Bitch Goddess

by Robert Rodi

In Bitch Goddess, Robert Rodi turns his riotous wit on Hollywood sex and stardom. Told entirely through interviews, e-mails, fan magazine puff pieces, film reviews, shooting scripts, greeting cards, extortion notes, and court depositions, this is a hilarious account of the on-again, off-again career of Viola Chute, the B-grade sex symbol who slept her way to the middle-and slid downward from there.

After making a big comeback on a nighttime soap, Viola decides it's time to pen her memoirs. But when E. Manfred Harry, her ghostwriter, turns up some serious dirt, the bitch goddess fires him. The ever-resourceful Harry turns the book into an unauthorized tell-all biography, and Viola's star once again begins its descent...

Will she be asked back for a second season?
Will she make Celebrity Magazine's "Best-Dressed" list again this year?
Will her agent ever return her calls?


Praise for Robert Rodi:

"Rodi whips action around faster than Julia Child working up a souffle." (The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel)

"Irrestibly funny!" (Quentin Crisp)

Genres: Fiction, Gay Fiction, Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2014

About the author

Robert was born in Chicago in the conformist 1950s, grew up in the insurrectionist 1960s, came of age in the hedonist 1970s, and went to work in the elitist 1980s. This roller-coaster ride has left him with a distinct aversion to isms of any kind; it also gave him an ear for hypocrisy, cant, and platitudes that allowed him, in the 1990s, to become a much-lauded social satirist.

After seven acclaimed novels set in the gay milieu, Robert grew restless for new challenges — which he found in activities as wide-ranging as publishing nonfiction, writing comic books, launching a literary-criticism blog, and taking to the stage (as a spoken-word performer, jazz singer, and rock-and-roll front man).

In 2011, excited by the rise of digital e-books, he returned to his first love, publishing new fiction inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock. He also organized the republishing of his seminal gay novels under the banner Robert Rodi Essentials.

Robert still resides in Chicago, in a century-old Queen Anne house with his partner Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs.
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German version: Robert Rodi wurde 1956 in einem Vorort von Chicago geboren. Im Alter von 22 schloss er sein Philosophie-Studium ab. Schon vorher beschäftigte er sich mit Comedy. Sein erster eigener Roman, "Fag Hag" aus dem Jahr 1991 war ein großer Erfolg. Es folgten mehrere andere komische Romane, zahlreiche Kurzgeschichten und Sketche. Robert lebt mit Partner und Hund in Chicago.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: a solid 3* of five

I needed to read some prose snarkier, bitchier, and more cruelly insulting than my email. I found a whole shelf of Rodi's novels in my local liberry...mother lode!

Who cares what books like this are "about"? The plot's an excuse to travel through the meanest, nastiest corners of your psyche guilt-free! And what a catharsis it is. Not one of Rodi's characters could remotely be called a "hero" except in the lit-crit sense. Everyone, but everyone, is a self-seeking scumbag with multi-level agendas of unkindness and power-seeking and ego gratification.

*aaahhh*

Honesty is the best policy? Ha! Honesty needs the best insurance policy, more like! The crashing of dream-castles and the fracturing of hopes and the flattening of the well-intentioned is sheer, vicious, Dorothy-Parker-esque Schadenfreude.

Pop a cork. Sip slowly. Savor the wine, inhale the fumes, and remember not to snort the stuff out your nose laughing.

[Louise Steer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a rollicking romp of a book! The titular Bitch Goddess Viola Chute will remind you of many of the grand stars of the golden years of Hollywood, even though her career careens from the 60s to the 90s. Presented as her biographer's research and notes, her official story is contrasted with facts, gossip and research he puts together. Viola is truly a monster, but her optimism and irrepressible nature have you cheering for her! Very funny and a quick read.

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright, so honestly, all in all this book was really good, it should not have taken me as long as a day to read it. But there was so much going on in this, and I love how the story flowed together, and I love the writing of it, definitely one of my new favorite authors. Can't wait to check out the other books Rodi has written.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, in a kind of over-the-top way, which I feel was the goal.

[Elissa B · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was in a much too weird format. I couldn’t read it.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light amusing reading about a B-picture sex goddess who slept her way to the middle and gradually slid back down again. The main character Viola has a talent for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It's not going to tax your mind, but there are some entertaining twists along the way.

[Danny]

Looking forward...

[flygyrl72 · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll laugh out loud the whole time you're reading this...too funny...

[Kristi Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book cover is amazing...the book content...kinda lame! I hear his new dog memoir is quite hilarious though...more optimistic about this read!

[David Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read by one of the better gay satirists of our day.

[Ryan Minton · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it! fast, funny, campy!