I Could Be Famous
Stories
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue. Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Debutiful.
"A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising." --George Saunders, Booker-Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo
From a magnetic new voice in fiction "made for this moment and for those coming of age within it" (Jonathan Dee), a debut story collection following ten ambitious women and one male superstar as they pursue their desires--however deluded--for more.
A listless woman befriends an influencer at a rooftop party, only to discover her lifestyle is not as glamorous as it seems. A college freshman gives the world's longest blow job to a boy whose name she's forgotten. A fan-favorite reality TV star joins a dating app after an explosive breakup, ready to move on, but finds she's in control only when cameras are rolling. While working in a hot tub showroom, a struggling actress goes method so she can nail an audition for the role of High School Junkie Girlfriend. Threaded throughout these explorations of neuroses and aspirations is one Arlo Banks, a hotshot actor who faces his own downfall when he's accused of cannibalism.
From the dazzling to the mundane, Rende's unnervingly astute stories hold a mirror to our obsession with how we're perceived and our ache to be adored. Above all else, I Could Be Famous is a love letter to big ambitions and bigger dissatisfactions, belief in ourselves, and the fascination we hold with the idea that we could--somehow, someday--be famous.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rende debuts with a nimble collection of 11 stories that dart from one blearily ambitious and deludedly self-assured young woman to another with occasional detours into the life of former child star Arlo Banks. In "Nothing Special," Jane, bored with her boyfriend and her receptionist job, sends a DM to Banks, claiming they'd make a good match. She then befriends a beautiful influencer named Ramona, who helps Jane boost her follower count. Jane hopes Ramona will help make her famous by matching her with a celebrity, only to discover that Ramona has actually been grooming her for sex work. Arlo takes center stage in "Trick," "fabulously depressed" after a breakup and accused of gnawing off someone's pinky toe ("Cannibal or Not, Arlo Banks Is Still Hot," reads a tabloid headline). In the darkly funny and emotionally searching "Lopsided," narrator Lauren faces the fact that she really wants to leave her boyfriend, who has just donated a kidney to her, but doesn't know how to ("It was as if he had gotten down on one knee and said, Take this kidney and love me forever, or die," Lauren thinks). Throughout, Rende demonstrates a fond regard for her characters, despite their dubious choices. Readers won't be able to help cheering them on.
