Review coming soon! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

I really warmed up to this book — it started off a little slowly and then just became more and more intriguing with every chapter ending with a lovely last line to cap it all off.

Dual timelines — an isolated set of cottages on the beach at Carmel in 1957. Smack in the center of the darkest times of McCarthy’s blacklists and the slow strangulation of Hollywood, a young starlet on the verge of being the next Grace Kelly, is sent to wait in one of these cottages by the studio manager and all around fixer. Told to stay indoors and not be seen, she nevertheless meets her neighbor, the enigmatic Leo — a black listed scriptwriter with a haunted past. In 2018 we follow Gemma, whose beloved grandfather has just died and left her his cottage.

The story slowly unfolds, past to present, and while I often thought I knew what was happening, I was often quite wrong. The writing style is rich with thought provoking commentary and reflections. Hollywood — the deals, the norms, the restrictions, the cheats — is on display with all of the detail that I love — not just a description of events, but a description of the people living through those events and how they are changed, what they do to survive, what decisions they make (and sometimes regret, and often don’t). It’s the full experience and incredibly well-researched. I learned a lot about the different ways people dealt with the blacklist and (of course) the very different ways men and women had to deal with opportunities, threats, and restrictions.

Along with this spectacular depiction of the times and contexts is a lovely and often surprising story of love, family, parenthood, and friendship. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are multiple lovely stories of people finding love and family in a world not inclined to make it easy for them. Plenty of stories of people living in an environment not of their choosing and not in their control — and yet … finding their happiness.

Lots of intriguing details on Carmel and Hollywood — late credits for blacklisted screenwriters, a form of “me too” throughout the ages, morals clauses (for women only). I enjoyed every minute of it.

This is an exquisite novel. When Gemma returns to grandfather’s house to dispose of his ashes and possessions, she walks into the the history of the incredible life he lead and secrets that reveal the agonizing periods he survived. She also meets people very close to her grandfather, young tech mogul Sam and the older actress, Isabella Ginori. And thereby hangs a tale!

As a reader I was enthralled as Gran’s life story unfolded. He was known as Chazan, and the story of his taking his name was revealed. The novel also unfurls the story of the struggling young actress, Isabella. The echoes of their friendship resonate through the lives of Gemma and their neighbor Sam. The exploration and consequence of that relationship linger into the current relationships between the characters.

In essence, this marvel of a novel ties together living through the Holocaust, HUAC blacklist and the ME TOO movement. Even with all of these forces, the author manages to braid them together seamlessly.

I highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful novel as well as a social history of the period. I believe that this novel will provide a basis for rich discussion in book groups and modern history seminars. Meg Waite Clayton has written a novel which should appear on the BEST of 2025 lists.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read, review and enjoy this novel.