Let’s add some glamour and sizzle to your weekend reading. All three of these books takes us to exciting and thrilling places- Hollywood, Paris, Long Island and plunges us into the gripping history of the times. City of Flickering lights will be published soon! Look forward to the other two books in June.

City of Flickering Light by Juliette Fay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What’s your favorite movie? I can’t wait to see his latest film. Hollywood…Tinseltown…dream factory…La La Land… dazzling phrases that conjure dreams of glamour, sophistication, power and beauty. Movie, and movie stars have captivated us for well over 100 years now. What was it like back in the early days of Hollywood, back in the silent film era?

According to Author Juliette Fay, life in Hollywood hasn’t changed too much. Prohibition is over, but the cars are still shiny, the stars are still glittering, and hopes are still high. (There has been one big change. Arc lamps are no longer used in film projectors. Their unsteady light is why early films were called “flickers.”)

The word flicker means “shining with a light that is sometimes bright and sometimes weak”. The title of this book, The City of Flickering Light is a good description of the silent movie era- a time that flickered between the gritty and the fabulous.

And into this unique southern California world jump our friends Irene, Millie and Henry. Each has their own reason for wanting to brave Hollywood. Together they are friends who would do anything for one another as they experience the flickering ups and downs of Hollywood. Author Fay is an experienced and compelling storyteller and readers will devour their story.

Many real people from Hollywood appear in the book, too, as well as a great cast of lesser characters. The author skillfully blends great details about the actual business of making movies, as well as truthfully capturing the morals and thoughts of the times, as seen through the characters’ eyes.

Each chapter features a quote from someone famous in the silent movie era. These sayings fascinating and serve like a “title card” to introduce the next part of the story. The author has included notes to supplement her research. I plan to watch a silent film now. I highly recommend this book.

My thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster, Gallery Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Last Collection: A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel by Jeanne Mackin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is there such a thing as literary fanfiction? There may be now! In The Last Collection, readers get to meet and become friends with two fashion icons, Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli. The protagonist of this evocative story is Lily and she tells us the events of the Paris of 1938 to 1939 in the first person which gives us a feeling of immediacy and connection with all of the characters in the book, real and fictional.

As the author tells us in her interesting and informative notes at the end of the book,
“The 1930’s was a golden age of couture and it was dominated by one city: Paris, and the city was dominated by two women: Chanel and Schiaparelli. Into a world of fabulous soirées, over-the-top costume balls, and quiet moments at the bar at the Ritz comes Lily, an American teaching art in England. She has received a cryptic telegram from her brother, requesting her to meet him at 2 pm at a café in Paris. She goes and her quiet, sad life changes just as quickly as the mannequins change outfits at the couture houses.

From the title of the book, to the foreshadowing in the story, we know that the Paris of 1938-1939 will not last long. Even as the characters clutch at the beauty and joy of Paris, they are also scheming- can the Nazi Von Dincklage (a real person) save Coco Chanel or his other lover who is a beautiful Jewish women? Can Schiaparelli save her daughter? And what of Lily’s own love affair? Lily’s friendship with both designers grows and so does her ability to handle life.

The detail and writing in this book is exquisite. From a study of the primary colors, to the operation of the designing world, to how the museums of Paris saved their artwork, the book is absorbing and moving. Did you know that ‘copy houses’ hired ‘sketchers’ to act as spies during fashion shows? They had to be able observe, memorize and then draw the new fashions certain to sell well, when no one was looking. A good sketcher could earn as much as 400 francs from a single two-hour showing of a collection. Fascinating.

The author gives us just as much insight into the creative vision and design abilities of Chanel and Schiaparelli. I would have loved to have seen photos or drawing of their creations. Imagine-a shoe hat! This book benefits from the literary style of writing and from the powerful depictions of the main characters. My only slight disappointment was that the book ended so suddenly. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for a review copy. This is my honest review.

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Montauk by Nicola Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

American author F. Scott Fitzgerald gave us a cast of characters living in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The Great Gatsby, acclaimed by many as “The Great American Novel” still resonates with its themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the American Dream, circa the Roaring Twenties.

Debut author Nicola Harrison presents a fresh version of these themes and high society life on Long Island. The year is 1938 and the town is Montauk, a sleeping fishing town awakening to its potential as a playground for the wealthy. Life after the 1920’s was hard because of the Depression, but the socialites of 1938 are feeling optimistic as they begin their summer season at a new hotel. Like many other couples, Beatrice has come with her husband of five years, Harry Bordeaux, from Manhattan to Montauk. He assures her that this will be a time for them to reconnect.

But Harry, like the other husbands, leaves his wife and takes the train back Manhattan. The men will return to play in Montauk every weekend. During the week, Beatrice must make her own way in the hierarchy of women- dealing with committees, teas, galas, tennis lessons and cocktails on the beach. She makes friends with the modern and level-headed Dolly. Beatrice wants to be a good and loyal wife and support her husband, but the empty society life makes her feel detached and restless. She is drawn to the more down-to-earth working class townspeople, yet she doesn’t fit in with that world either.

As she and Harry continue to drift apart she learns about the unsavory side of him. For Beatrice the striving world of Manhattan, with its greed, and social climbing, its teaming crowded streets, contrasts with the natural beauty and freshness of Montauk and the simple qualities and strength of the townspeople.

The author has given us a haunting, evocative story propelled by deep and well-developed characters. We see Beatrice faced with the monotony of the summer and we feel her weariness as she struggles through the slowing-moving days, filled with trivial activities. We can sense the heat, and hear the ocean as Beatrice seeks to respond to her awakening desire for love. Her sunny and vibrant days getting to know a lighthouse-keeper contrast with the closed-in darkness and tension of dinners and parties with her unstable husband. A massive storm at the end of the season leads to a troubling, yet fitting conclusion. This women’s fiction, with its literary quality, is well-written and will appeal to many readers who want a meaningful book to read. Recommend

I received a digital review copy from St. Martin’s Press via Net Gallery. This is my honest review.

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