ROCKTOBER REVIEW: Last Night at Chateau Marmont: by Lauren Weisberger

Description

Brooke loved reading the dishy celebrity gossip rag Last Night. That is, until her marriage became a weekly headline.Brooke was drawn to the soulful, enigmatic Julian Alter the very first time she heard him perform “Hallelujah” at a dark East Village dive bar.Now five years married, Brooke balances two jobs—as a nutritionist at NYU Hospital and as a consultant to an Upper East Side girls’ school, where privilege gone wrong and disordered eating run rampant—in order to help support her husband’s dream of making it in the music world.Things are looking up when after years of playing Manhattan clubs and toiling as an A&R intern, Julian finally gets signed by Sony. Although no one’s promising that the album will ever hit the airwaves, Julian is still dedicated to logging in long hours at the recording studio. All that changes after Julian is asked to perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno—and is catapulted to stardom, literally overnight. Amazing opportunities begin popping up almost daily—a new designer wardrobe, a tour with Maroon 5, even a Grammy performance.At first the newfound fame is fun—who wouldn’t want to stay at the Chateau Marmont or visit the set of one of television’s hottest shows? Yet it seems that Brooke’s sweet husband—the man who can’t handle hot showers and wears socks to bed—is increasingly absent, even on those rare nights they’re home together. When rumors about Brooke and Julian swirl in the tabloid magazines, she begins to question the truth of her marriage and is forced to finally come to terms with what she thinks she wants—and what she actually needs.

About the Author

Lauren Weisberger is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. The film version, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, won a Golden Globe Award and grossed over $300 million worldwide. Her second novel, Everyone Worth Knowing, was also a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City with her husband.

Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Atria; First Edition edition (August 17, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439136610
• ISBN-13: 978-1439136614

Source:  Public Library

LOVED IT

So what happens when you have struggled to support that musician boyfriend and he hits it big?  Lauren Weisberger does a credible job about bringing together the tabloid press, the publicists and managers who believe any press is good press and the family of the famous who become collateral damage.  Brooke falls in love with Julian after hearing him sing and in a slightly stalkerish way, follows him around NYC.  But Julian feels the same about her, so it is all good.  Except when the new found fame takes him on a whirlwind tour of performances, press and parties.  He gets lost in the commotion that he is creating and Brooke is at the bottom of his to-do list. 

This is well written and the dialog sounds so realistic that it turns into a very quick read.  Of course there is conflict when pictures emerge of Julian with another women and Brooke finds herself in the limelight.  I did find a few things that nagged me about story.  Julian doesn't call when he is supposed to and there is no real help for Brooke in combating the tabloids that are now on her tail.  I just find it hard to believe that Brooke is left out in the cold and Julian provides little support.  Brooke is the real star of this book and it is nice to see that good behavior is rewarded.  I definitely recommend this one to any lover of chick lit.