American dream
Mercury Pictures Presents **** by Anthony Marra (John Murray, £16.99) The film studios of golden-age Hollywood have provided fertile ground for American writers from Elmore Leonard and James Ellroy to last year’s first-timer Quentin Tarantino. Now, Anthony Marra takes a wry look at the dark side of America’s dream factory.
Set in the 1940s, his second novel begins in the offices of Mercury Pictures, a former giant of the silent era that now churns out low-rent B-movies “that passed over the eye without lingering in the brain”.
Run by bickering brothers Art and Ned Feldman, this downmarket outfit is at a pivotal point. Money is tight, the puritanical Production Code is in full effect, and Art can’t decide which of his seven wigs to wear for a hearing with senators accusing Hollywood of trying to push America into the Second World War.
“Maybe the toupee has shrunk,” he opines after finding his formal rug no longer gives the required coverage.
But while Art provides the screwball comedy, the heroine of the story is his assistant Maria, a 28-year-old Roman emigrant with the skills of a “general, diplomat, hostage negotiator and hairdresser”.
Maria’s story takes us to Mussolini’s Italy where a reckless act leads to her father’s disappearance and kicks off a murder plot in a penal colony.
After Pearl Harbour, Art lands a contract producing propaganda films, but Maria produces movies extolling the virtues of freedom and democracy. However, as an “enemy alien”, she has to work under a strict curfew and a constant threat of violence.
Compelling, touching and frequently hilarious, it’s a summer blockbuster.
This Beating Heart **** by Laura Barnett (W&N, £14.99)
Despite opening with “Once upon a time…”, Laura Barnett’s new novel quickly turns into what seems like an unhappy ever after.
At 43, Christina Lennox thought she had her life mapped out with husband Ed. However, after multiple failed IVF attempts, their relationship has deteriorated into tears, shouting and separation.
Ed moves to San Francisco, leaving
Christina alone in the home they once shared to adjust to a very different-looking future. But there is a spark of hope – she has one embryo left from their fertility treatment. Christina is desperate to go it alone but can she persuade Ed to consent?
Christina is one of those characters you can’t help rooting for. But she feels her only shot at happiness is wholly dependent on Ed and she has good reason for thinking he’ll refuse his consent.
This is Barnett’s fourth novel. The first three featured inventive plot devices, from the Sliding Doors-style multiple outcomes of The Versions Of Us to the cleverly interlinked Christmas short stories in Gifts. This Beating Heart feels more predictable.
Christina is captivating but there are no big surprises in the supporting cast of loyal friends, loving but difficult relatives, and a charming if slightly diffident love interest.
But Barnett writes beautifully about relationships and the possibility of finding a very different happy ever after from the one you were expecting.