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Cease to Blush
Billie Livingston’s second novel leads us to consider the nature of our hidden lives and desires—and to question whether the sky would really fall if we admitted our true needs and ceased to blush.
As Cease to Blush opens, Vivian is late to her own mother’s funeral. Wearing a tight red suit, Vivian stands out like a pornographer’s dream amongst the West Coast intellectuals mourning the death of prominent feminist Josie Callwood. But for all of her bravado, Vivian finds herself emotionally numb and spiraling downward. Vivian and her mother were in constant conflict, with Josie disapproving of her daughter’s lifestyle; her inclination to use her body instead of her brain, and her so-called acting career, which has amounted to little more than playing prostitutes and the odd dead body. For her part Vivian has been invested in antagonizing her mother’s feminist ideology. As the story opens Vivian’s career, as well as her relationship with boyfriend Frank, is taking an unsavoury turn as she wades into the quick cash scheme of Internet porn with herself cast in the lead.
But Josie has left a big surprise for her troubled a trunk full of mementoes from her own past, all of which point to a secret life more exotic than anything Vivian has been able to pull off. Puzzling together bits and pieces, Vivian learns that her mother was at one time a burlesque performer named Celia Dare who rubbed shoulders with the flashiest celebrities of the sixties. Vivian becomes determined to uncover the true story of her mother’s life.
Chasing rumours, Vivian sets off down the Pacific coast and soon finds out that truth is a slippery snake. With only a few of her mother’s letters, some guarded anecdotes from Josie’s former confidant and a slew of books about the sixties, Vivian begins to re-create her mother’s life, placing her at the heart of some of the biggest events and scenes of the era. From the protests and beat coffeehouses of Haight-Ashbury to the frenzied nightlife of Rat Pack Vegas, from the political soirées of New York to mob meetings in glitzy Miami hotels, Celia Dare saw and did it all. Yet the glamour hid an ugly underbelly, and as Vivian peels away the layers of the past she begins to uncover her own emotional truths as well.
Cease to Blush drives the bumpy road from the burlesque stages of Rat Pack Vegas to the bedroom Internet porn business, exploring just how far women have really come. In Vivian, Livingston has created the perfect character through which to explore what it means to be an independent woman today; with Celia/Josie, it’s clear that things weren’t so cut and dry in her day either. Though Celia’s story is told vividly here, its accuracy is impossible to gauge and the ghosts are not talking. But maybe this is Celia’s gift to the ability of the past not only to illuminate the future, but to re-imagine it.
As Cease to Blush opens, Vivian is late to her own mother’s funeral. Wearing a tight red suit, Vivian stands out like a pornographer’s dream amongst the West Coast intellectuals mourning the death of prominent feminist Josie Callwood. But for all of her bravado, Vivian finds herself emotionally numb and spiraling downward. Vivian and her mother were in constant conflict, with Josie disapproving of her daughter’s lifestyle; her inclination to use her body instead of her brain, and her so-called acting career, which has amounted to little more than playing prostitutes and the odd dead body. For her part Vivian has been invested in antagonizing her mother’s feminist ideology. As the story opens Vivian’s career, as well as her relationship with boyfriend Frank, is taking an unsavoury turn as she wades into the quick cash scheme of Internet porn with herself cast in the lead.
But Josie has left a big surprise for her troubled a trunk full of mementoes from her own past, all of which point to a secret life more exotic than anything Vivian has been able to pull off. Puzzling together bits and pieces, Vivian learns that her mother was at one time a burlesque performer named Celia Dare who rubbed shoulders with the flashiest celebrities of the sixties. Vivian becomes determined to uncover the true story of her mother’s life.
Chasing rumours, Vivian sets off down the Pacific coast and soon finds out that truth is a slippery snake. With only a few of her mother’s letters, some guarded anecdotes from Josie’s former confidant and a slew of books about the sixties, Vivian begins to re-create her mother’s life, placing her at the heart of some of the biggest events and scenes of the era. From the protests and beat coffeehouses of Haight-Ashbury to the frenzied nightlife of Rat Pack Vegas, from the political soirées of New York to mob meetings in glitzy Miami hotels, Celia Dare saw and did it all. Yet the glamour hid an ugly underbelly, and as Vivian peels away the layers of the past she begins to uncover her own emotional truths as well.
Cease to Blush drives the bumpy road from the burlesque stages of Rat Pack Vegas to the bedroom Internet porn business, exploring just how far women have really come. In Vivian, Livingston has created the perfect character through which to explore what it means to be an independent woman today; with Celia/Josie, it’s clear that things weren’t so cut and dry in her day either. Though Celia’s story is told vividly here, its accuracy is impossible to gauge and the ghosts are not talking. But maybe this is Celia’s gift to the ability of the past not only to illuminate the future, but to re-imagine it.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Billie Livingston
14 books63 followersBillie Livingston is a fiction writer, poet, and essayist. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, she grew up in Toronto and Vancouver, and has since lived in Tokyo, Hamburg, Munich, Los Angeles and London, England. Her first employment was filling the dairy coolers in a Macs Milk. She went on to work varying lengths of time as a file clerk, receptionist, cocktail waitress, model, actor, chocolate sampler, and booth host at a plumber’s convention.
Livingston's writing has been nominated for a National Magazine Award for journalism, the Journey Prize for fiction and the Pat Lowther Award for poetry. Greedy Little Eyes, a collection of short stories, was cited by The Globe and Mail and The Georgia Straight as one of the year's best books and the collection went on to win the CBC's Bookie Award as well as the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for Best Short Story Collection. Her 2012 novel, One Good Hustle, was long-listed for the Giller Prize and became a year’s best book selection for several publications including The Globe and Mail, Now Magazine and January Magazine. In 2014, her story, “Sitting on the Edge of Marlene,” was adapted to film by director, Ana Valine and starred Suzanne Clément, Paloma Kwiatkowski, and Callum Keith Rennie.
She lives in Vancouver, BC, with her husband, actor Tim Kelleher.
Livingston's writing has been nominated for a National Magazine Award for journalism, the Journey Prize for fiction and the Pat Lowther Award for poetry. Greedy Little Eyes, a collection of short stories, was cited by The Globe and Mail and The Georgia Straight as one of the year's best books and the collection went on to win the CBC's Bookie Award as well as the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for Best Short Story Collection. Her 2012 novel, One Good Hustle, was long-listed for the Giller Prize and became a year’s best book selection for several publications including The Globe and Mail, Now Magazine and January Magazine. In 2014, her story, “Sitting on the Edge of Marlene,” was adapted to film by director, Ana Valine and starred Suzanne Clément, Paloma Kwiatkowski, and Callum Keith Rennie.
She lives in Vancouver, BC, with her husband, actor Tim Kelleher.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 3, 2011
I really liked this book. I loved the discovery of the self Vivian went through as she discovered her mother through her past.
Vivian is so screwed up in so many weird ways that she is a full and robust character. she is ultimately very likable even if she does some not so kosher things in her life. Pretty much like her mother.
I had to wonder at how many secrets are kept from me, and that I keep from others, that maybe woudl be better out in the open.
I'll certainly read others works by Livingston
Vivian is so screwed up in so many weird ways that she is a full and robust character. she is ultimately very likable even if she does some not so kosher things in her life. Pretty much like her mother.
I had to wonder at how many secrets are kept from me, and that I keep from others, that maybe woudl be better out in the open.
I'll certainly read others works by Livingston
August 30, 2007
I loved this book. It was funny, and insightful with a provocative bent that I've been considering since I came to the last page. The narrator is Vivian, not formally educated though natively intelligent, rebellious and generally angry actress who plays bit parts on tv shows. Her mother is Josie, a 70s style lesbian women's studies prof who was drawn to hardline theorists like Andrea Dworkin and Germain Greer. The book opens with Josie's funeral and Viv's frustration that her mother died before they had a chance to iron out their differences. Among her mother's things Vivian is given a box of keepsakes that could have altered her relationship with her mother had it not been hidden away: Josie used to be Celia Dare, a burlesque entertainer, gangster's moll and politician's arm-candy. Vivian, is confused and frustrated. She takes to googling, hunting through books for any little scrap of info until
the narrator starts concocting her mother's story for herself. So you get this novel where the two worlds collide and explode. Rather than chicklit, Cease to Blush is "The Edible Woman" for a modern reader.
June 17, 2011
Cease to Blush is extremely glamorous and witty. It delves into lives of two characters, Vivian and Vivian's mother. Vivian leads a life that her mother does not approve of but once her mother passes away, she uncovers secrets that are too enticing to be left alone. And so, Vivian goes on a quest to learn more about her mother and the flashy 1960's, with appearances from JFK, Marilyn Monroe, and even Frank Sinatra.
While this book was entertaining for the most part, there was some dry bits. Although the dry bits were little in number, they were asbolutely long. It takes a lot of concentration to read the book, but it's a gem.
However, if you aren't familliar with the 1960's, don't fret because that wouldn't hinder the storyline at all. The celebrity appearances were extremely plausible, and you can tell the author researched this well. I definitely learned more about how starlets and showgirls in this age would have lived their lives. The burlesque period is certainly fast paced, and always surprising.
If you want to sit down and have a good read, go ahead and pick up this book. But if you have a short attention span, don't even bother!
While this book was entertaining for the most part, there was some dry bits. Although the dry bits were little in number, they were asbolutely long. It takes a lot of concentration to read the book, but it's a gem.
However, if you aren't familliar with the 1960's, don't fret because that wouldn't hinder the storyline at all. The celebrity appearances were extremely plausible, and you can tell the author researched this well. I definitely learned more about how starlets and showgirls in this age would have lived their lives. The burlesque period is certainly fast paced, and always surprising.
If you want to sit down and have a good read, go ahead and pick up this book. But if you have a short attention span, don't even bother!
February 11, 2008
This is what chick lit should be -- intelligent, engrossing, witty -- but because most are not, I would hate to use that moniker to describe it. Has a lot to say about the relationships between mothers and daughters. I found it interesting how she treated the decisions of both mother and daughter to use their bodies and physicality to make money and their later reactions to these decisions. Not judgmental and I appreciated that. A very good read.
January 25, 2008
This was a lot of fun. It's about a young Vancouverite whose mother dies. She begins to find out about her mother's past life; she was a burlesque entertainer, dancer/stripper, who hung with the Kennedys and Frank Sinatra.
As a lover of Hollywood history, I really enjoyed this book and its colourful characters. The Vancouver details and references were fun too.
As a lover of Hollywood history, I really enjoyed this book and its colourful characters. The Vancouver details and references were fun too.
December 16, 2008
My favourite book! It was in the right place at the right time. I was looking for some work by teh Marquis de Sade when I found this instead... just in time for the Christmas holidays!I learned more about the dusty curtians of the internet and hidden pasts.
July 27, 2011
I left this sitting on my shelf for four years. sometimes i'm dumb. or sometimes things just come around at the right times. such a fun and beautiful book. filled with gangsters, politicians, strippers, circus freaks, movie stars and webcam performers!
September 20, 2011
This book is a trip. It's has a raw and wicked sense of humor and is spares no one's feelings. Furthermore if you like things easy, the narrator is not the kind you bring home to mother -- I guess that's why people here seem to either love it or hate it -- If you're an academic feminist, there is a lot between these covers that you might not want to hear and if you're looking for fluffy chick lit, this ain't for you either. The plot asks a big what-if: a hell-raiser of a young woman finds out that her academic lesbian mother used to be someone quite different. We move between present day confusion in gender politics back to the 60s when that movement was barely in public consciousness. The back story takes aspects of the Kennedy clan and the gangsters with whom we now know they did business, and weaves them into the world of a naive young burlesque stripper. A deliciously rapier read.
October 20, 2012
I absolutely love this book, it's one of my favourites. The characters were fun to me, and I really liked how the fictional characters interacted with real historical figures. It was nice to see Dixie Evans' name in the acknowledgements and shows the author committed to actual research about burlesque history. Highly enjoyable.
February 24, 2013
I found this to be a very engrossing read. I enjoyed the real world references and was inclined after finishing this book to pick up biographies on Frank Sinatra, JFK, etc. This book explores themes of feminism, independence and mother but also transports you to an exciting era. Overall, smart and enjoyable novel. Great read!
February 8, 2008
It's fascinating both through plot and by the underlying political examination. The dialogue is some of the best I've ever read. The prose is deft, biting yet still soulful. It is beautiful and ferocious at once. I highly recommend.
July 30, 2011
Livingston's refreshing Canadian spin on 50 years of U.S. pop culture is both fascinating and satisfying. An incredible story of one young woman's struggle to clean up her own life while uncovering startling details of her deceased mother's past.
May 11, 2022
I didn't know what to expect from this one. I got it from a mystery grab bag at a book sale, so I gave it a shot. At first, I was put off by the feminist-nazi feel in the beginning, but once I realized the main character opposed it, I gave it a fair shot.
The story itself was decent. Some characters I did not enjoy reading about (Frank) and parts of the story did get a little bit confusing. The book is about a woman trying to uncover her mother's life before becoming a mother. The contrast is huge, so it drives the main character Vivian to keep on trying to learn more. The confusing parts came where Vivian's life and segments of her mother's past seemed to blend. It almost felt like she was possessed and was reliving these memories. When it first happened, it caught me off guard. It makes sense for Vivian to imagine what it might have been like, but these segments seemed very factual so it felt a bit off to me.
When the book ended, I didn't expect it to end. My eye went to the next page and found the "thank you" blurb from the author. I reflected on the ending and it seemed to fall short for me. It works, but it also felt rushed.
It was interesting to read a book based in Vancouver, but it definitely had that liberal edge to it that this area is so keen on hounding to death. I experience enough of that in my life, so I wasn't too excited to read about it as well. However, if you live somewhere else, this book may be enough of a contrast to your own life that you could pick up a thing or two and find value in it. For me, it was just another case of a far-left society that can't seem to do anything right.
So although the book isn't really for me, it wasn't a bad book. It was decently written and kept my interest most of the time. I think it was just "okay" and I am okay with that.
The story itself was decent. Some characters I did not enjoy reading about (Frank) and parts of the story did get a little bit confusing. The book is about a woman trying to uncover her mother's life before becoming a mother. The contrast is huge, so it drives the main character Vivian to keep on trying to learn more. The confusing parts came where Vivian's life and segments of her mother's past seemed to blend. It almost felt like she was possessed and was reliving these memories. When it first happened, it caught me off guard. It makes sense for Vivian to imagine what it might have been like, but these segments seemed very factual so it felt a bit off to me.
When the book ended, I didn't expect it to end. My eye went to the next page and found the "thank you" blurb from the author. I reflected on the ending and it seemed to fall short for me. It works, but it also felt rushed.
It was interesting to read a book based in Vancouver, but it definitely had that liberal edge to it that this area is so keen on hounding to death. I experience enough of that in my life, so I wasn't too excited to read about it as well. However, if you live somewhere else, this book may be enough of a contrast to your own life that you could pick up a thing or two and find value in it. For me, it was just another case of a far-left society that can't seem to do anything right.
So although the book isn't really for me, it wasn't a bad book. It was decently written and kept my interest most of the time. I think it was just "okay" and I am okay with that.
December 15, 2022
The story itself was fairly entertaining, though it definitely felt like it lost some steam in the final third. I just thought the structure of the novel was a bit confusing in terms of what in the past was happening when, and what 'actually happened' to Vivian's mum and what she was filling in. I also felt like the two other streams of Vivien's life, Len and the whole cam girl stuff, felt slightly disjointed and while I could see how the latter was supposed to connect to the overarching theme, I didn't think it was done particularly well.
I also felt as if we didn't see a lot of the process of transformation of either Celia or Vivian. We saw where they were starting from and where they ended up but I felt like a lot of the discussion around feminism was lost and I would have enjoyed seeing more complex aspects of the topic discussed. Livingston might have benefitted from a more ruthless editor I think. There was a lot of flab.
The writing itself was very underwhelming. Like it wasn't bad, it didn't distract from the reading experience, it was just overwhelmingly meh.
Having said that, it was mildly entertaining and had I not read it during exam season I would have definitely polished it off in a few days.
I also felt as if we didn't see a lot of the process of transformation of either Celia or Vivian. We saw where they were starting from and where they ended up but I felt like a lot of the discussion around feminism was lost and I would have enjoyed seeing more complex aspects of the topic discussed. Livingston might have benefitted from a more ruthless editor I think. There was a lot of flab.
The writing itself was very underwhelming. Like it wasn't bad, it didn't distract from the reading experience, it was just overwhelmingly meh.
Having said that, it was mildly entertaining and had I not read it during exam season I would have definitely polished it off in a few days.
September 27, 2018
I feel so sad that I’m finished this book. I LOVE a story that’s a really good length and lasts for a while and completely engages me, and this book did that. It was so glamorous yet also so real at the same time, taking these big names of celebrities and bringing them down to a relatable level where I felt like I knew them. I met Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and Bobby Kennedy and so many others, all so intimately through the eyes of a girl I really felt I understood. There were such parallels in the lives of the mother and daughter and yet the secrets were kept from Vivian until it was too late; or maybe not too late, because it made her realize how she was being treated and allowed to her walk away from her bad crap all on her own. (When she said goodbye to Frank I actually cheered out loud) I just was so engaged with Celia’s story and enjoyed every minute of it. And then to see Vivian grow up at the same time and be so proud of her by the end was so great. Just real good I would recommend this ✨✨✨
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2021
This book is full of shitty men and dumb women. Sadly, I feel that’s pretty accurate for the times. This is an interesting book on self exploration and introspection but in my honest opinion could have been a little shorter or else dived even deeper for its length.
October 3, 2017
I was a little confused at the beginning, but ended up really interested in the weaving of a story along with historical events of the 1960's.
September 3, 2024
Brilliant book about a young woman re-finding herself and coming to terms about her mother's death.
June 26, 2011
This book had an okay premises, but it just took like the whole book to get into the flashback part, I think because it was like all based on what might have happen, not what actually did. So I think I was waiting for it like to all explode on the protags face as fake and it didn't. Girl grew up with a single mother who she thought was one person, but after she died, she finds out that she had like this whole secret Las Vegas mob life. The Girls life isn't so savory itself which was kind of lame, but I guess between what her mother was really like, it's supposed to make her more sympathetic or interesting or something. I really don't have an interest in the mob, so the book was kind of eh, but if you do and like old school vegas and stuff, then definitely check it out. Otherwise, it was just kind of whatever. A nice change from the usual crap I read, but not good enough to recommend otherwise.
Grade: C
Grade: C
November 10, 2009
This was a good read, I admit. Lots of detail on a number of horizons, including JFK era rat-pack adventures, a close look at burlesque and the life of show girls, a glance at Haight-Ashbury in the 70s, an examination of a modern relationship involving drugs and Internet porn, a nod to re-examination of gender roles. I think Livingston did a good job in her research and her attempts to tie it all together in a story about a mother-daughter dynamic that ends in echoes and insights for the daughter.
However, the lack of focus and shot gun approach to lots of issues with lots of subplots ended up distancing me from the characters and the story.
And why do I read the cover snippet reviews? The Globe and Mail called it a best book: 'provocative and wildly fun'. I would say this is NOT a fun book - its an adventure story alright, but largely tragic.
However, the lack of focus and shot gun approach to lots of issues with lots of subplots ended up distancing me from the characters and the story.
And why do I read the cover snippet reviews? The Globe and Mail called it a best book: 'provocative and wildly fun'. I would say this is NOT a fun book - its an adventure story alright, but largely tragic.
November 15, 2012
An ambitious book that explores a lot of questions: about women, about mothers and daughters... and also burlesque and the turbulent 1960s American world of Sinatra, the Kennedys and Marilyn Monroe. I liked Vivian as a character, even when she's quite unlikeable. I found my attention lagging during some of the Celia bits, where Vivian imagines her mother's past (and I never could quite get my mind to accept that Vivian would be writing the Celia parts in such great detail, and with such great skill), and during the second half of the book there are lots of the Celia story (which is increasingly convoluted). But Livingston is definitely a talented writer and this is a book worth reading.
Read
January 19, 2011Alright, this book hit a speed bump right in the middle. I couldn't get over it, so I gave to book to my Mom to read. I will probably try again, maybe in the summer I'll have more Patience to give to the book, but in the winter, when it's dark early and I have to find something to do, this book felt like nothing to do. I was dissapointed. But again, it is possible that a different frame of mind will make all the difference.
July 31, 2011
It was an interesting read. The intro was very odd and made the main character very unlikable but once she gets moms trunk the story becomes interesting. The thing hat kept me going was waiting to see if her fathers identity would be revealed. Throughout the novel a love for the main character never really grew for me. Her friends, lifestyle, habits and choices were adolescent and trashy. Moms story is what kept me reading.
November 7, 2011
The first half was great -- I really got drawn in to the main character's present-day story. But when the book launched into a completely different trajectory -- an implausible, name-dropping saga about the protagonist's mother's secret life in the '60s as a stripper and her association with the mafia -- I lost interest. Far too long in that regard, and far too many details, all of which were inconsequential in the end.
March 5, 2015
This was an entertaining enough read, but I was happy to get to the end. I don't know if my ability to concentrate is deteriorating, but the story-within-a-story technique kind of irritated me. I would just be getting into the storyline when it would switch again...then I'd be getting into *that* one, and it would switch back.
I do like Billie Livingston - a lot - but this isn't my favourite book by her. (Going Down Swinging is my favourite.)
I do like Billie Livingston - a lot - but this isn't my favourite book by her. (Going Down Swinging is my favourite.)
July 6, 2009
Not a bad book but it was way too long. If it was 100 pages shorter I think it would have been a stronger novel all around. Some parts were kind of boring and you go sick of the main characters quickly. I didn't feel anything for them really and it was kind of far fetched. Other than that it held my interest. If you're into the 1960's and burlesque I'd recommend it.
August 10, 2014
I couldn't read the chapter made up of letters, which isn't unusual (I think I'm epistolary-aversive). And the suspension of disbelief definitely gets tricky with the protagonist imagining or writing in detail what she thinks must've played in the life of her mother five decades earlier... but overall this only made me more appreciative of Billie Livingston's ambitious accomplishment.
April 10, 2013
Good writing, I liked the local/Vancouver setting and shout-outs, interesting, too many almost/kinda rapes for me (which is why I rarely read adult fiction - but I'm going to an author panel next month, so I'm reading one book by each author to make my experience richer...go get ready to see another couple reviews of adult fiction from me!)
December 30, 2010
I got about 160 pages into this book with absolutely no connection to either of the protagonists. Neither the narrator nor her mother are compelling or sympathetic characters, and I really had no emotional investment in reading any more about them. Very disappointing book!
June 13, 2009
My favorite book last year.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews