Reviews

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

emmabeckman's review against another edition

3.0

Liked the writing a lot, but the story didn't work for me like Tsar of Love and Techno did.

cakefairy's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Slightly too many characters makes sense in this tale of Hollywood excess.  

gallagherjill's review against another edition

3.0

If you are into American history in WWII this is for you. There are simply too many characters in this book. I couldn’t get interested enough to keep them all straight. I love a strong female lead however, so I appreciate those portions of the novel.

gluegunner's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

another absolutely devastating, lifechanging hit from marra

sarahevonne's review against another edition

4.0

I truly enjoyed this book (4.5 stars), however, I found the title of the central studio distracting: Mercury Pictures evokes Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater and there’s only a glancing (yet darkly funny) reference to Welles in Marra’s Hollywood setting. Perhaps a bit nit-picky, but such a misplaced (and unacknowledged) reference stands out awkwardly in an otherwise wonderful book.

cooperca's review against another edition

The novel starts strong when we're introduced to Maria and the inner workings of Mercury Pictures during the 1940s as WW2 looms. But then the novel's focus takes us away from this storyline and starts to meander. The storyline couldn't keep my interest and after about page 100, I just didn't want to pick up the book and returned it to the library unfinished.

Wasn't for me.

boesbooks4's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

erickibler4's review against another edition

3.0

There are entertaining anecdotes galore here about the motion picture industry, wartime Italy and Germany, a clandestine project in Utah, etc. But what the book lacks is a through-line. There are many stories, but no one story carries the book. It seems like tons of research in search of a story.

I found the part about the young man who escapes from Italy to be the most interesting.

brandidean's review against another edition

4.0

There wasn’t much plot to this, but it was a good story anyway. I kind of love that no side character is too small for Mara to give you their full backstory and tell you how they eventually die at home reminiscing of that time they saw a son hugging a mother on a porch step. It’s so meandering, in a lovely way.

crazytourists_books's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Εντάξει, μπορεί να μην είναι ούτε Αστερισμός ούτε Τσάρος, αλλά είναι ένα ωραία γραμμένο, ενδιαφέρον μυθιστόρημα. 
Υπάρχουν κάποια στοιχεία που θα ήθελα να ήταν λιγάκι διαφορετικά, αλλά πέρασα πολύ ωραία ως την τελευταία σελίδα, και τέλος τέλος, αγαπώ τον Marra και θα τον αγαπώ για πάντα.