“Book Review: Through His Eyes”
Reviewed by Helen Barnes
Author Emma Dibdin has written a gripping, honest, and menacing tale that reveals the inner workings of Hollywood glamour in Through His Eyes (Head of Zeus, 2018).
Told in first person narration with captivating dialogue and expert storytelling, Dibdin ensures that the plot never drifts. In the prologue, a British journalist called Jessica follows her obsession of the celebrity world by moving to L.A. Jessica spends three years working hard and waiting for her big break in this city where dreams are made and broken. With few friends in America, her loneliness and vulnerability become clearer and clearer.
“… there’s a gut level on which I’ve known him for a very long time, before we even met.”
But Jessica is finally given the rare opportunity to interview Hollywood A-lister and her teenage heart-throb, Clark Conrad. Clark has recently divorced following a long and reportedly “happy” marriage. The cause of the relationship breakdown continues to attract speculation. Jessica travels to the star’s home, where he lives with his 19-year-old daughter, and while there, events take an unexpected turn.
Clark becomes a significant feature in her life, and she begins spending more time with powerful Hollywood men. Finding herself at the center of Clark’s world, Jessica is initially star-struck and later enraptured with his charisma and charm.
“He looks up from the autograph pad he’s signing suddenly, looks right over the heads of everyone in the crowd, and locks eyes with me. As though nobody else exists.”
From celebrity homes to the Golden Globes, the Oscars, and Cannes, the reader experiences a the often hidden side to the glamour of Hollywood. As Jessica gets to know Clark better, she must determine if he is as good as he seems or whether this actor is hiding something.
The further into the book we delve, the faster the plot unfolds. Author Emma Dibdin shows her skill at ending chapters with key turns in the story, successfully gluing the reader to the page.
This novel raises an array of questions: Who in Hollywood can be trusted? Can we believe news reports and social media? Can a young woman seeking success in Hollywood ever achieve the recognition she deserves from her own merit?
“He has star power, that indefinable magnetic pull that draws every eye in a room, and he makes the world around him feel bigger and brighter and more full of possibility. This maybe is the meaning of being a movie star.”
The characters created in Through His Eyes are real. Through the dialogue and narrator’s perspective, they come to life with each of their distinct attributes. Jessica is someone many could relate to: a woman working hard to achieve her dreams—the reality of which may or may not be as hoped.
Overall, this book is a captivating summer read and should appeal to anyone who has ever dreamt of a Hollywood life or even admired a Hollywood star. The writing is clever, the plot is executed with skill, and it will keep you hooked until the very end. Promise.
Purchase Through His Eyes by author Emma Dibdin from Amazon UK HERE!
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