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Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Book Reviewed: The Garden on Sunset: A Novel of Golden-Era Hollywood, by Martin Turnbull

The paradise at Sunset Strip

This is a work of fiction where historical figures from the Hollywood silent era intertwine with imaginary characters. The story is set in the famous (? infamous) Garden of Allah, a haven for the Hollywood elite. This was the place where a celebrity could have nonstop, uninhibited fun to the wee hours of the morning. The Hollywood wannabees would hang out at the nearby places such as Schwab’s Pharmacy across from the Villa to be noticed by someone important so that they can live out the dreams in film industry.

This is a novel of friendship between three people who come and stay in Garden of Allah to find success as screenwriters. Marcus Adler, Kathryn Massey and Gwendolyn Brick. They meet very famous men and women; Alla Nazimova, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Tallulah Bankhead, George Cukor, Studio and casting directors. Adler like to make acquaintances with a quintessential personality like Nazimova. Known for her flamboyancy who lived in a grand style surrounded by lesbians, gays and couple in lavender marriages. She was also a very influential person to know if one wants to succeed in movie industry. Life at the Villa was at its fullest. Sexual experiments crossed the boundaries of gender in unrestricted form, at the Garden of Allah, a residential complex demolished in 1959.

This book recollects the history of Hollywood through the eyes of three residents. Stars like Alla Nazimova, Harpo Marx, Sergei Rachmaninoff, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Errol Flynn, Ginger Rogers, John Barrymore, Tallulah Bankhead, Kathryn Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and at one time even Albert Einstein stayed here. This work takes back readers with its exciting history in the form of a fictional story.

The writing of this volume is about average, and the story does not get into any exciting part of the history. This book is the first of the seven book series and it is recommended to readers interested in fiction and the history of Hollywood.

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