Love Will Tear Us Apart (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: New York, Brian Understahl, Sloan Madden (more...)

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Product Description

Two's Company

When thirty-five-year-old celebrity journalist Sloan Madden is asked to write a biography of Grammy-winning pop princesses Flora and Fauna Sparks -- sexy seventeen-year-old Siamese twins who are joined at the hip -- she thinks it'll be an easy, lucrative gig. But as soon as she takes the job, Sloan discovers that the Sparks sisters' empire hides deep cracks. She's barely signed her book contract before Fauna confesses her secret dream: she wants to record a solo album.

Three's a Crowd

Moving into a guest suite at the Joint -- the symmetrical Beverly Hills home the twins share with their Bud-sucking father, Fred -- perpetually single Sloan can't help but start to view her own life differently. Suddenly everything from the affair she's having with debonair screenwriter Brian Understahl, to her unrequited love for her best friend, Travis, to herodd, burgeoning desire for the twins' troubled father leaves her wondering whether couplehood isn't overrated -- whether there isn't something more to life. But redemption comes at a price. And with Flora and Fauna pulling her into their downward spiral of catfights, career sabotage, drug abuse, sex, and jealousy, Sloan stands to lose as much as she has to gain.

About the Author

Tara McCarthy is the author of Been There, Haven't Done That: A Virgin's Memoir. Her work has appeared in Seventeen, Mademoiselle, Glamour, and Good Housekeeping, and in the Downtown Press anthology Cold Feet. Tara lives with her husband in Astoria, New York. Love Will Tear Us Apart is her first novel.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; Original edition (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416503242
• ISBN-13: 978-1416503248
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,653,341 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping dark comedy, September 3, 2005

By	tverona (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

Love Will Tear us Apart was recommended to me by a friend who received a review copy. It absolutely floored me. It starts out fun and very light (McCarthy's fine prose is what kept me reading at first - plus the 'where the hell is this going' aspect) but gradually it takes a turn towards the darkly comic and eventually tragic. The ending works like a strong kick in the gut.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The most original chick lit in ages, October 21, 2005

By	A Reader (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

I have to admit, I raised my eyebrows when I read the description of this book online. A humorous novel about Siamese twin pop stars (think Britney Spears, umm, twice) seemed to border on poor taste. But when I saw it on the display table at the bookstore, I started reading the first page and was intrigued enough to buy it, and I did enjoy it. There's definitely a good deal of black humor (Letterman's Top 10 Songs for Fauna to record on a solo album: "Everytime You Go Away (You Take A Piece Of Me With You)"), but the author has also created some intriguing characters here. Flora and Fauna have distinct, strong personalities and this is a fascinating look at their unique kind of sibling rivalry. Ed, their alcoholic father/agent, could have been portrayed as evilly domineering or a complete buffoon, but instead he is a human being who loves his daughters but has his flaws. And Sloan, the writer recruited to move in with the twins and write their biography, starts out annoyingly self centered, constantly whining about being single and losing the man she thought was the love of her life, but comes to love the girls (and maybe their father) and genuinely care about their well being. The four become, as Sloan herself says "a dysfunctional family".

I would have given it four stars if not for the disappointing ending. It just seemed tacked on as a way of avoiding tying up the many loose ends that were left dangling. Otherwise, a good light read, definitely the most original chick lit plot to come along in ages.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't forget the website!, November 18, 2007

By	Tiffany (Lexington, Ky, USA) - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed this book, i picked it up on sale and thought that i would never actually read it (pop stars? blegh!). i ended up being floored by its complexity, and just by the thought of Siamese twin pop stars. i also liked how it was placed in real time, making references to jay Leno and Britney spears. and don't forget the website that was mentioned on the back of the book! if you go there they have downloads of three of the Sparks Sisters' songs (even though they aren't real, which makes me wonder where they came from and if the author isn't writer/songwriter/musician). I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed, and their suicide/accident wasn't thoroughly explained.