Medium Raw, Glamorama and The Three Weissmans Of Westport

Anthony Bourdian's follow up to Kitchen Confidential was very entertaining. It was interesting to read about how much his life has changed since he wrote that book ten years ago. He never thought it would become a hit (earlier he had written a novel that did not set the publishing world on fire). He's a beautiful writer. Despite his unexpected success, Bourdain still writes from the gut. He's as hard on himself as he is on the people he rips to shreds. His writing is personal and some of it is not pretty. Bourdain does go into detail about his beef with Alan Richman. I wonder if Richman responded to it?



I finally got around to reading Bret Easton Ellis's 1998 novel. It took me a while to get into the novel and his very specific dialogue. I remember hearing about the crazy plot but I still cracked when it became crystal clear what was going on. Not sure if I need to do a spoiler alert for a famous novel that is over a decade old but SPOILER ALERT...





Okay, supermodels who are assassins and terrorists? HILARIOUS! No, really. In this post 9/11 world I skimmed the very detailed descriptions of the bombs aftermaths.

The world Ellis captures at the end of the '90s is superficial and pathetic. Who would have thought the 00's would be worse? I laughed out loud when he named dropped Stanford Blatch. Priceless.



This book received many positive reviews when it was published last year. After fifty years of marriage, Betty Weissman's husband announces he's divorcing her. She's kicked out of her very nice Central Park West apartment and moves to a small run-down cottage at the beach in Westport, Connecticut owned by a generous and wealthy cousin. Her two middle aged daughters join her at the beach for different reasons. All are going through difficult times emotionally, financially and socially. It's a funny take on Austen's Sense and Sensibility.