Customer Reviews

The Celebrity

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There are several reviews before mine that tell you the basic story line so I will not repeat it again but I just had to leave a short review about The Celebrity.

I never heard of the book or even the author before but I am a sucker for books about small towns and the cover caught my attention right away. I read the little blurb and decided to take it home with me. Once I started the book, I was instantly drawn into the stories of Jamie and Anne. Two people from different worlds who managed to find their way into each others lives and hearts.

If you are looking for a heartwarming story about how God touches our lives then The Celebrity is calling your name.

Who was it who wrote: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive"? Nowhere is the truth of this more evident than in the life of Jamie D. Lane, handsome, rich, talented and idolized pop star.

The premise is not new: rich boy wants to see what life is like where nobody knows who he is. Usually these escapes are planned with the cooperation of at least one other person. But Jamie, while taking a break to tend to some personal matters, comes across some things that nudge him to try to go back to his roots. And he does.

There is no one in the world who knows where he's gone. He changes his appearance, cuts and dyes his hair, adds colored contacts, everything he can think of so he won't be recognized, and heads up to the Pacific Northwest-alone, and becomes Joe Bradley.

Jamie's self-imposed exile reveals more than he had originally intended to learn. He takes a minimum-wage job making donuts, lives with a group of Trappist monks and drives an old second-hand car, accompanied by a lovable pan-handling dog.

Anne Stewart, once a teacher of inner-city kids and former high-school track star, now lives in a caboose-turned-apartment behind her parent's donut shop. She is filled with harsh bitterness and hatred against the drunk driver who nearly ended her life. Now she works at a small Christian school as part-time teacher, despite her physical and mental limitations. When Joe Bradley volunteers to help her with the school musical production of Bye Bye Birdie, Anne's life takes an unexpected turn.

Joe Bradley aka Jamie D. Lane, is pulled into the life of the people of this small town. He actually enjoys making donuts, and finds strange comfort at the abbey with the monks. And, he discovers an irresistible urge to "help" - giving anonymously. The more he gives, the greater the risk of exposure. Working with Anne and the musical only increases his chance of discovery. But the real danger is that Joe/Jamie is starting to believe his own lies and deceits.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. Robert Elmer writes with such wit that you'll find yourself laughing out loud, and then he turns around and hits you with a zinger that brings real tears. The personal and spiritual journey of both Jamie and Anne is deep, and real. You will love them, laugh with them, and weep with them, but you will cheer them on. Well done, Robert.

Internationally renowned singer Jamie D. Lane performs the show of his life live from England, but near the end of the TV broadcast feels a need to see his dying mom. Jamie thinks back to fifteen years ago when his single mom worked as a hotel maid because she believed her beloved son had the "gift" of voice. He heads to Los Angeles to say goodbye though his mom will not know him due to advanced Alzheimer's. Miraculously she asks Jamie to take her home in Riverdale, Washington where her family lived and died.

Jamie needs to do this for his mom and for himself so he takes her ashes to be buried in Riverdale, but first cuts his highly recognizable long haired golden mane. In Riverdale, he uses the guise of Bradley. He meets middle school teacher Anne Stewart, who still recovers from a drunken driver smashing into her at 55 MPH. Soon Anne and Jamie fall in love, but he fears what will happen when she learns that he hid his real identity that of a celebrity from her.

If you have not read the inspirational tales of Robert Elmer you are missing a rousing treat. His latest tale stars two weary and wary people carry baggage. Their growing relationship makes for a fine DUET as each begins to realize what they lacked, caring for someone else who also nurtures them. Though actions by Jamie's manager seem to add unneeded suspense, Mr. Elmer provides a character driven inspiring tale that glues heart and soul.

Harriet Klausner

Many of us have wished at one time or another to just drop everything and run off and start over again...and that is what happens...but the discovery is that you can't run from yourself.

A famous pop star, burned out, devasted at his mother's death, simply disappears one day. He calls his manager and says he is going away for awhile. Jaime takes his mother's ashes and returns to her tiny home town. He somehow finds himself living in a simple bare room at a monastary while he works at a bakery. The townspeople do not recognize this famous singer. As he observes the townpeople around him, he becomes the mysterious Angel who when seeing a need, supplies gifts of roofs, pianos and bakery machinery. All the while Jaime is learning what he really wants in his life and just maybe who he wants in his life.

Annie has also returned home after a devastating car crash robs her of her self confidence. Annie struggles with short term memory issues and trying to learn how to rebuild her life. The mystery man who shows up and begins working in her father's bakery is a closed book. As she trys to learn how to live her life, she is encouraged by this man who can play piano beautifully, sings like a dream, and helps her with her school musical.

The book is a feel good story. How God works in our lives in ways that are so beyond what we expect or hope for. It was a fast read, pleasant. My only criticism is that it wound up very fast, suddenly Jaime is back in the limelight, his manager is gone, and the romance with Annie is just a tantalizing hope for the future.

"Fame lost its appeal for me when I went into a public restroom and an autograph seeker handed me a pen and paper under the stall door." - Marlo Thomas

So begins Robert Elmer's heartwarming book, The Celebrity.

When Jamie D. Lane, a singer "who's better than that Groban guy," faces a family tragedy, he realizes the spotlight he basks in nightly might be the headlight of a train bearing down on him. On the edge of a breakdown, and tasked with filling a loved one's last request, he disguises himself as "Joe Bradley" and disappears into small-town America.

Then he meets Anne Stewart, the victim of a traumatic brain injury, and his reasons for hiding his identity change.

Anne, a teacher and former track star, struggles with anger over the accident that changed her personality and her life. She's not the same person she was before, and she can't forgive the drunk driver who nearly killed her.

Forced to return to her hometown after the accident, she finds a job teaching at the local school, where she finds acceptance with her students in spite of her physical limitations.

When "Joe" starts working for Anne's father, he is instantly drawn to Anne. They both fight the attraction: he knows he plans to leave town, and she doubts his ability to love her despite her limitations.

Things start to unravel when Joe offers to help Anne with a school project, and she learns more about him than he intends. Will her discovery ruin their relationship or cement it?

Elmer does a fantastic job developing the relationship between Jamie and Anne. Both characters seemed so real, I felt as though I might know them from somewhere. I sympathized with Anne as she came to terms with her disability. Jamie's search for God touched me, and his kind-hearted nature warmed me. You'll be inspired and encouraged by the generosity of the story's mysterious Good Samaritan as well.

Watch for Robert Elmer's next book, The Recital, a sequel to The Duet, due out from Waterbrook June 2006.

LOVED IT!!!! I want a sequel...please!!!!
Must read.

I've always wanted to slip into the mind of a famous person who is truly unhappy with the life they thought they wanted. Through The Celebrity I did just that. Robert Elmer's story is engaging and pulls you right in. You see the world in a different way. The glamorous seems less appealing. The simple things in life have more pull. I enjoyed watching the change in Jamie D. Lane and I cried when he lost his best buddy Barkley. I was very satisfied with the ending and if you read this wonderful story, you will be pleased as well.

THE CELEBRITY is just one of those "oh wow" books that you have to experience. I couldn't put it down, and hated to see the story end. Jamie is just too real-and I totally fell in love with his character. I also felt for Anne and wanted to see her regain her sense of freedom.

Robert Elmer accomplishes in a story what some of us would like to do in reality--go for what our hearts really want. His characters take a deep look at where they are in life, where others want them to be, and where they want to be. Read The Celebrity to find out how Jamie and Anne fill their hearts desire. Good read.

Robert Elmer has succeeded himself with "The Celebrity." Jamie and Anne are characters with whom one immediately empathizes and the reader is drawn in to their lives with ease and welcome. The plot's twists and turns are believable and well-executed; the temptation to 'read just one more chapter' undeniable. Well done! Don't miss this one!