The Chrysanthemum Palace - Hardcover

"If "The Great Gatsby" were set in contemporary Hollywood, it might look a lot like "The Chrysanthemum Palace..".Bruce Wagner's earlier Hollywood novels, however brilliant, have been hard-edged, even snarly. But "The Chrysanthemum Palace" is both tender and tenderhearted...each character is endowed with a full ration of humanity. Yes, they're flawed, both the parents and children, the famous and the obscure, but they keep their dignity, even as destiny doles out its damnable tricks....This is certainly a roman a clef. But to play guessing games about who is who here is fair neither to the characters nor the writer. Also, and unexpectedly, this is a very funny book. The scenes on the set are marvelous. Parts of this novel convey pure, winsome charm, which makes the tragedy that much harder to bear. These are Americans, ensnared by their fate but gallant and brave to the end."-- Carolyn See, "The Washington Post"

Convulsive and poignant, THE CHRYSANTHEMUM PALACE is a tragic tale of friendship and fate writ large - a tour de force by a brilliant writer whose storytelling delivers devastating emotional impact.