Classical Music Composer: Boom And Bust

Fifth Novel Dept: From the title of her fifth novel, Simpson s first in a decade, you might expect a satirical romp sending up the giddy excesses of Tinseltown culture. In fact, the entertainment industry serves as a backdrop the author lives in Santa Monica, and she does know the territory but the story could take place in any upscale North American community where overworked parents rely on live-in nannies to help bring up their children, according to The Star. The telling is split between two first-person narrators. Claire is a new mother and classical music composer who has moved to L.A. with her husband, Paul, so that he can fulfill his dream of writing for television. The flip side is related by Lola, a 52-year-old Filipina nanny hired to look after baby Will. The mother of five grown children back in the Philippines, Lola sends most of her earnings home in order to bankroll their education and pay for a house and ah, Hollywood, the capital city of artifice and superficiality. It epitomizes boom and bust, glamour and sordidness, and it s a juicy setting for a story. Who better to deliver one than Mona Simpson, author of the blockbuster Anywhere But Here among other popular and critical successes? My Hollywood is a perceptive take on marriage and parenting among the affluent. It s also a sharp-eyed look at how those domestic helpers are treated and often mistreated and the impact of their presence in those households. As reported in the news.
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