Secret Celebrity [Paperback]

Carol Wolper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

After a decade in the business, Christine Chase is a freshly divorced thirty-five-year-old filmmaker suffering from a professional and personal slump. The answer to all her problems? Richard Gault, the famously elusive, mythically cool actor/musician-and the perfect documentary subject. But first Christine has to find the guy-even if it means looking under every wannabe, coulda-been, shoulda-been, has-been, never-was, and never-will-be in the wonderful widescreen world of Hollywood.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although not technically a sequel to Cigarette Girl, Wolper's second novel reads like part two of her treatise on the cult of celebrity. Struggling filmmaker Christine Chase is the protagonist, rather than Cigarette's screenwriter, Elizabeth West (who makes a cameo appearance), but their personalities, attitudes and voices are identical. Sexy yet hard-boiled Christine is "an L.A. thirty-five"-meaning not quite adult by typical standards-who's stuck in a rut after the dissolution of her six-year marriage. She spends a lot of time at the newsstand buying tabloids from William the "Magazine Guy" as they gossip about the famous one minute and vilify Hollywood for its shallowness the next. Herein lies the crux of the novel: its characters' schizophrenic love-hate relationship with the glitzy world they inhabit. Christine's idol is Richard Gault, a reclusive musician/philosopher/actor/rebel who never sold out. He shunned the limelight after a touch of fame in the 1970s, before mainstream success could spoil him. Christine is inspired to find him and to document her quest for HBO, so like a Hunter S. Thompson in Gucci stilettos, she begins the search. Getting to Gault proves to be more difficult than Christine had expected, provoking theplaintive introspection, "was I just another Hollywood dreamer hustling a bad idea?" Writing in coolly conversational staccato prose that reads like a collaboration between Jackie Collins and Mickey Spillane, Wolper provides Christine with many theories and maxims, which fluctuate between refreshing and pretentious. The narrative features plenty of tough talk, references to licit and illicit drugs, and unapologetic sex. For readers expecting too much, the novel will seem, in Christine's words "as unfulfilling as a fake orgasm," but others will enjoy it as a quintessential beach read.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Cigarette Girl Wolper revisits Hollywood with this story of a thirtysomething filmmaker trying to pull together both her professional and her personal lives.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573229911
• ISBN-13: 978-1573229913
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,465,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SEXY AND SAVVY - YOU'LL BE HOOKED AT FIRST BLUSH, July 9, 2002

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secret Celebrity (Hardcover)

Following on the 4 inch heels of her deliciously addictive first novel "Cigarette Girl" (1999), California screenwriter Carol Wolper presents a hip and hysterical look at Hollywood. "Secret Celebrity" is smart and sassy, sexy and savvy - you'll be hooked at first blush.

A 35-year-old newly divorced film maker, Christine Chase is not down at the Manolo Blahniks but down in the dumps. Her life, she feels, is at an absolute standstill. She needs more than spice, she needs a spur. That impetus, she concludes, would be a "whatever happened to" type of documentary focusing on Richard Gault, a once top singer/actor who seems to have disappeared in the 1970s.

Equipped only with a few old magazine articles and a record or three, Christine begins her quest. It's a madcap tracking game as we come to know her ex, James, "a personal manager - mostly actors and actresses - though probably no one you've ever heard of." He's now involved with a woman Christine has dubbed "Psycho Girl" due to a proclivity for throwing fits. James covers his ears and ignores the screams because "he's convinced she could be the next Julie Christie."

We are also introduced to the nubile Jennifer, a Starbucks fan and celebrity groupie, a victim of the "Hollywood virus," whose physical attributes are a 10+. Christine initially views her as "...the kind of girl who could be at a table, seated across from the person who had just discovered the cure for cancer, and her opening remark would be: `I love scientists. I hear Russell Crowe might play one in his next movie.'"

The cast of characters is both wild and wacky; the read is breezy, unadulterated fun.

- Gail Cooke

4.0 out of 5 stars Rare combination- quick read and good literature, December 8, 2003

By 

Manhattan Mom (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Celebrity (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this novel. THe story is generic- woman trying to make her mark in Hollywood before she gets too old, but it's the way that the story is told that makes it interesting. Christine is 35, about to get divorced, and in search of "it". Her new goal is to produce a documentary about Richard Gault, a "secret celebrity"- he was on the verge on huge success in the 70's, and then he dropped out.

As the story unfolds we meet her cast of characters- they are all artfully drawn characters. Wolper presents us with enough information to make them alive, without going into overload and boring the reader with the minute details of their lives.

The pace of the book is brisk- the lines funny, the character traits are very funny. It is exactly how I want to view a book about Hollywood- light, humorous, a little social commentary.

My only problem with the book is the amount of pop culture references that are thrown in- I realize that any book about Hollywood must include these, but they unfortunetly date a book- the book is out before it's even been published. Two years from now the novel will loose much of its potency, and that's a shame because it is a fun book.

5.0 out of 5 stars She does it again!, December 2, 2002

By 

TroutGirl "tivio2" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secret Celebrity (Hardcover)

Wolper has done it again. This book is just as fun and insightful as Cigarette Girl. I highly recommend this book as an entertaining read but also very wise and witty. I will absolutely be giving it to my friends at Christmas.