So we promise not to dwell on the obvious.........how this book's publisher chose to stupidly market it as as thriller..........dumb, dumb, dumb.......
So let's move on and deal with the book for what is really is......
Laura Sims crafts a simple, swift meditation on the cruelties of fate.......
Simply put..........how come most of us struggle,scramble and scrabble for whatever nuggets of happiness and comfort we can grasp.........as we watch the parade of celebrities in the public eye lead lives of Midas-like wealth, constant accolades and the adoration of millions?
So sooner or later, overwhelming envy and jealously overtakes us........and deep down, we nurse anger and resentment at those randomly chosen to lead charmed lives......
In one of our all-time favorite novels, author Nathanael West envisioned an entire seething populace of people like this in "Day Of The Locust", driven to rage by the promise of dreams beyond their grasp.....
But in 'Looker', Laura Sims hones in one individual woman, an un-named character whose marriage, hopes and dreams have come undone, As her own now solitary life comes apart, she's taken to spying and stalking one of her neighbors, a fabulously beautiful and successful film actress.....(also un-named, but you can insert your own....Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, etc, etc)
On the surface, it sounds like a standard recipe for a thriller, but it's ultimately just a sad, sad tale, that careens, step by step to an ending that's expected, unspectacular and realistic/
When you reach this climax, you realize this was a book designed to make you wince and cringe, not pump up your adrenalin.....
Ignore the idiotic marketing, it's no thriller.
We'll say this in its defense.......Sims unfolds her story in what reads like brief, easily digestible chunks of journal entries. If you're willing to take this tragic little ride with her, it should only take a few hours to get through.....
Whether you want to, well.....you decide. You can take a certain measure of suspense out of following this pathetic character's unraveling and what it brings next......... but there's no thrills to be had here.......just sighs and solemn head shaking. 2 & 1/2 stars......for the drama only.
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