VENGEANCE

by Leslie Caron ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 6, 1982

Twelve short stories by the French-American film star--most of them thin and heavyhanded, often with a crushingly unsubtle irony at the close. An illegitimate child takes homicidal ""Vengeance"" on the feckless father who ruined her mother's life. A little girl with divorced parents runs off in search of home and Daddy--only to end up the victim of a psycho-murderer (who himself has been unhinged by the loss of a parent). There are glimpses of violently unhealthy romantic relationships (""The devil was making love to his creature""); the brief life story of ""Charles-Henry,"" a Simenon-ish fellow who (like Ms father) allows himself to be hurt by an unfaithful wife. And, for those looking for show-biz backgrounds or autobiographical snippets: a sketch of a self-involved matinee idol; Caron memories of boarding-school, of early ballet days (the simplest, best piece here); and labored treatments of Hollywood crassness--especially ""Stardom, at Last,"" in which a career-obsessed woman puts work ahead of maternal feelings (her premature baby is ill) and finally loses out completely on both counts. Slight vignettes, crude fables, with a few shrewd lines and distinct images popping up amid the strained US slang: some fans may want to thumb through, but most will probably prefer to wait for a Caron memoir.

Pub Date: Aug. 6, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION