dcrawfor's review
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bargainsleuth's review
2.0
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I love a good historical fiction novel based upon real persons and events to see how one author interprets a well-known person’s life. In this case, we have two well-known people, author Truman Capote and socialite Lee Radziwell, who was also Jacqueline Kennedy’s younger sister. Since this is a Kennedy-adjacent fiction book, I was optimistic I would like it.
However, I was sadly disappointed in how the story was presented. The reader meets Marlene, the fictional former cook/cleaner/personal secretary, looking back on her life. Then there’s a series of flashbacks involving Radziwell and Capote, and most of the time they don’t even involve Marlene, so it’s this weird point-of-view that doesn’t work because you’re wondering how she knows about these conversations verbatim. The structure of the story would have been much better had there not even been a fictional character, or introduce her at the beginning, then do an actual flashback chapter or two, then gone back to the present.
Because the way the story was structured was confusing, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I could have. Truman Capote was a tortured genius with a wicked sense of humor, but I don’t think that came across with the unique way the story was structured. As for Lee Radziwell, she always seemed kind of shallow, and nothing this book presented made me think any differently about her. I’m sure it’s not true, and fiction is a good way to break stereotypes, but instead of shattering them, they’re reinforced.
There’s a twist at the end of the book regarding the fictional Marlene and at that point I just shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal, probably because I felt like this could be two books, Marlene was an interesting enough character to have her own book about her relationship with Truman Capote and his helping her become a better writer, and the other book could have been about Truman Capote and a few of his “swans,” the socialites who hung out with him, including Lee Radziwell. Unfortunately, the book we have is wholly unsatisfying and as vapid as the social set described in the book.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley, Kensington Books, John Scognamiglio Books and the author in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed are my own.
I love a good historical fiction novel based upon real persons and events to see how one author interprets a well-known person’s life. In this case, we have two well-known people, author Truman Capote and socialite Lee Radziwell, who was also Jacqueline Kennedy’s younger sister. Since this is a Kennedy-adjacent fiction book, I was optimistic I would like it.
However, I was sadly disappointed in how the story was presented. The reader meets Marlene, the fictional former cook/cleaner/personal secretary, looking back on her life. Then there’s a series of flashbacks involving Radziwell and Capote, and most of the time they don’t even involve Marlene, so it’s this weird point-of-view that doesn’t work because you’re wondering how she knows about these conversations verbatim. The structure of the story would have been much better had there not even been a fictional character, or introduce her at the beginning, then do an actual flashback chapter or two, then gone back to the present.
Because the way the story was structured was confusing, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I could have. Truman Capote was a tortured genius with a wicked sense of humor, but I don’t think that came across with the unique way the story was structured. As for Lee Radziwell, she always seemed kind of shallow, and nothing this book presented made me think any differently about her. I’m sure it’s not true, and fiction is a good way to break stereotypes, but instead of shattering them, they’re reinforced.
There’s a twist at the end of the book regarding the fictional Marlene and at that point I just shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal, probably because I felt like this could be two books, Marlene was an interesting enough character to have her own book about her relationship with Truman Capote and his helping her become a better writer, and the other book could have been about Truman Capote and a few of his “swans,” the socialites who hung out with him, including Lee Radziwell. Unfortunately, the book we have is wholly unsatisfying and as vapid as the social set described in the book.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley, Kensington Books, John Scognamiglio Books and the author in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed are my own.
meganpbennett's review
I won a copy of Such Good Friends from Kensington, along with some really cool swag. Such Good Friends is not my usual genre (I don't particularly like Real-Person Fiction, which this novel most assuredly is). But, since I won the book and it sound interesting based on the description on the back cover, I wanted to give the book a try, see if I'd like it. I did not. I made a journal entry after the first few pages, while I was still in the testing phase, and unfortunately, nothing changed. I found that the story was boring and what passed for plot was mainly an excuse for name dropping.
Thank you to Kensington for the book!
Thank you to Kensington for the book!
jodie_books's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
life_asabooklover's review
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
The author’s writing style is overly descriptive for my taste, including every mundane detail. The dialogue and name-dropping felt forced. And I don’t get why he chose to have the former employee of Lee Radziwell narrate and tell us everything rather than show us the story from Truman and Lee perspectives; it would have been so much better! I was so looking forward to this novel as I love Capote and novels that focus on high society/golden age celebrities but I couldn’t force myself to read more than a couple chapters, it was so dull
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