4% Famous: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schoeneman (of New York magazine) writes a fast-paced, seductive first novel that follows three gossip columnists immersed in the chaos of Manhattan celebrity life. When 22-year-old Kate Simon takes a job at the New York Examiner, her college roommate, "Zoe Miller of Fifth Avenue," becomes a welcome resource, as do fellow columnists Tim Mack and Blake Bradley. As Kate adjusts to a world where she and her colleagues "get paid to be the last ones standing" at celebrity shindigs and good press is exchanged for free goods, she reveals herself as neither an ingenue nor a socialite, but an endearing outsider looking "to succeed at gossip enough that she'll be able to get out of it." Her public snafus provide laughs without turning her into a clown, and her colleagues avoid easy caricature as well, as Tim has to face the "mattress" (that's a model/actress) he's impregnated and Blake deals with his disapproving father, whom he must help out of a tax scandal. It's to Shoeneman's credit that there are few happy endings, giving the proceedings a tone several shades darker than similar media-girl-in-the-city stories. This is an unforgiving portrait of fame from the underlings' point of view with Schoeneman the Bret Easton Ellis of chick lit. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

The recent scandal at the New York Post couldn't have come at a better time for this début novel; Schoeneman, a former Page Six contributor, makes much of the perks, freebies, and quid pro quo of the gossip game. Her heroine aspires to be an investigative reporter but has a job as the "legs" for a weekly column, trawling the party circuit for tidbits of rumor. The plot is unashamedly formulaic: girl meets dashing, on-the-rise chef; chef breaks girl's heart; chef fails miserably while girl finds happiness with the boring but decent guy who was there all along. Schoeneman's occasional attempts at social critique—for instance, the observation that very thin girls may be on Ritalin—come off more like life-style tips, and the novel's many veiled references to actual people make it read something like an extended blind item.
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307237478
• ISBN-13: 978-0307237477
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,271,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing book, dated gossip, August 6, 2006

By	Glamorama "Glamorama" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4% Famous: A Novel (Hardcover)

I found this book pretty disappointing (and I totally agree that a lot of these other "reviews" are very fishy). I was really prepared to like this book. It looked clever and funny. Out of a book like this, you don't expect much more than some juicy celebrity gossip and maybe some biting social commentary. I was disappointed that I didn't really find either here. The writer, to me, didn't seem very in touch with the scene she was covering.

The problem with covering people who are only "Four Percent Famous" in a tell-all book is that by the time the book is published a few years later, the people are probably Zero Percent famous and the gossip in the book is very dated and irrelevant. This book basically contains "gossip" that anyone in New York, and probably even people outside of New York, has already heard and is probably no longer interested in.

For example, the main focus of the book is a gossip about a character clearly meant to be Rocco diSpirito and how nervous he is about the opening of his restaurant. Other "juicy" items include a big story on the closure of Moomba coming as a surprise to its investors. I don't know too many people who still care about either of these things. Even if they did, I am sure they would want a little bit more in-depth and interesting gossip about these subjects. All the rest of the gossip in the book is similar to this - several years dated, not very juicy, and about people who most people would say are no longer that relevant on the New York scene.

To me, the book was so tedious and obviously dated (constant references to Beyonce's "Crazy Right Now" didn't help the dated feeling) that I almost couldn't even get through it. It just wasn't a great or juicy book. The extra star is for the one bit of juicy gossip I liked in this book - that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen say "Prunes" when having their photo taken. That was funny. More stuff like that and this book would have been a fun read.

I feel bad writing this review, because I really wanted to like this book, but, especially in light of all the pretty "fishy" reviews here, I thought I had to warn people expecting something really juicy that this book didn't deliver. Better, snarkier, more relevant fictionalized accounts of celebrity with some more interesting gossip can be found in the books Chore Whore (funny LA A-list gossip) and Glamorama (Bret Easton Ellis's account of the NY scene is years old but still way more relevant than this).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars should be glamorous, merely dull. , March 16, 2007

By	Matty (Manhattan Isle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4% Famous: A Novel (Hardcover)

This novel is virtually unreadable. There is too much exposition, and of a sort that makes me think that every character (and every quip) is a thinly veiled and unimaginatively retold from the author's own life -- invented characters would not be nearly so dull or indistinct. It's unfortunate because there probably is a rich vein of story here, but the depths have been left undisturbed.

She's certainly been there, but lacks the skill bring her life to life on the page, and has little perspective or irony to offer in the telling. Thoroughly dissapointing.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good summer read, June 11, 2006

By	Shelby Speedracer (Canada/USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 4% Famous: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just finished this book and found it quite good. Not being a New Yorker, many of the blind references were lost on me, but this did not take away from the story itself. Schoeneman's behind the scenes narrative was both engaging, and a sarcastic poke at our societal obsession with celebrities. If you enjoy authors like Candace Bushnell, you'll probably enjoy this.