HOLLYWOOD AND VELVET

In Towner’s novel, an out-of-work actor becomes a personal assistant to a daring, outlandish, and unpredictable former movie star.

Three years ago, Christian Meier scored a starring role on a TV show, only for the series to be canceled after eight episodes. Since then, he’s had little work, and nothing at all in recent months. Luckily, his agent, Gordy Roark, has a job lined up for him, although it’s decidedly unorthodox; Christian is to be the personal assistant to Velvet Duval, an Oscar-winning actor who’s currently blacklisted, due to fallout from a disastrous affair. He’s initially reluctant, but the pay is great, and the job could ultimately boost his acting career. However, at Christian’s first meeting with his new boss, Velvet is standing unabashedly nude, aside from a straw hat, in her lavish garden. His eight-hour days are unusual, to say the least; they may involve simply watching movies with Velvet, or could involve sitting alone in her dining room, waiting to be summoned. She ranges from expressing genuine interest in his life (as when she asks about his four years in the Army) to lacing her comments with condescension (as when she bars him from her mostly absent husband’s editing studio, as it’s “off limits to the help”). However, as Christian and Velvet start to confide in each other, he finds himself starting to trust her, despite her volatile nature. Towner delivers a surprisingly earnest tale of capricious fame. There’s no question that movies and TV are tough industries for actors. This novel, however, is less scathing than it might have been. For starters, Velvet is more impudent than spiteful; she’s often pleasantly surprising, as when her fondness for literature and creating her own art is revealed. Although the author’s unadorned third-person narrative centers on Christian, Velvet is effectively a co-lead, and they find common ground in and outside their shared profession. Likewise, their backstories are enthralling, with each wishing to reconnect with estranged loved ones. There’s more than one graphic sex scene, but they’re not prolonged, and the story’s ending is sure to stay with readers.

A remarkable portrait of Hollywood that alternates between drollness and profundity.