There is no shortage of WWII novels, and what distinguishes this one is the connection to the movie industry--specifically, the community of European refuges who work at Mercury Pictures during the early 1940s.

Mercury Pictures is a B-level studio on the cusp of bankruptcy that makes sensational movies--including movies bordering on propaganda , which begin to change its fortunes as America enters the war. Staffed largely by emigres who cannot get jobs at the larger studios (German miniaturists, anti-fascist Italian photographers, and Italian associate producers), Mercury Pictures is helmed by twins Artie and Ned Feldman, who take different approaches to securing the studio's fortunes--ultimately leading to their professional downfalls.

The novel takes us back and forth from Hollywood to Italy and Germany, across Los Angeles to desert terrain in Utah. In addition to covering a lot of geographic ground, we dip in and out of the lives of a cast of characters almost too numerous to track. And to add yet another layer, we are sometimes cast into the past or propelled into the future to see the full impact of this period on these various lives. What binds all the characters is how fortunes change through the war, rising and falling as new opportunities open to some and invisible barriers based on race, nationality, political affiliation, and gender constrain others.

It's a good book, but perhaps not the most memorable. Even while reading it, I would forget who some of the characters were simply because there were so many passing across the page. Maybe that was part of the point--that the war affected so many beyond those typically represented in novels about this period--but it was hard to connect to any of the main characters deeply. Also, many of the people we're position to connect with--Anna the German miniaturist, Eddie the Chinese-American actor forced to play evil Japanese characters on screen--simply fade of the narrative at a certain point.

Mercury Pictures Presents is worth the read for those interested in old Hollywood or unusual perspectives about those living through WWII.

Reel People of the Real War

“Mercury Pictures Presents” is a five star triumph. It is a rich and complex story, deep in characterization, yet there is no lagging, no time when you think exposition has created a slow detour. Everyday people populate the pages, people who have their hands full just dealing with the events the world is forcing on them.

The Mercury Pictures movie studio is a second-tier Hollywood outfit struggling to get by in the years just before World War II. We open on an amazing cast of characters from the studio head to the actors and the crew– mostly recent immigrants from Europe. These people have left their homes behind, loved ones and stories of regret only ever-present memories.

Anthony Marra takes us back to their European roots and fills us in on the reasons which tore them away. There are very real ghosts carried to America–ghosts living or dead who echo the guilt of those who abandoned them. No matter that most departed because of fascist persecution, there is always someone left behind.

Cutting back to America, there are punishments for the original sin of owning roots in countries on the wrong side of the war’s breakout. Italians, Germans, Asians of all nationalities are treated with suspicion and are subjected to restrictions on travel and employment. It is time to stay in the shadows.

The hard times here are tempered with a wealth of humor. The wise-cracking studio founder, Artie Feldman, is a character the Coen brothers could do wonders with. He has six toupees mounted on mannequins in his office, each a larger size than the previous one, each with a different name and personality. His assistant, Maria Lagana, is the unrecognized and underappreciated strategist keeping things afloat. She lives with her colorful old world great-aunts who are hysterical in their eccentricities. An example is the description of their reverence of patron saints. The saints are each represented by a small figurine the aunts pray to when something is needed. If the prayers seem unanswered or slow in fulfillment, little hints will show up– perhaps a threatening hammer will be left casually beside the figure as incentive.

On the flip side, this is a time of war and there are frightening reminders of the horrible mindset we are dealing with. The armed forces went to a great deal of trouble designing and testing a bombing pattern which could efficiently suck firestorms through heavily populated civilian areas. Hollywood’s talent lent their skills to designing actual scale reproductions of Berlin neighborhoods. The goal was mass destruction, the maximum body count. We are reminded that during low-altitude bombing runs over Japanese and German cities our pilots wore insectile oxygen masks to avoid passing out from the smell of burning human flesh. And these are the good guys.

The World War II era comes alive in this novel, not just the fighting itself, but the blanket effect it had on everyone. Marra’s perceptive portrayal of everyday characters draws us into the lives of people struggling to find a foothold in a world which has collapsed on itself. Initially I thought this would make a great movie– but I doubt a film could do it justice and I will be content to keep a hold on these characters through these pages. Hmmm… maybe the Coen brothers…

Thank you to the Random House Publishing Group, Hogarth Books, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #MercuryPicturesPresents #NetGalley.

I just could not get into this book. It seems hard to follow and the author uses obscure words in the writing.

The central character of this book is Maria, an Italian immigrant living in Los Angeles and working for Mercury Pictures. While Maria deals with her guilt over exposing her father’s politics in Italy just before WWII causing his imprisonment, she manages to work her way up in the movie industry eventually becoming a producer which was unheard of for a woman during this time period. Several side stories within the book introduce the reader to the struggles and successes of other immigrants working in the industry and we also learn about the prejudices and restrictions imposed on them during wartime. We also learn more about Maria’s father, Giuseppe who is “imprisoned” in San Lorenzo, Italy as a political prisoner and confined to staying within the town limits as the German army rules the area.
I was intrigued by the concept of a WWII story with a focus on what was going on in Hollywood and American immigrants at that time. I see from reading other reviews that other readers thoroughly enjoyed the book. Unfortunately, the various stories mostly fell flat for me. I found the movie industry angle mostly boring and the characters very unlikable, including Maria even though I did admire her ambition. The best part of the book was Giuseppe’s story in Italy and I wished there was more focus on him. But I’m certain that this book will appeal to some readers especially lovers of WWII fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for the Advanced Reader Copy.

Mara’s new novel, Mercury Pictures Presents, did not do it for me.

The story is primarily set in 1940s Hollywood with flashback narratives dedicated to the main character, Maria, and her childhood set in Italy. The novel tackles poignant topics such as emigres, war propaganda, identity, and assimilation. While the novel adds a fresh perspective on World War II narratives, the writing makes the story a slog to get through. The prose is lyrical, and at times beautiful, but mostly it’s so superfluous that sentences loose meaning. Everything is a metaphor with a roundabout way of saying something, and with no direct story telling it was grueling to finish. Additionally, I know Mara likes a sweeping novel, but the plethora of characters were not seamlessly integrated into this story. One character slowly reached a dead end in his narrative and just rode off into the sunset (see now he’s got me using metaphors). He also embedded “wrap ups” for characters when their story ended. It’s like when you watch a movie based on real events and you get the “where they are now” paragraphs at the end - that’s what this book did, repeatedly, mid narrative.

Overall, I am frustrated by this book. The premise is incredibly promising and the snippets in Italy kept me reading. I was not invested in any of the Hollywood characters and wish I could have read an entire novel about San Lorenzo.

3.5 stars, rounded up. Anthony Marra takes us on a charming, intermittently affecting jaunt through early-1940s Hollywood, with frequent narrative digressions following one character or another elsewhere in the world, mainly pre-war and wartime Italy. Marra remains an impressive writer. His character descriptions are excellent, full of humorous and inventive turns of phrase, and the general prose often sparkles. For a book whose subject matter often strays into the disheartening and fatalistic (hey, it's an immigrant story in WWII-era America: that'll happen), it's a surprisingly funny book all things considered. But, just when you're starting to have fun, Marra punctures the jovial atmosphere with moments of searing pathos -- another great skill of his, but it does create some mood whiplash. At least some of those moments of pathos are heartwarming and not only heartwrenching.

I've been reading this novel off and on for about a month, and just can't get sufficiently engaged to keep going. I've read and enjoyed ten other books while going back and forth with this one, so it's not a reading slump, but perhaps just not a book for me. The story meanders through time and different locations, and each time I begin to get interested in a character or a plot thread, it moves on to something completely different. I absolutely LOVED Marra's earlier novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, so was very eager to read this new one. It's not terrible, just not a book that compels me to return to it. I won't be posting this review online, as I don't want to discourage other readers who may enjoy this book more than I did, but it's time for me to move on

Mercury Pictures Presents is a story that revolves around Maria Lagana, an Italian immigrant to Los Angeles, and a movie production company trying to escape censorship during the late 1930’s-1940’s. The movie company is a refuge for many European immigrants trying to escape discrimination and the effects of World War 2 in Europe. Maria becomes an executive assistant/ producer for Art Feldman who owns Mercury Pictures with his brother, Ned.
The backstories of Maria and several other characters are interesting and interconnected through Maria. Her father remained a political prisoner in Italy. She continues to write him frequent letters.
As the war goes on, the movie company survives on producing propaganda films and hiring many immigrant actors. I enjoyed Anna’s story as a miniaturist and her escape from Germany. I also enjoyed Nico’s story.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, although at times it was slower
. It was an interesting perspective of the 1930’s- 1940’s from the Hollywood perspective and the difficulties of those who immigrated to the US during pre World War 2 and throughout the war.
Thank you for this free ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book. I have always been intrigued by the world of Hollywood and it was interesting to get a glimpse of what it was like in the olden days.

This was my first book by Marra and I loved his style. The story is sweeping and the language is beautiful, often funny. The complex lives of the characters created an engrossing read that kept me turning pages. One of the stories set in Italy dragged and I had trouble keeping track of the characters in that section. But the other angles of the story were interesting and I really enjoyed this fresh angle on the WWII-era.

As grand as the movies the fictional studio produces, Anthony Marr’s latest book, ‘Mercury Pictures Presents’ is a sweeping story that centers in Hollywood while shifting from Italy to Germany, from the deep south to the far west. It has all the built in scaffolding for a towering mini series on a premium cabler, or a terrific movie after some serious cuts. The main character in this sweeping time capsule of a story is Maria Lagana, a young Italian woman from Rome who immigrates to the US and ends up working for the head of Mercury Pictures, a small upcoming studio that hopes to compete someday with the big boys. In her personal life, Maria secretly dates an Asian actor who struggles to be seen as a leading man, fighting against the stereotyping that would relegate him to either villains or disposable sidekicks to the main star. Marr also takes us back through her childhood, with a life changing incident that led to she and her mother leaving their homeland and her father behind. With so much going on you could imagine a large cast of characters and you’d be spot on. They drift in and out of the endlessly flowing tapestry which at times feels excessive, for example when a young Black soldier is introduced nearly three quarters of the way through the narrative and then his story is gone fifty pages later.
As well as incorporating World War II and Pearl Harbor, Marr attempts to cover the multiple ways the US has failed in its promise of All Men Are Created Equal, a promise that still has woefully fallen short to this day. Drawing so many direct parallels with our current country what struck me so much while reading this was how little we’ve learned as a nation, and how we are forced to relive history when we don’t heed its lessons. From fascism, to propaganda, nativism and acts of shocking racism, we’ve been here before and clearly are meant to be here again. Ultimately this book was a mixed bag for me. I loved a lot of it, and think at it’s core there’s an interesting story here despite the incredibly verbose writing that forced me to get very familiar with the dictionary on the kindle.
I also felt the story could have had the same amount of resonance with less. I wanted to have an emotional connection to these characters and kept waiting for that payoff that should have been there but never quite hit it for me. I think in large part this was because by books end it wasn’t about just one woman anymore, but so many other people whose journeys had to be wrapped up as well, creating some overall fatigue. I liked enough. Just not a home run. Thank you to @hogarth and @netgalley for the advance copy. #MercuryPicturesPresents will be released on August 2.

I don't have enough words to describe how I feel about this book. I LOVED it! This is a book that I will reread many times. It is beautiful! I can't stop telling everyone they must purchase it and read it as soon as it comes out. My favorite book that I've read so far this year!!

I enjoyed the characters and clever writing style but found myself getting lost in the many storylines at times. It took me a while to get through so that didn’t help ‘keeping up’. Very interesting underlying plot. A 3.5 star book but couldn’t round up in the end.

A World War II novel that didn't feel like a WWII novel. There are a LOT of characters and stories in this book, and I really liked the way Marra sort of zooms in on one and then zooms back into their past and tells the reader how they ended up here.

I was pretty sure I knew how Marra would tie up the central story line, and I was right, but the scene still made me feel something. Sharp and lovely writing throughout. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

As hard as I tried I couldn't connect with this book. Interesting themes: Hollywood in the 40s and Italy during Hitler's take over. However, the characters are too cardboard and therefore not interesting. May give it another try later on but there is too much else to read.

I really wanted to love this book. Marra writes with great style and wit, but, unfortunately, the story moved too slowly for my taste and I kept putting the book aside in favor of others.

I struggled to get into this story, even though I am and will continue to be a fan of Anthony Marra. Thank you for the opportunity.

Anthony Marra’s latest book is a must-read, and maybe more than once. Mercury Pictures is a failing Hollywood studio that is trying to make it to the next level. It is up against a lot of problems: finance, the advent of bigger studios, censorship, materials, the looming WW2, the Hollywood “game,” racism, sexism and of course the personalities trying to make a go of it. Each character has a story to tell that Marra weaves into a wonderful tapestry of the late 1930s and 1940s with some hints as to the future. The prose set my highlighter on fire with delight. Geographically the book takes the reader to California, Germany, Italy and Utah…..and something is learned at every stop. When a character is introduced, I wanted to stay with that storyline, but then I was whisked away by another character to a different location and time….and I loved that, too. This was a great reading experience reflecting the past and challenging what we have learned from it. Seriously great insight, humor and drama. Loved every minute of it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

Mercury Pictures is (at best) a B-movie studio, making low-budget pictures and barely breaking even. Studio head Artie Feldman releases a film loosely based on the Faust legend that is reviewed as a load of manure, until the attack on Pearl Harbor six months later. Following Pearl Harbor, the movie is seen as profound and prophetic, a must-see for all Americans. Art mirrors life and history in this portrait of studio politics, paranoia, revenge, inequality, the meaning of family, and life on the American wartime home front. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

I’m a serious fan of Anthony Marra (his remarkable, greatly moving novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is one of my half-dozen all-time favourites), so I was very keen to get my hands on this. (Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.) There must something that appeals to Marra’s psyche in creating worlds swept up in war and having his large cast of characters reacting to the stresses. His last novel was set in Bosnia during the early 90s, obviously a dangerous and dreadful place to be. This time we have a sweeping epic moving between the fascist-ridden Italy of the 1920s and 1930s and Hollywood before and during the Second World War. Maria Lagana as a little girl and her mother leave Italy in the 1920s to live with relatives in Hollywood because Maria accidentally exposed the secret writings of her father, a famed defence attorney before the fascists cracked down and made any dissent indefensible. He was arrested and sent to an impoverished southern village for an indefinite period of internal exile (confinato). It’s Maria’s story we’re largely concerned with here; the years pass, and she ends up as a producer (as a woman, forever underpaid and uncredited) at Mercury Pictures, a second-tier studio of formulaic B pictures run by founder Artie Feldman, in a constant battle for control with his twin brother. The setting allows for an exploration of multiple strands and themes. Maria’s lover is a Chinese-American actor, but they have to hide their affair because of the miscegenation laws. Because Chinese characters in Hollywood movies are played by white actors with taped eyelids and heavy makeup, he is forced to enact Japanese villains, at great risk to himself when drunken sailors recognize him from the movie they’ve just seen and, forgetting it was just a movie, plan to exact revenge. Maria works at the studio with an ever-growing community of European emigres who fled unfriendly regimes but are now being ostracized or rounded up as enemy aliens. Nino, an Italian itinerant photographer, shows up to fill her in on some of what happened to her father, who rescued and educated him as a kid and enabled him to escape Italy with a false identity. And so on.

Marra’s supple prose (there ate some beautiful sentences and turns of phrase here) is in service of a great story, with a colourful cast of characters well-drawn, flaws intact. There are some fascinating vignette, including one in which a German artisan working at the studio is grabbed up by the American government, in spite of her enemy alien status, to assist in a full-scale recreation of Berlin in the desert to help calibrate the incendiary bombs for a more successful fire-bombing than they’ve been able to achieve this far. (Apparently, this actually took place.) I really enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it, though it fell a bit short of his truly sublime previous novel (it almost had to, really.)