Hollywood
by Connor Coyne
Genre: Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9781590215944
Print Length: 100 pages
Publisher: Lethe Press
Reviewed by Samantha Hui
An affecting coming of age story that explores change and its impact on the sense of self
Hollywood ironically takes place in the Midwest as opposed to the sunny West coast. Regardless of here or there however, this book acts as a reminder of how we benefit from the stories and lives that are different from our own.
“Ophelia found herself pacing through the chilly apartment, barefoot, feeling sad and baffled by the ever-growing immensity of her life.”
The book’s main character, Ophelia, is complex and deeply relatable. She is hopeful, seeing a better life on the horizon, but unsure of her place in life. This book beautifully captures the complexity of hope through use of metaphor and enjoyable descriptive storytelling.
“Ophelia spotted a cockroach crawling across the stovetop and another in the back bedroom. Still, there was something so happy and fierce about the light and the skyline linearity of the lake that hope welled up in her chest anyway. This was fine.”
Ophelia possesses an existential restlessness that cannot be contained by her small town life in Rockville. When her friend Tasia suggests that they move to the city, she jumps at the opportunity. Waiting in their unfurnished apartment with peanut butter and a can of beer to keep her full, Ophelia receives word that Tasia would not be joining her in the city because she accepted a managerial job back home. Ophelia has to make the decision to either stay in the city where she knows no one or go back to a home that holds little more than she has in the new city.
“And, yet, the Hollywood Group proliferated ideas of a quantity that obliterated any deficiencies in quality.”
Ophelia’s life is turned upside down when she responds to the thumping bass coming from her upstairs neighbor’s apartment. In trying to quiet the partygoers, she becomes enthralled by their bohemian, carefree attitude. After a night of murder mystery socializing and an offer from one of the bohemians to be roommates, Ophelia decides to take a chance on a life she never expected for herself.
“The shark seemed to grin where it rested, miles out into the lake, its bright eyes fixed in position as it studied the twinkling City and Ophelia standing paralyzed beneath the winkling beacon, on the pier, on the beach.”
On Ophelia’s first day in the midwestern city, she walks Hollywood Beach. She believes she sees an enormous shark emerge then subsequently submerge itself in the lake. The shark is described as a monster but Ophelia often walks by the beach hoping to see the grand shark once again. This vision of a shark seems to be a metaphor for the fearsomeness and immensity of change. Back home, she’s experienced abandonment, loss, and non-commitment. In this new city, the people she meets seem so sincere and accepting; she is intrigued by them but worried by her trust in them. She tells them of the impossible shark she saw in the lake, and they immediately believe her.
“People seem like they are all their parts added together and not the whole of them. It’s like it’s only possible to be a bunch of parts, not a whole person.”
While reading this brief novel, I am pleasantly reminded of On the Road and Frances Ha. The book emulates the restlessness in Kerouac’s novel. Colorful characters wind their way throughout Ophelia’s story, further shaping her view of the world and herself. Hollywood also captures the adult coming of age theme that is depicted in the Greta Gerwig movie. Ophelia is in her twenties but she is still on her way to unlocking her full potential.
“What if I just stayed, for me? And she shoved that lovely, terrifying thought back toward the night and dreams because it felt precious, even if it looked absurd.”
Hollywood is a quick read that possesses meaty details and descriptions worthy of flipping over and over, parsing out true meaning and relishing the prose. What does the metaphor of the secret lake shark really mean? I recommend Hollywood to those who feel restless, who have yet to establish their sense of self. Perhaps one day we’ll be so lucky to witness an impossibility and have someone believe us without question.
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