I was reading it just now and I got to the scene where Evelyn has pretty much lost everything. Her abusive husband cheated on her and divorced her leaving her blackballed in Hollywood while her new girlfriend Celia is getting success after success. Finally, Celia wins an Oscar (for a movie they both played roles in) while Evelyn is at her house completely alone watching it on screen. And she is so happy for Celia that she kisses the screen and chips her tooth.
When I first read that scene even though I was completely immersed in the whole story and loving it, this part lost me because I found it unrealistic. I wondered how could she possibly be happy for her in that moment. For me, no matter how much I loved the person I wouldn’t be able to help but hate them in that moment. They are just too similar. Like they do say that Evelyn’s role is more ethereal beauty while Celia is more girl next door, but there’s not really any difference in what they are trying to accomplish. They were literally playing roles in the same movie. So, I felt like anyone wouldn’t be able to help but compare themselves and at the very least be unhappy. But more realistically you’d be far more than a little unhappy or jealous. Definitely no kissing the screen levels of happiness.
But then I realized that kind of thinking was exactly what the last hundred or so pages were about with Evelyn’s abusive ex husband. She met him while he was winning so he was great. Then when she was doing better acting than him, he was abusive. So in a way, that meant I had more in common with the abusive ex husband douchebag character than the lead.
The kind of book that leads to self reflection is the absolute best kind imo. Even if the authors intentions seem obvious in hindsight, now I’m going to remember that scene because it changed my way of thinking.
by Pure_Database_7623