Leah
Written on May 19, 2011
I’ve heard lots about Tilly Bagshawe, her sister is Louise who also writes Chick Lit novels, and she has quite a few fans. However, I generally don’t like the big blockbuster novels because usually there’s just so much going on that there needs to be a cast list at the start of all of the books! However during 2011, I’ve been getting into them more and more – Hollywood Sinners by Victoria Fox, the upcoming The Strip by JJ Salem, Daddy’s Girls by Tasmina Perry and I’ve found them to be wonderfully exotic novels that allow me to fully immerse myself in the fiction. So when I received Fame earlier in the week, I was thrilled. I thought it sounded brilliant and where else to start with my first Tilly Bagshawe novel than with her latest book? Let me tell you, I bloomin’ loved it.
Fame is a rather massive novel, coming in at just under 500 pages, but let me tell you, every single page is worthy of being in this novel. I absolutely breezed through the novel, and if I’m honest, I am kind of surprised at how much I loved the book. I thought the plot was fantastic, the suspense is there right from the first page as the Prologue of the novel begins at the Oscars ceremony before spooling back to right before Dorian Rasmirez’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights is even filmed. We’re slowly introduced to all the players in the novel. There’s Sabrina Lyon, a wildly talented actress who’s a bit of a wild child; Viorel Hudson, saved from a life of poverty in Romania by his ‘saint’ of a mother; Tish Crewe, who runs an orphanage in Romania and whose father owns Loxley House; Dorian Rasmirez, the director of the Wuthering Heights remake and then there’s Harry Greene, Dorian’s huge rival, who’s desperate to take Dorian down! Those are the main characters in the novel, although there are plenty others like Tish’s son, Abel, Dorian’s wife and daughter, and other characters like that.
I must admit, every time I read a novel like this, with so much going on and so many characters I feel as if I’m going to hate the characters. And then I’m surprised when, actually, I like them. Because most of them are actors (or in Dorian’s case a director), they’re obviously not like you and me. Because they’re rich! And famous! And beautiful! And although Sabrina, Viorel and Dorian are all of those things, Bagshawe writes them in such a way that although they have many faults, they are human beings. And although I didn’t agree with much of what they did, I found myself liking them anyway, despite myself. They’re all very larger than life, but they are all presented in such a way that people like us, when reading the novel, can sympathise with them rather than hate them for being ungrateful rich people. Tish is probably the most normal of the characters and I found myself entranced by her story. I loved her son, Abel, he was such a cute little character. As the novel neared its conclusion, I found myself rooting for them all to get their happy endings. I generally don’t expect love stories in books like this, but there were some brilliant ones during Fame!
Fame is set in Derbyshire, LA and Romania and Tilly has undoubtedly done a lot of research into all of the areas. The glitz and glamour of LA compared to the stark and poor Romania was shocking and eye-opening. I’ve never read a novel set in Romania before, and I found it fascinating learning all about the children who are orphaned or put into care or are in need of Tish’s help. It did rather put into perspective just how grateful the famous people should be to be so rich and well cared for. I thought the setting in Derbyshire was amazing. I absolutely loved every page that was set in the Crewe’s ancestral home Loxley Hall. I could imagine the filming playing out really easily, with the brooding fog and wide expanses of land and the crumbling family pile. I could see Sabrina and Viorel in their costumes as they filmed. Many a time, you don’t get a feel for a novel’s location, but in Fame you really do. Tilly mentions in her acknowledgement that she and her husband run a charity named FRODO to help young Romanian children and her passion for that runs clear during those scenes in Romania. The book is even dedicated to two children she met (Abel and Viorel) and I think that is one of the sweetest things ever, it really puts your in life into perspective when you’re able to learn about somebody who has a much worse life than yours.
This book blew me away. Tilly’s ability to spin a wonderful novel are in abundance here and I just kept turning the pages, wanting to read more, more, more. It is definitely a novel people will be taking on their holidays this year, because it is indeed a definitive beach read. It seems wrong to call it a beach read, actually, because yes you can read it on a beach but it’s not a trashy novel at all. I honestly have no complaints at all about the novel, I loved the characters (most of the time, anyway), I thought the locations were perfect, and the writing was superb. Tilly wipes the floor with most writers out there, her prose is just immense. I will be eagerly buying up Tilly’s previous novels and I will be eagerly awaiting her next read. I can see why she’s so popular, it’s hard to have a story that flows brilliantly from beginning to end, but Fame does that and it does it easily. The pages just whoosh by and I was sad to see it finish, although the finish was superb, too. I am a total sucker for happy endings and anyone else who loves happy ending will be more than satisfied with Fame. It has it all, it really does.