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Book Review of AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY

AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY
AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY
Author: Rona Jaffe
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
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Helpful Score: 1


Clay Bowen is a successful Hollywood television producer with several cleverly disguised rehashes of established hits to his credit. He is also a self-centered, womanizing schemer who has been married to former prima ballerina, Laura Hays, for almost twenty years - although they have been separated for most of that time. Laura had retired from the dance world to have her daughter - the elusive and secretive Nina - then turned to drugs and developed an eating disorder. Clay, having been totally alienated by his wife's clinginess and drug addiction, begins a relationship with best-selling author, Susan Josephs, writer of a book on spousal abuse.

Throughout their 17 years together, Clay constantly demeans Susan - stealing the rights to her New York magazine cover stories, and eventually ousting her from his Beverly Hills bungalow in favor of Bambi Green, a young, hopeful television ingenue searching for her big break.

This book is the story of how the lives of these four women - Laura, Nina, Susan and Bambi - with all their dreams of love and success, are totally intertwined with a charismatic womanizer whom they all mistakenly believe they need in their lives. I really loved this book because it showed just how Clay's separate relationships with all his women worked, or were dysfunctional to them all. I give this book an A+! and look forward to reading another book by Rona Jaffe very soon.