Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow– 352 pages
Book Blurb:
In 1937 Hollywood, gossip columnist Sheilah Graham’s star is on the rise, while literary wonder boy F. Scott Fitzgerald’s career is slowly drowning in booze. But the once-famous author, desperate to make money penning scripts for the silver screen, is charismatic enough to attract the gorgeous Miss Graham, a woman who exposes the secrets of others while carefully guarding her own. Like Scott’s hero Jay Gatsby, Graham has meticulously constructed a life far removed from the poverty of her childhood in London’s slums. And like Gatsby, the onetime guttersnipe learned early how to use her charms to become a hardworking success feted and feared by both the movie studios and their luminaries. A notorious drunk famously married to the doomed “crazy Zelda,” Fitzgerald fell hard for his “Shielah” (he never learned to spell her name), a shrewd yet soft-hearted woman—both a fool for love and nobody’s fool—who would stay with him and help revive his career until his tragic death three years later.
My Review: 4 stars
Another Side of Paradise has all the glitz and glam of Hollywood that you would expect in the 1930s. I know little about F. Scott Fitzgerald, besides the basics, crazy Zelda and author of The Great Gatsby. Learning about him was the impetus to pick it up from my TBR pile. As much as I love historical fiction, this time period is one I often avoid. Not sure why, but in this book, I really enjoyed it.
The author definitely did her research and it shows throughout the book. Although I learned more than I knew about Fitzgerald, it was Sheilah that I learned the most about. Her uprising to major successes, while Fitzgerald was plunging into a downward spiral made for an interesting pair. She started as Lily Shiel, a Jewish girl from an orphanage. Who knew? Sadly, Scott suffered with alcohol as his own demon, and when he binged, he became verbally abusive and pure mean. This part became a bit repetitive as it happened again and again and again.
Movie stars and films were peppered generously throughout the novel that made the 30s come alive. I really enjoyed the romance between the two because who doesn’t love a complicated love story. I found myself lost in Google as I researched even more about Sheliah, Scott and Zelda. I think it’s always a good read for me when I’m triggered to learn more about the characters.
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