USA TODAY International Edition
Carrie Fisher inspired former assistant for ‘ A Star Is Bored’
A drug- addicted movie legend and daughter of Hollywood royalty, whose sharp- edged novels and iconic turn as a space- opera rebel princess have captivated fans for decades… Sound familiar?
Debut author Byron Lane, who was once the real- life personal assistant to Carrie Fisher, exchanges fact for fiction in “A Star Is Bored” ( Henry Holt, 352 pp.,
eeeE), a fizzy new novel that upends celebrity culture with an insider's look at the care and feeding of big stars.
“My job requirements would include: Encourage her to write, correct her punctuation, make her wear a bra.” So begins Charlie Besson's wild ride as personal assistant to Kathi Kannon, a screen star as famous for her messy life as for portraying Priestess Talara in the epic film “Nova Quest.”
Charlie is young, eager to please, a bit at loose ends. Kathi is of a certain age, bored despite her mega wealth and says whatever she wants to whomever she meets.
When Charlie nabs the job through a connection, he hopes to find fulfillment in a personal connection with one of his film heroines – and to escape a childhood marred by his father's anger and abuse.
Lane nimbly sketches the ridiculous “Holly- weird” life of the uber- pampered, from private trainers to private jets to, in Kathi's case, a Barney's shopping bag full of prescription pills.
Some of the novel's sharpest scenes come when Charlie meets for drinks with an unofficial club for personal assistants, where smart ambitious young people trade stories of humiliation and pass along tips for how to procure whatever their crazy bosses might require at a moment's notice: “a veritable Yelp for the best colonics, caterers, cocaine.”
As Charlie struggles to decipher Kathi's cryptic texts and predict her mood swings, he's also navigating the rough waters of internet dating. It's hard to maintain a relationship when your boss pings you day and night with questions like, “Where's that website with those things I hate in that store I love?”
Demanding, crude and vulnerable, Kathi nonetheless becomes a kind of mother figure to Charlie, buying him clothes and offering him unsolicited love advice. However, her secret- butnot- really drug habit begins to spiral out of control and behavior that had been wacky and amusing turns worrisome and dangerous. Charlie's stuck between wanting to save Kathi and knowing that only she can save herself.
At times, however, it's hard to understand Charlie's devotion to a person so utterly self- absorbed. And there are stretches of this novel where its revved- up tone – lots of ALL CAPS and exclamation points – can grow tiresome. However, there is real sweetness in Charlie's quest to connect, and readers will root for him to find happiness.
“A Star Is Bored” is anything but boring, and could be the fun summer read so many of us are craving.