2003, and Troche is currently developing In A Country of Mothers as well. Music For Torching is in development with director Steven Shainberg with a script by Buck Henry, and This Book Will Save Your Life is in Development with Stone Village Pictures.
Born in Washington D.C., she now lives in New York City.
In April of 2007 Viking published her long awaited memoir, The Mistress's Daughter, the story of the author being "found" by her biological family, and a literary exploration and investigation of identity, adoption and genealogical ties that bind.
Her work has been translated into eighteen languages and appears frequently in Art Forum, Harpers, Granta, McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Zoetrope. She is a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair, Bomb and Blind Spot.
She has been the recipient of numerous awards including Fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, NYFA, and The Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at The New York Public Library, along with the Benjamin Franklin Award, and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.
In addition she has been active on the Boards of Directors of Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center In Provincetown, The Writers Room, and PEN-where she chairs both the membership committee and the Writers Fund. Additionally she serves on the Presidents Council for Poets and Writers.
A.M. Homes was a writer/producer of the hit television show The L Word in 2004-2005 and wrote the adaptation of her first novel JACK, for Showtime. The film aired in 2004 and won an Emmy Award for Stockard Channing. Director Rose Troche's film adaptation of The Safety of Objects was released in 2003, and Troche is currently developing In A Country of Mothers as well. Music For Torching is in development with director Steven Shainberg with a script by Buck Henry, and This Book Will Save Your Life is in Development with Stone Village Pictures.
Born in Washington D.C., she now lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 15, 2018
Finished this one half out of horrified fascination, half out of a deep and abiding love of hotels.
Yes, hotels.
A.M. Homes, reminds me very much of a lovely quirky character from Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett series: Mrs. Amy Amberson. Both are older white women of a certain upper socioeconomic standing that has given them a type of self-absorption and worldliness only personal masseuses and having more than one agent can impart. Homes, for instance, unabashedly shares her arrival at L.A.'s Château Marmont thusly:
In effect, Homes manages to write a book about Los Angeles in which she, not the city, is both protagonist and muse.
Homes writes in the pitch-perfect voice of Mrs. Amy Amberson and her ilk (horrified), but as she writes extensively about hotels, quality thereof and reaction to, as well as swooping into detailed Southern California historical architecture side-pockets ...fascination.
Overall, however, there are much, much better non-fiction books about L.A. unless you really like hotels, architecture and California earthquake weather, or some combination thereof.
Yes, hotels.
A.M. Homes, reminds me very much of a lovely quirky character from Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett series: Mrs. Amy Amberson. Both are older white women of a certain upper socioeconomic standing that has given them a type of self-absorption and worldliness only personal masseuses and having more than one agent can impart. Homes, for instance, unabashedly shares her arrival at L.A.'s Château Marmont thusly:
"I've put you on the seventh floor," the man at the front desk says.After Homes has settled into her (original) room (nothing else suitable was open):
"What else is open?" I ask automatically.
The phone rings, pulling me out of my reverie. It's Benedict, at the front desk. "Your car is here. The rental agent is waiting for you in the front lobby."Somewhat naturally, then, Homes' commissioned book about Los Angeles consists of a series of musings and vignettes about her search for the perfect hotel, not just in L.A. but worldwide. These are punctuated at intervals by snippets from Homes' interviews with celebrities.
"What color is it?" I told the rental agency I'd take anything but white.
"White."
"I'll be right down."
In effect, Homes manages to write a book about Los Angeles in which she, not the city, is both protagonist and muse.
Homes writes in the pitch-perfect voice of Mrs. Amy Amberson and her ilk (horrified), but as she writes extensively about hotels, quality thereof and reaction to, as well as swooping into detailed Southern California historical architecture side-pockets ...fascination.
Overall, however, there are much, much better non-fiction books about L.A. unless you really like hotels, architecture and California earthquake weather, or some combination thereof.
that-s-enough
May 21, 2020On hold at 39%.
April 4, 2020
A fun one to read if Los Angeles interests you - interesting perspective !
April 13, 2008
having grown up in la. i found the book full of cliches and inconsistencies. often the author celebrates her never spending much time in los angeles, aside from her youth, and then she causally mentions how everyone seems to know who she is as she hangs out at the chateau marmont. filled with interviews, presumably to fill the pages, the book does not offer any new or original insights positive or otherwise about the city. the book was commissioned by the national geographic society, and so perhaps that is why the text appears to be so uninspired. i am very disappointed. luckily the book only cost something like 2 dollars on amazon. i hope the mistress's daughter is better.
September 14, 2010
i usually adore a.m. homes writing--one of my favorite books is "this book will save your life" which is a quintessential LA story. so i was looking forward to getting into this book of essays on LA. unfortunately i was a bit bored with this collection. of all the interesting things there are to write about LA she went with the earthquakes, the geriatrics, and the most famous briss guy? the last couple could have actually been really interesting, but i couldn't get thru the old people essay at all. and the briss guy was only mildly entertaining.
i did enjoy learning so much about the chateau marmont tho and definitely plan to stay there at some point.
i did enjoy learning so much about the chateau marmont tho and definitely plan to stay there at some point.
April 23, 2023
Una newyorkese, trasferta a Washington, che scopre LA. Poteva essere interessante ed invece é solo noioso
July 28, 2025
Quise amarlo. Tiene un final muy muy emotivo. Pero es un caso triste de un libro que prometía mucho y que termina siendo decepcionante, derivativo, casi mecánico.
December 25, 2013
In case you missed me mentioning this before, here it is again: I am in love with A.M. Homes. Lost Angeles: People, Places and the Castle on the Hill had been sitting on my shelf for quite a while, and I threw it in my backpack while going off to visit my parents in November. I had to hit the road early so I wouldn’t hit the insane city traffic, then my flight was delayed, and before I knew it, I’d finished reading it. This was also mostly due to my curiosity in why Homes was interested in LA of all places.
Here’s how the book came to be written: National Geographic approached homes and told her to pick anywhere in the world to go. All she had to do in return was to write about it, and she chose Los Angeles. I know from having read most of her work that her main focus in her stories is American culture, family values and relationships. That’s why it wasn’t a big surprise for me when I found out she chose a place within the United States. Homes explored the City of Angeles through the eyes of an outsider, a visitor.
Read the full review at CommunityBookStop
* * *
A.M. Homes’un aşık olduğum yazarlar arasında olduğunu bilmeyen kalmasın diye tekrar söylüyorum: aşığım bu kadına, yok ötesi. Uzun süredir rafımda oturan Los Angeles: People, Places and the Castle on the Hill isimli kitabını Kurban Bayramı’nda annemlerin yanına giderken atmıştım çantaya. Rötardı, bilmemneydi derken bir baktım şıp diye okumuşum. Bunda yazarın neden Los Angeles’ı seçtiğini çok merak etmem de önemli rol oynadı bence.
National Geographic, A.M. Homes’a gidip, “hakkında yazmanız için sizi dünyanın neresine isterseniz yollayacağız” demiş. Homes da Los Angeles’ı seçmiş. Diğer kitaplarından da bildiğim gibi kendisi ağırlıklı olarak Amerikan kültürünü, aile değerlerini, insan ilişkilerini işliyor. Bu nedenle ABD dışında bir yer seçmemesi garip gelmedi bana. Homes, şarkılara, filmlere, şiirlere, aşklara, başarılara, hayallere ev sahipliği yapmış olan Melekler Şehri’ni bir yabancı gözüyle incelemiş.
Kendisini çok sevmemin nedenlerinden biri gözlem kabiliyeti. Bu, Los Angeles kitabına da yansımış. Homes, Los Angeles’ta ünlüleri konuk etmesiyle tanınan Chateau Marmont otelinde kalıyor. Bugüne kadar Chateau Marmont’ta kalan ve hatta işlerini orada tamamlayan ünlü isimler arasında James Dean, Hunter S. Thompson, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jim Morrison gibi pek çok isim var. Sizin de anlayacağınız gibi, Homes bu oteli özellikle seçiyor ve nedenleriyle birlikte otelin tarihçesine de az biraz yer veriyor kitabında. Orada tanıştığı insanlar, hatta bazılarıyla yaptığı röportajları da okuyorsunuz.
Los Angeles’ı konuya odaklanarak anlatmış aslında: Chateau Marmont ve deprem.
Bildiğiniz gibi Los Angeles depremleriyle meşhur bir şehir. ’99 depremini ve sonuçlarını yaşamış bir insan olarak bu konu benim çok ilgimi çekti. Homes, konunun uzmanına danışarak merak ettiği her şeyi sormuş adama. Aklımda kalan ve okurken biraz da yusuf yusuf olmama neden olan bir bilgi var mesela… Homes, amcaya “bize depremin olacağını önceden haber veren bir mekanizmanız yok mu?” gibilerinden bir soru soruyor. Haber verebiliyorlarmış, evet, ama ancak saniyeler öncesinde. Yani en iyi senaryoda bile evi terk etmek için 20 saniye gibi bir süremiz olurmuş. Depremle ilgili araştırma yapanların deney yapma şansı olmadığı için her gerçek deprem, onlar için deney sayılırmış. Yani tahmin yürütebiliyorlar ama kesin “geliyor” demeleri için hareketin başlamış olması gerekiyor. Paragrafı toparlayamadım ama ne yapayım ya, çok sinir bozucu değil mi?
Sonuç olarak diyeceğim şudur: Los Angeles’ın büyüsü hakkında bir kitap okumak isteyenler başka bir kitap bulsun kendilerine. Yukarıda anlattıklarım ilginizi çektiyse veya A.M. Homes çok sevdiğiniz yazarlar arasındaysa da Los Angeles’ı okumanızı tavsiye ederim.
Daha fazlası Zimlicious'ta.
Here’s how the book came to be written: National Geographic approached homes and told her to pick anywhere in the world to go. All she had to do in return was to write about it, and she chose Los Angeles. I know from having read most of her work that her main focus in her stories is American culture, family values and relationships. That’s why it wasn’t a big surprise for me when I found out she chose a place within the United States. Homes explored the City of Angeles through the eyes of an outsider, a visitor.
Read the full review at CommunityBookStop
* * *
A.M. Homes’un aşık olduğum yazarlar arasında olduğunu bilmeyen kalmasın diye tekrar söylüyorum: aşığım bu kadına, yok ötesi. Uzun süredir rafımda oturan Los Angeles: People, Places and the Castle on the Hill isimli kitabını Kurban Bayramı’nda annemlerin yanına giderken atmıştım çantaya. Rötardı, bilmemneydi derken bir baktım şıp diye okumuşum. Bunda yazarın neden Los Angeles’ı seçtiğini çok merak etmem de önemli rol oynadı bence.
National Geographic, A.M. Homes’a gidip, “hakkında yazmanız için sizi dünyanın neresine isterseniz yollayacağız” demiş. Homes da Los Angeles’ı seçmiş. Diğer kitaplarından da bildiğim gibi kendisi ağırlıklı olarak Amerikan kültürünü, aile değerlerini, insan ilişkilerini işliyor. Bu nedenle ABD dışında bir yer seçmemesi garip gelmedi bana. Homes, şarkılara, filmlere, şiirlere, aşklara, başarılara, hayallere ev sahipliği yapmış olan Melekler Şehri’ni bir yabancı gözüyle incelemiş.
Kendisini çok sevmemin nedenlerinden biri gözlem kabiliyeti. Bu, Los Angeles kitabına da yansımış. Homes, Los Angeles’ta ünlüleri konuk etmesiyle tanınan Chateau Marmont otelinde kalıyor. Bugüne kadar Chateau Marmont’ta kalan ve hatta işlerini orada tamamlayan ünlü isimler arasında James Dean, Hunter S. Thompson, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jim Morrison gibi pek çok isim var. Sizin de anlayacağınız gibi, Homes bu oteli özellikle seçiyor ve nedenleriyle birlikte otelin tarihçesine de az biraz yer veriyor kitabında. Orada tanıştığı insanlar, hatta bazılarıyla yaptığı röportajları da okuyorsunuz.
Los Angeles’ı konuya odaklanarak anlatmış aslında: Chateau Marmont ve deprem.
Bildiğiniz gibi Los Angeles depremleriyle meşhur bir şehir. ’99 depremini ve sonuçlarını yaşamış bir insan olarak bu konu benim çok ilgimi çekti. Homes, konunun uzmanına danışarak merak ettiği her şeyi sormuş adama. Aklımda kalan ve okurken biraz da yusuf yusuf olmama neden olan bir bilgi var mesela… Homes, amcaya “bize depremin olacağını önceden haber veren bir mekanizmanız yok mu?” gibilerinden bir soru soruyor. Haber verebiliyorlarmış, evet, ama ancak saniyeler öncesinde. Yani en iyi senaryoda bile evi terk etmek için 20 saniye gibi bir süremiz olurmuş. Depremle ilgili araştırma yapanların deney yapma şansı olmadığı için her gerçek deprem, onlar için deney sayılırmış. Yani tahmin yürütebiliyorlar ama kesin “geliyor” demeleri için hareketin başlamış olması gerekiyor. Paragrafı toparlayamadım ama ne yapayım ya, çok sinir bozucu değil mi?
Sonuç olarak diyeceğim şudur: Los Angeles’ın büyüsü hakkında bir kitap okumak isteyenler başka bir kitap bulsun kendilerine. Yukarıda anlattıklarım ilginizi çektiyse veya A.M. Homes çok sevdiğiniz yazarlar arasındaysa da Los Angeles’ı okumanızı tavsiye ederim.
Daha fazlası Zimlicious'ta.
January 12, 2016
Avrebbe potuto essere un libro interessante, dove l’unione della scrittura di A. M. Homes si sarebbe unita alla struttura atipica, per le città americane, di Los Angeles. Una specie di guida turistica nella quale ci sarebbe stato posto non solo per le attrazioni più in vista, quella mainstream, ma anche per tutti quei particolari che magari solo un occhio attento come quello dell’autrice di La fine di Alice e Jack avrebbe potuto saper cogliere. Se vogliamo essere buoni possiamo dire che l’operazione è riuscita a metà, ma solo se vogliamo essere buoni. Perché Homes, che in realtà è newyorkese, arriva a Los Angeles e si barrica, sia quasi fisicamente ma anche narrativamente, all’interno di un hotel, che per quanto possa essere interessante e ricco di aneddoti è pur sempre un hotel e non può giustificare il titolo del libro. Se le intenzioni iniziali erano comunque quelle di incentrare la narrazione sull’hotel, allora il titolo è forviante e avrebbe dovuto essere cambiato. La sensazione è che Homes ci abbia davvero messo tutta la sua buona volontà nel cercare di scrivere un libro focalizzato su Los Angeles, infatti di tanto in tanto prova a mettere il naso fuori dall’albergo (per poi inevitabilmente tornarci), ma si sia scontrata contro un’impossibilità che le veniva fuori dal profondo, soffermandosi così su un soggetto magari più piccolo e ristretto rispetto a un’intera città. L’hotel fa quindi la parte di un vortice che risucchia tutto e nel quale tutto, nel libro, pare avere il destino di finire. È un peccato, soprattutto per quelli come me che si erano immaginati di visitare un giorno Los Angeles alla ricerca dei posti indicati da A. M. Homes per rivivere gli aneddoti raccontati in questo libro.
January 26, 2016
There are many reviewers here who seem to have been mislead by this book; it is published by National Geographic and has been mistaken by some to be a travel guide to Los Angeles, to be taken literally. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is written by A.M. Homes, a writer best known for her fiction containng razor-sharp observations of modern American Life and its' ironies. Homes explains in the intro. that to her, LA is the most quintessentially American of cities, and as a writer of American life, it is a subject she is naturally drawn to. The book is her attempt, through various facets of life in LA (interviews with staff members of the iconic Chateau Marmont hotel, a Beverly Hills Moehl, residents of the Actor's Retirement home, observations on her meetings with various agents, actors, and people in the art world, to name a few) to better understand the psychic landscape and essence of the city. These subjects are all seen through her quirky, incisive lens. For those familiar with AM Homes' work, this is fascinating reading. It is also quite obviously source material for her subsequent novel, "This Book Will Save Your Life", which would make an excellent book to read following this one.
December 23, 2013
I enjoy AM Homes and I enjoy reading about Los Angeles - so this should have been the best book that I have ever read.
This wasn't the best book that I have ever read... I haven't read much of AM Homes' journalism - so maybe the high maintenance character that she portrays herself to be in this book is appealing to her more regular readers.... her fear of flying - a whole chapter on that before she arrives in Los Angeles....her dislike of her rental car... her dislike of her hotel room... her dislike of LA as a whole... She moves to Palm Springs... doesn't like the hotel there either so comes back to LA... she seems to like it a bit more the second time.
She allows other people in the book to praise her... "You're that super-cool writer girl" which just seems a bit of an odd ego trip to add into a travel book.
The little she does write about Los Angeles is very good - so I recommend it for those few chapters.
This wasn't the best book that I have ever read... I haven't read much of AM Homes' journalism - so maybe the high maintenance character that she portrays herself to be in this book is appealing to her more regular readers.... her fear of flying - a whole chapter on that before she arrives in Los Angeles....her dislike of her rental car... her dislike of her hotel room... her dislike of LA as a whole... She moves to Palm Springs... doesn't like the hotel there either so comes back to LA... she seems to like it a bit more the second time.
She allows other people in the book to praise her... "You're that super-cool writer girl" which just seems a bit of an odd ego trip to add into a travel book.
The little she does write about Los Angeles is very good - so I recommend it for those few chapters.
August 25, 2007
This book proved that I really love A.M. Homes. It's a Los Angeles travel guide (sort of). I have no intention of visiting Los Angeles. In fact, I think I probably hate Los Angeles, even though I've never been there. But I enjoyed this book.
Homes turned this travel book into an entertaining narrative mostly about the Chateau Marmont hotel, which becomes the most important character in the book in some ways. I'd go so far as to say that this book is a love letter to the hotel. She also talks to lots of interesting people: a mailman, a mohel, the front desk clerk, the hotel interior designer, a chef who turns the night shift into a sing-along.
A good read, more highly recommended if you're actually interested in Los Angeles.
Homes turned this travel book into an entertaining narrative mostly about the Chateau Marmont hotel, which becomes the most important character in the book in some ways. I'd go so far as to say that this book is a love letter to the hotel. She also talks to lots of interesting people: a mailman, a mohel, the front desk clerk, the hotel interior designer, a chef who turns the night shift into a sing-along.
A good read, more highly recommended if you're actually interested in Los Angeles.
June 20, 2011
This is a books about an east coast intellectual experiencing small pieces of what she thinks LA has to offer. The majority of the book was a personal account of her experiences at the Hotel Marmont. I enjoyed this quick read because it provided me with some history of an intellectual LA mecca (the hotel).
June 24, 2013
You won't learn much about Los Angeles from A.M. Homes; this is more of a sketch of the feeling of the city; impressions, and random musings & odd interviews. What you will discover is the elegant charm and mystique of the fabled Chateau Marmont, along with affectionate tales told by the famous and not-so-famous.
December 29, 2013
This book wasn't really about Los Angeles, comprehensively at least. But I enjoyed the stories presented, the slices of life. Since I know about LA firsthand, it didn't leave me feeling hungry for more. So while this isn't a book for people who are trying to really understand LA, it's still an entertaining read, well-written and engaging.
June 16, 2016
Homes is one of my favorite writers and her non-fiction account of Los Angeles was excellent.
January 15, 2009
Entertaining description of the city of L.A. for anybody who likes traveling books.
January 8, 2011
Veramente deludente: speravo si raccontassero storie di L.A. invece alla fine un libro ego-riferito che non mi ha detto veramente nulla.
March 2, 2013
This was just not very good: half quite predictable (to me) and half just very dull.
Read
November 14, 2023Full of memories.
June 21, 2015
smartass girl met phony people
April 10, 2016
This was fine, but pretty slim.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews