The Blonde
Book Summary
From the New York Times bestselling author Anna Godbersen and Alloy Entertainment, a chilling reimagining of the life of Marilyn Monroe that is part biography, part love story, and part thriller.
Marilyn Monroe is at the height of her fame, the object of the world’s desire. Attention is her drug, the very definition of who she is. Her own wants and needs have become fleeting at best, as if she sees herself only through others’ eyes. But there is one thing Marilyn still wishes for beyond all else—to meet her real father. That’s the part you already know, the legend—but here’s the part that’s never been told.
In Anna Godbersen’s imaginative novel, set at the height of the Cold War, a young, unknown Norma Jean meets a man in Los Angeles—a Soviet agent? A Russian spy?—who transforms her into Marilyn the star. And when she reaches the pinnacle of success, he comes back for his repayment. He shows her a photo of her estranged father and promises to reunite them in exchange for information: Find out something about presidential candidate John F. Kennedy that no one else knows. At first, Marilyn is bored by the prospect of, once again, using a man’s attraction to get what she needs. But when she meets the magnetic Jack Kennedy, she realizes that this isn’t going to be a simple game. What started with the earnest desire to meet her father has grave consequences for her, for the bright young Kennedy, and for the entire nation. The Blonde is a vivid tableau of American celebrity, sex, love, violence, power, and paranoia.
My review
I wanted to really like this book as it sounded different from the Marilyn Monroe stories that are out that. I have not read a lot of stories on Marilyn but still everyone is familiar with her story. However not the fictionalized one about her being a spy. However I found the storyline moving extremely slow. It seemed to take me forever to read a page or two. Like trying to run through quick sand. It just does not work out well. Marilyn did not jump off the pages for me. Thus she is the main focal point of the book and if she and I could not get a connection, then there was no sense in me attempting to finish this book.
Anna Godbersen, author of The Blonde, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe and Bright Young Things. Anna grew up in Berkeley, California, graduated from Barnard College, and lives and writes in Brooklyn, New York.
For more information please visit http://www.annagodbersen.com/ and follow the author of Facebook and Twitter
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