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I loved the writing in this book more than I loved the book itself. Marra‘s writing is clever and his turns of phrase stuck in my mind. A broadly scoped story about WWII refugees/immigrants making their way in 1940s Hollywood, this book perhaps spread itself too thin with too many characters and stories, but, honestly, the vivid and hilarious descriptions of the main character‘s Italian great aunts is worth the price of admission. March #bookspin

This was okay, but too long I think.
#roll100 @PuddleJumper

Just starting.

Ｂｏｏｋ░Ｍａｉｌ

Received a copy of 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 by 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚 thans to Hogarth Books, & will be reading & discussing it in conjunction with the BookBrowse Book Club Program! The story of a brilliant woman who reinvents herself to survive, moving from Mussolini's Italy to 1940s Los Angeles is described as “a love letter to life's bit players, a panorama of an era that casts a long shadow over our own.“

1. The tagged book is the first.
2. It took me 9 months to read The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and I read Les Misérables over 12 months.
3. Sticking to bookish achievements, I‘m quite proud to have read Der Zauberberg in German. It was difficult but fulfilling.

#WondrousWednesday. Thank you for the tag @Eggs ?

Feel like playing? Considering yourself tagged!

I liked this book. Some people think that it suffers by comparison with Anthony Marra‘s previous books, but I disagree. The writing is just as good, it‘s just that the subject matter is not as stark. I loved the intertwined stories of all the characters suffering from varying forms of oppression, and struggling to maintain their identities. I haven‘t read much about WWII Italy or the restrictions on foreign-born Italian-Americans - interesting.

It‘s taking me a long time to get through this book. I‘m enjoying it, despite my snail‘s pace. I guess it suffers by comparison with A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, but then, what book wouldn‘t? The writing is still wonderful.

I found this one rambling and hard to get fully engaged in. There were some great sections with clever dialogue, interesting history, and complex characters. It had all the components that usually grab me, but for some reason, this one didn't work for me, and I had to make myself keep returning to it. It was my April #Bookspin, and one more from my shelves I can check off my list. @TheAromaofBooks

It was hard deciding what book took the top spot in February but not as hard deciding which book would advance. #2023readingbracket

Whew, Marra did a ton of research for this book and it really shows. Hollywood during WWII—the politics, the propaganda—wasn‘t something I knew much about. I liked how the dialogue was often sharp and witty, much like the films of the era. I also appreciated how the questions he is asking are equally relevant today. How can the stories we tell be used for good? How might they be manipulated to harmful ends?

#ToB23 #BOTM

“At the intersection of Hollywood and Highland no one went by their real name. There were the marquee stars and matinee idols, the tubby comedians in tight suits, the actresses in bumper bangs and evening gowns, the jubilantly costumed, haphazardly sober, the unrecognizably transformed…The tragic immortals: Jean Harlow, Peg Entwistle, Carole Lombard, Rudolph Valentino. All the beautiful ghosts are out. They line the street. They welcome you home.”

A sweeping epic tale of immigrants to Hollywood from europe during WWII. This felt overwritten to my ear. If the novel focused more on one story, it would have been more effective for me. An OK read. #Tob23 #52bookclub23 #abookeveryonehasread
@Clwojick @bookbelle @jennifer80 @Librarybelle @triplem80 @AshleyHoss820 @LauraReads @KarenUK @britt_brooke @CarolynM @Smarkies @LeeRHarry @Read4life @Bluebird @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @ravenlee

While I didn‘t love this as much as “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” (it certainly didn‘t flow as well), I‘m a sucker for meticulously researched historical fiction with interesting characters. I grew up in Utah and didn‘t know about German Village!
#ToB2023 #ToB23

My last book for #tob23 and, despite being wary after all of the mixed reviews, I really liked it. The examination of the lives of workers at a second tier Hollywood movie studio during WWII. They are immigrants, refugees, and American born minorities, each with a vivid backstory and each with their own struggle in the world of movies and the world outside. This felt like a epic cinematic saga. My first by Marra and I am looking forward to more.

I only made it to about 30%. I realized I didn‘t care a bit about what was going on and barely followed the characters. It wasn‘t terrible, but life is too short. My second bail (1st was Manhunt) for the #tob2023

I am not going to finish this one. It is so long and it feels as if I‘ve read this story a thousand times before. I am being very critical about what I‘ve been reading lately. I am reading a lot but nothing really memorable. I think I should take a break from contemporary American/English fiction for a while but I probably can‘t! #ToB23

I went into this with a lot of trepidation after reading a lot of mixed reviews, but I really liked it. Although it was definitely a bit meandering, most of the characters were so well-written I found myself just enjoying the tour. A strong contender for #tob23! #BOTM

It‘s a tale of two #tob23 #tobshortlist books! I think I am in the minority with really liking the tagged book that follows a motley bunch of refugees that all become part of a WWII-era movie production company. It lacked focus, but the language was lovely (sometimes slightly overly constructed) and the story(ies) were poignant. BUT am I am really struggling with the next tob shortlist on my list, The Violin Conspiracy!

I‘m grateful that my bookclub, #ReadWithSharon, selected this book for our January 2023 read. It was very interesting to learn about the movie industries in their early stages. I was especially intrigued to read about the impact that WW2 had on the movie industry. This book had a lot of characters! I grew fond of a few, especially the female protagonist, Maria. She was extremely strong.

Ostensibly a story about the (mostly emigre) production staff of a Hollywood B-movie studio in the 1940s, the substance of the book is its examination of propaganda, prejudice & the many shades of Fascism, delivered in excellent witty writing. Many thanks @Lizpixie for the gift of this book.

I really liked this historical novel about Hollywood and immigrants during WWII. #botm

A tale on the movie industry during WWII. It was witty, but I did not like the plot.

This book is beautifully written with great wry humor and some parts that I found absolutely riveting. But, ultimately, it just didn‘t hang together well for me. There are too many off-shoot storylines structured in a way that it‘s jarring to go back to something else. If not for #tob2023, I think I would‘ve bailed.

Thanks to @Centique who gifted me two credits to #Libro 😘This one has #mixedreviews from the #ToB23 shortlist crew. My expectations are low-ish so we‘ll see. Using for #52Books23 #Alliteration

A very soft pick for me. Clearly this was well researched, but it never felt real; rather factoids strung together to make an overstuffed novel. OTOH, it felt like a labor of love and that love for each character and their story shone in virtually every sentence. Also, my expectations were very high, maybe too high. Set in Italy and Hollywood during WWII, the book can be summarized by quoting Hamilton, “Immigrants (we get the job done!)” #Tob2023

Soft pick. This epic novel with multiple intersecting storylines is very well written (I love the dark humor and the full-circle nature of many of the scenes), but it's perhaps a little too sprawling for me to feel entirely invested in any of the characters. The perspectives portrayed are different than those we (those raised in the US education system) usually see during this time period, which is a refreshing change. #tob2023

One chapter in, this one is really promising. I wasn‘t expecting the wry humor! I snorted in the first paragraph. Excellent start!

Going into this read I had low expectations because it just didn't appeal to me. Since it made the list for #ToB23 though, I tried to be open-minded and ended up pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It's a like, not love for me. Marra does have some beautiful writing and great characters in this 40's era Hollywood tale, which kept me intrigued from the start.

Liked but did not love this story about Hollywood in the 40s. Told from multiple viewpoints and spanning continents, with beautiful writing. But even though it seemed epic, I did not feel attached by the end.

Barnes & Noble book haul - 50% off hardcovers today!

A 1930s-40s era Hollywood studio specializing in B movies provides a basis for exploring multiple immigrant narratives and the long-term effects & changing shapes of Fascism. We get rich histories of Mercury Picture's Italian, German, Polish, Chinese-American employees & how much an American artform was shaped by European emigres. Less a WWII novel than a novel about the power of propoganda. Marra looks to the past to give insight on our present.

Dallas! Thank you so much for my wonderful #jolabokaflodswap package! So much yummy goodness! I‘m glad I‘m off from work for the next week and I can hunker down and dive into it all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours! 📚🎄🎊

Liz, you are an absolute gem! I love it all, but I already know the Litsy mug will be the best present I get this Christmas 🤩🤩🤩 Thank you so much my very generous friend.
#JolabokaflodSwap

I clearly didn‘t read the blurb on this one as I expected it to be a slightly fluffy look at Hollywood film-making but it‘s nothing of the sort.

Maria immigrates to the US just before WWII and we see her back story, and her life as she becomes an enemy alien on US soil.

This was very cleverly written, weaving in the stories of other ‘outcasts‘ into a drily witty tale.

#tob

It's early days (18%), but I'm really enjoying this one.

The amount of research Marra did for this book is evident in this story that outlines what took place in the US and Italy during WW II. Details large and small, some somber and some lighthearted, move you along the journey of what it means to make it through a war. The role of movies during that time was interesting as well. This story has a large cast of characters and I cared about all of them.

Halfway through this one. This book is soooo different from his last two books. Even though, like his other books, he points out the fickleness and cruelty of people in power, this feels lighter than his previous book. The humor is deceptive. It took me a while to recognize it as such until I found myself chuckling unexpectedly. I really like Marra‘s body of work.

I loved this epic novel set in Mussolini‘s Italy and 1940s Hollywood. Rich, textured prose & larger than life characters make it compulsive reading. The settings are brought to life with a mix of realism & nostalgia. I loved the energy, the strong women & sense of humour. A fun, generous book. Highly recommended.

Everything Anthony Marra touches turns to gold. In his third novel, Marra turns his eye to war-time Hollywood and Mussolini‘s Italy. Censorship and the artful construction of histories and fictions are at the heart of this novel. Marra‘s exploration of the porous border between these two kinds of stories is complex. Constructed histories, and constructed fictions masquerade as and become each other on national, international, and personal scales.

I cannot wait for the workday to be over (people are SERIOUSLY trying my patience today), but at least I have a good book to keep me company. 💖 #mercurypicturespresents #anthonymarra

I‘ve seen some reviews that said this book didn‘t hold the reader‘s interest, and I struggled with reading a sample of the first chapter myself, but so far I‘m glad I tried out the audio version. I‘m not very far in, but I find the commentary on both fascism in Italy and early Hollywood censorship pretty intriguing! #BOTM

Anthony Marta doesn‘t churn out books fast, but this one was equally as good as The Constellation of Vital Phenomenon. Although the time period is WWII, it‘s not your average WWII story. I loved getting the backstory on all the characters. Definitely worth the wait! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mercury doesn‘t have the gravitas of his prior books, but this story of immigrants finding their way to a Hollywood film studio during WWII has its own charms. He mostly managed a big balancing act with many MCs and subplots.

Mercury Pictures is trying to become a big-time studio like RKO, but infighting between the two brothers who own it may stop things. However striving young immigrants like Maria, Anna, and Vincent may drive them to the top.

This book follows multiple immigrants that have come to work in Hollywood leading up to WWII. The perspective is interesting, but there are so many tangents off the main story that it gets a bit congested at times. But Marra‘s prose is beautiful and he is effective at creating a rich atmosphere for his characters. I highly recommend the audiobook as the different voices and accents help you follow the multiple characters and storylines.

I find Hollywood of the 30s and 40s fascinating so I was intrigued by this immigrant story where so many worked on those famed lots in the lead up to the American entry into WWII. I liked the history and the fictional characters had potential. There were just so many characters that I didn‘t think they were written to their full potential. It could make for a great limited series though!

August was another great book month for me! I had so many amazing reads that picking just one wasn‘t easy. I went with “Mercury Pictures Presents”, but this spot could‘ve easily gone to “Palisades Park” by Alan Brennert or “The Roosevelt Women” by Betty Boyd Caroli. Marcellus from “Remarkably Bright Creatures” moves ahead 😍🐙🧡 #ReadingBracket2022 @chasjjlee

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thoughtful, atmospheric exploration of family, love, loyalty, guilt, & redemption focused on foreign emigrés‘ experience in WWII-era Hollywood. Marra is a master of balancing dark stuff with humor. Loved every second of it!
In other news, we adopted a kitten earlier this month! This is Cinderella (Ella). She‘s added much cuteness to our household. ? #Littenkittens

https://youtu.be/wwEe8OPbPCE

VeeLog

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex by Oksana Zabuzhko, Halyna Hryn (Translator)

Something to Answer for by P.H. Newby

Took myself on a date to my local wine bar. Excited for this new-to-me book. 🍷 🧀 📚 ☮️

I loved this book! I borrowed a copy from the library, but I‘m going to buy it because this is totally worthy of a re-read. It‘s hard to pick a favorites character because there were quite a few, but that‘s what made me love it 😊 A five star read in my opinion 👍