Luscious ... Lynch also deftly walks a line here between telling a blunt 'Me Too' story and serving up plenty of Turner Classics movie glamour ... Could've have used some trimming of its Cecil B. DeMille-sized cast; but, its unsettling central story dramatizes just how far the tentacles of the old studio system intruded into every aspect of actors' lives.
Ambitious ... ’Dare’s voice resembles that of a hard-boiled, wisecracking private eye ... Unfortunately, Do Tell spends too much time describing clothing, makeup and hair, and parties where precious little occurs ... The writing here is serviceable but flat ... There is nothing technically wrong with these sentences. It’s that they’re inert, lacking surge or spark. The novel is built of them ... Occasionally, a plaintive insight surfaces.
Pithy, sharp-witted comments jab directly at society ... Things get terribly messy, but the ending is surprisingly sweet, a poetic justice that is not at all what you would expect from the opening chapters, turning a book about Hollywood gossip and the patriarchy into one about love and how to find fulfillment ... A must-read.
Intelligent ... Though the pacing tends to drag, the dialogue and Edie’s narration are steeped in the rapid-fire rhythm of the era’s films, making for a convincing portrayal of the world they emerged from. Lovers of the silver screen will be drawn to this.
