Celebrities In Disgrace
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Inspired by a society obsessed with celebrities, Elizabeth Searle explores the glittery-dark underworld of 'hopefuls,' those who have been given the slightest hint of success — or even imagined success — and who are hungry for an audience, of any size. Ranging from a woman's relentless pursuit to be an actress despite her tendency to faint onstage, to a disintegrating family who comes together if only to watch the imaginary lives in a soap opera, these stories capture the thrill and lure of fame and our insatiable need for it.
Joanne Wilkinson of Booklist wrote: “In this vivid, distinctive short story collection, Searle has some disquieting things to say about the nature of fame and how it both feeds and distorts relationships. Searle, author of the acclaimed novel A Four-Sided Bed (1998), is a skillful writer with a gift for creating atypical characters and themes…”
And, from Andrew Ervin of the New York Times: “The characters in Elizabeth Searle's new collection, Celebrities In Disgrace, don't jump off the pages so much as cling to them for dear life. An avalanche of sexual tension propels these narratives… The title novella…is a miniature masterpiece that holds a dirty mirror up to our often obsessive fascination with the rich and famous. Searle examines the tenuous relationship between one's public and private personas. Many of her characters are most comfortable in front of a camera or some imagined audience, and they gladly accept the personal compromises that accompany fame, or even infamy…”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A short story collection can be strangely uneven, as if several authors had contributed instead of one. Such is the case with Searle's (A Four-Sided Bed) slim second collection, composed of a novella and four stories. In the title novella, the infamous Nancy Kerrigan Tonya Harding scandal is reheated and served up. Celebrity-obsessed teenager Daniel Sanders is stalking smalltime actress Kathryn Byrne, who desperately yearns to be cast as Kerrigan in the TV movie chronicling the skating divas' tabloid past. While Searle's descriptions ("He stapled his face over hers"; "Then the ice, the whole rink tilted, dumping her") are sharp and clear, the rambling narrative is in need of some thoughtful pruning, and what clever social commentary she makes is upstaged by awkward pacing. The two stories that avoid the celebrity satire theme are the collection's true starring vehicles. "What It's Worth" is well developed and straightforward, and features likable single student Brigid, who wields sex like a weapon to fend off her loneliness and insecurities. The last tale, "Celebration," is a moving slice of life. Eager to have a baby, spouses Sarah (young) and Paul (older) reluctantly celebrate Paul's 52nd birthday, a reminder that yet another infertile year has passed. Their circumstances are tempered by skillfully applied humor (Sarah envisions their life as a series of tabloid headlines), creating a warm authenticity underscoring Searle's talent, yet undermining the stories that preceded.
