In the Author's Note, Ella Berman shares that she started writing The Comeback before the #metoo movement took hold in recent years, and while she wasn't directly inspired by what has happened in the wake of the accusations against prominent public figures, it can be said that this is absolutely a novel for the times. Telling the story of Grace Turner, a young starlet who quickly rose to fame as a teenager only to disappear suddenly and unexpectedly after many years of success in Hollywood, The Comeback by debut author Berman is an intimate, poignant portrait of a young woman trying to put together the pieces of a shattered life.
Grace turned to drugs and alcohol to help her cope with the atrocities that happened to her as a teenager on film sets and behind closed doors, in places and spaces she assumed she was safe, with people she thought she could trust. Now in her early 20s, Grace's life is essentially a mess. She disappeared on the eve of her first Golden Globe nomination, showing up at her parents' house with no explanation, and has been trying to muddle her way through life ever since. It's been a year since Grace was on the Los Angeles scene, and she feels ready to return to her old life, her old friends, her old career, or is she? When Grace is asked to present a life-time achievement award to the very man who sent her spiraling into the depths of hell, she quickly learns that you cannot cherry-pick the pieces of your past you want to bring with you into the future.
They say the comeback is stronger than the setback, and that is exactly the theme explored in Berman's intelligent and reflective novel, The Comeback. Just how much does your past define the person you are today, and how much control do you have over your future? Berman's portrayal of Grace as she comes to terms with the damage that has wrecked her life is introspective and profound, revealing the fragile nature of humans, and our tendency to make our worlds smaller when our lives fall apart. But what is truly beautiful about The Comeback IS that struggle, the very thing that Grace is fighting so hard against. The Comeback is as much a novel of discovering your inner self, as it is about standing up against abuse. Readers will not have to have experienced trauma in their own lives to connect with Grace on an emotional level. Berman's writing touches on the personal and private areas of a public figure, and shows that on the inside, we are all just people.
Recommended for those who enjoy stories that are about a sensational subject, but still manage to maintain a literary quality and feel.
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Rating: ***** Stars (I loved it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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The Comeback
GENRE: Literary Fiction; Psychological Fiction THEME: Surviving Abuse (These books are about the survival or recovery of characters who experience physical or emotional abuse.); Surviving Sexual Violence (These books are about characters who have suffered the trauma of sexual violence and follow them as they survive, cope, and build their lives.) TONE: Atmospheric; Haunting CHARACTER: Complex PACE: Intensifying LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA SUBJECTS: Actors & Actresses; Adult Child Emotional Abuse Victims; Adult Child Sexual Abuse Victims; Confrontation; Deception; Recovering Alcoholics; Secrets; Separated Women; Sex Crimes; Teenage Actors & Actresses
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