Read October 2006

Was this supposed to be funny??? If so then it deserves 5 stars and all the praise some of the other reviewers gave it. If not then I can only, in good conscience give it 2 stars...and maybe that is being generous. It said on the back flap that this was supposed to be a satire, a satire of what I am not sure though. I enjoyed this book up until about half way through when it just became so preposterous that I kept finding myself laying it down to have a good laugh. Everything about the second half of this book was utterly ridiculous and had the feel as though it was written by someone who does not live in the real world. Also the ending, in my opinion, left a lot to be desired. There were many questions left unanswered and no real feeling of closure.

`SEX.LIES.MURDER.FAME' is the first book by Lolita Files that I have read but despite my particular distaste for this book I do plan to pick up some of her previous works as I hear they are supposed to be very good. The one saving grace for `SEX.LIES.MURDER.FAME' was the prose, Lolita Files is obviously a talented writer who should stick with story lines based somewhat in reality.

lolita files wasted no time with unraveling characters and laying out the plot....I love How easy it was to become invested in certain characters....It was impossible to look away from ....GREAT WORK Cool Story!

Ha! I loved the main character, Penn. I was rooting for him the whole time. He takes what he wants. Small points are hilarious: like the way he hates his IKEA bed, and that it has a name and inspires him to greatness. I think this book is genius and really funny. (Though I sense an intended irony that is not lost, but certainly wasted on me. Penn is supposed to be a "bad symbol"? But things were so comical by the time he gets nasty that it did not matter.)

This book was definitely racy...not a typical book I would choose but a fun/quick summer read, nonetheless. The author (female) should get props for writing from the perspective of an (egomaniacal) angry male...I honestly thought the author must have been a man based on the way things were phrased, written, etc.

Not my favorite of Lolita Files' books. She didn't have a single character that you could root for. Maybe it was her goal to portray the characters in a glossy surface, tabloid kind of way. I only stuck with the book because I have so much respect for Files I believed it would get better.
I did like the way she used the concepts and literary techniques as the headings for the upcoming chapters i.e. nihilism, deus ex machina.

This was a good book. I'm not sure if the reviews of the book gave me low expectations, but I thought it was an engaging book. There was a lot of character development as someone else stated, but I think it worked. It captivated me. I wanted to know how their stories would end and the trials they would go through along the way.

I like that she told us Penn's thoughts because there are so many women who get so caught up in the fantasy like Beryl did that they neglect or overlook reality. These were not stupid women, but they were being played like so many women are. I may be wrong but sometimes a writer inputs things like this not only because of the story but to call attention to readers. It's sort of like a slap on the hand, pay attention to these men out here type of thing.

I like the use of fame in the title, but I saw an obsession with money. Many characters "overlooked" Penn's sociopath qualities because they were financially invested or lustfully hoping they could fuck him. They even used the murder investigation and trial as a way to get money. They completely neglected that this was a person who died, and there were no other suspects.

All in all, this book was definitely interesting, and I enjoyed every bit of it. :-)

The book was only 361 pages long and it took her 100+ pages to develop the two main characters. I was really wondering when the plot was going to begin, and by the time it did, I was already busy searching for things to like about the book rather than being immersed in it. I suppose I went into the story expecting more, especially in the comedy department, but I just couldn't get passed how slow it started. Though it compelled me to finish the book, and it was written well.

This was an interesting read. It confused me in the end though. I didn't get it. It got way out of hand when he killed his married lover and threw her in the lake. That was a bit far fetched. It just was... weird.

this was an interesting read

The Meta-ness of it was pretty fun. And the rest of it, well, it moved fast, had enough action and was overall pretty enjoyable. It was silly in some parts, ridiculous in others, but still fun overall. Dont expect Donna Tartt and you won't be let down. Just have a good time.

Finally finished Lolita File's Sex Lies Murder Fame - which is a satire of the chick-lit modern romance novel, with heavy Patricia Highsmith & Bret Easton Ellis/noir underpinnings. The main character reminds me a great deal of the characters  Highsmith liked to write about or rather Patrick Batman from Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho. This book is easier to read than that one was, while it's graphic in places, it's no where near as graphic as American Psycho.

If you've never heard of the writer, Lolita Files is a contemporary African American writer, best known for Child of God and both that novel and this one have been optioned for film rights.

It took a while to plow my way through the novel for a couple of reasons: 1) you don't like anyone in this book - which isn't an issue for everyone but I need someone to root for, they don't have to be a nice person, I just have to want to root for them and 2)I read it for twenty minute stretchs on the train to and from work, on the days I didn't feel the need to take a twenty minute snooze.

The plot of the novel is fairly simple - Penn Hamilton, a sexy, incredibly attractive, blond greek god of a man, with an IQ of 210 and no conscience or morals to speak of, after much fuss and bother, decides to seduce a homely yet high ranking editor named Beryl Unger - in order to get published and cross-marketed and become a STAR. He also seduces her top-ranking romance novelist. Hi-jinks ensue.

Each section is split with little introductory definitions of literary/philosophical movements such as Romanticism, Realism, Existentialism (ex: "A literary and philosophical movement emphasizing the belief that an individual is isolated and totally free in an indifferent universe - not controlled by fate, higher forces, or pre-ordained events - and is therefore completely responsible for what happens to him and what he makes of life" - this is coupled with a literary quote by some famous writer, in this case Soren Kierkegaard: "It belongs to the imperfection of everything human that man can only attain his desire by passing through its opposite". My favorite of these little quotes is one by Blake Edwards regarding the section on Realism : "You have to make every moment count. It's not easy to do, you know. I don't think that a day goes by when I don't turn my back on some small thing or some issue somewhere." )...also includes sections called "Deux Ex Machina" defined as "a device used in Greek and Roman theater where a crane made of wooden beams and elaborate pulleys lowered a god or what appeared to be the hand of a god onto the stage to physically remove the hero from the midst of an impossible difficulty" or " A literary device where the author uses the surprise intervention of an improbably person or event to get a character out of a difficult situation or to bring a story to a convenient conclusion." (In short what the majority of science fiction television writers seem to do on an annual basis.) And Metafiction - "A work of fiction that self-consciously examines itself while telling a story, blurring the lines between reality and fiction within the levels of narative. Fiction about fiction. Also known as surfiction."

The book is actually quite humorous in places and very snarky or tongue firmly in cheek, deftly satirizing the publishing, advertising, music, and film industries, as well as the idea of branding and best-sellerdom or celebrity. It's also a bit bitter, or angry, and dated - Katie Couric is still on The Today Show in the Alternate Universe for example. But it does do a good job of making fun of the hype machine and how people reacte a bit like lemmings towards it.

Where the novel fell short is the ending. The writer goes on a bit long, commenting on the novel, when it would have worked better if she'd just stopped five pages earlier. I've seen this a lot in novels lately - making me wonder about the publishing industry and whether anyone edits anything any more. Makes me wonder about the film industry as well.

Granted it is satire and satire in order to work, does need to be a bit over the top. A prime example is Tropic Thunder and Borat - which both work because they go over the top, often way way way over the top, only to suddenly and effortlessly swing back just in the nick of time. You can't be too subtle or you risk merely being offensive - ie. The infamous Barack Obama New Yorker cartoon. On the other hand - if you go too far, you risk losing the reader to a fit of eye-rolling - You Don't Mess with The Yohan. Satire is not an easy thing to pull off well. Files, to her credit, does stay within the bounds, but her last chapter did feel a bit like over-kill, as if she didn't trust the reader - resulting in the before-mentioned eye-rolling.

My other difficulty with the novel is File's protagonist or anti-hero, who is a bit on the whiny side, considering the fact that he looks like a greek god with a 210 IQ, this doesn't quite work. Actually everyone is a little whiny. The three characters who succeed in the novel? You dislike the most and sort of wish would pay, so it leaves one with a bit of a bad taste in the mouth. Highsmith did this better I think with the Talented Mr. Ripley.

It's an amusing light read - and a great antidote for anyone who has read one too many chick-lit novels. Also it's a treat to have an African American Female Writer jump into Easton Ellis territory.

Not an easy book to find, though. I had to get my copy at the Strand. My friend got hers through the public library, which is your best bet.

Lolita Files' "A Child of God" was just excellent so when my daughter purchased "Sex. Lies, Murder. Fame" in 2006 I said I wanted to read it. However, there were just so many other books & issues that kept allowing me to push it to the side, but I now have the opportunity to read it (while reading 2 others) and I'm going to do so.