Justine sets it straight

Thanks Justine for what seems a very honest talk about fame, especially the kind not specifically sought after or pursued for its own sake.

SOME people will unfortunately misunderstand this book as complaining or expressing jealously about those with (currently) more fame. That would be a shame and their loss.

Justine is clearly sincere in simply discussing what it means to have fame as well as how everyone else interacts with it. She throws in some good career anecdotes as well for some added fun.

Nice work. Pardon me, “I really admire your work Justine”.

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Captivating

Her story is very engaging. Very honest. You can really hear and feel the emotions as she emphasizes about her experience and the knowledge she gained. 5 stars.

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Would have made an excellent magazine article.

I wanted to like this audiobook. I did not.

It has interesting points but the writing style is too choppy and her sentences are highly repetitive. She writes the same phrases and repeats the same thing over. She repeats phrases. She repeats the phrase with a slight twist. She says it again…. You get the picture.

I understand the style she was going for and it comes across like a conversation but it is not a conversation. It is supposed to be a researched book about fame. It sort of is and it sort of is not.

It does not feel as researched as she says it is. I believe she is a very smart woman with fascinating life experiences but this does not read like a smart book.

I learned some interesting facts and saw things from a perspective I had never looked with so it was not without some merit and some interesting insights into what fame feels like.

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COOL BUT NOT HOT

In my books, Justine Bateman is super cool. She's a powerful woman, a critical thinker, and she is unafraid of being her true self. I have great respect for her as a creative person.

Yet, although she may be cool, I don't think this book is very hot. And I am so disappointed to say this.

Bateman starts the book by stating she loathes memoirs, and that she had intended to write an academic book, although she was advised not to go that route. So, I assumed there would be a fair amount of scholarly material. Also, she mentioned having interviewed a number of people about fame, yet this doesn't seem to be reflected in the content. The book actually lands somewhere closer to memoir, but without enough personal detail to be truly interesting. Bateman offers a handful of interesting theories about fame, but they are not fleshed out; she doesn't really build on her ideas and there is a lot of repetition, which is tiresome. I am left really craving a more in-depth look at the phenomenon, so I may explore elsewhere.

The book's tone is cautionary and somewhat prescriptive, as if we, the readers, are ourselves seeking fame. She even uses the contrivance of calling us "you", when she's talking about herself. Here's an example:

"Getting used to fame being sprayed upon you is very different than getting used to fame being erased off you. More accurately, it takes a little while getting used to the imposed reality of fame, but once you've absorbed that reality, it takes a long time for your system to adjust to the idea that it's gone. You can see how the 'Justine Bateman looks like a sea hag now,' and 'You're a used-to-be,' and 'Shut up you d-rate actress,' garbage that you see online doesn't help at all...."

The writing makes me feel weirdly manipulated. I found this writing in the 2nd person a weak tactic and grew quite weary of it. I believe it would have been far more honest and potent if all was kept in 1st person. But then it clearly would have been a memoir.

There is frequent foul language and vitriol, which was a real turnoff for me. Her tone of voice is often angry and combative. And even though she told us she was conveying experiences from the past that had really disabled her emotionally, it seemed like she was speaking in present tense. It was not the voice of the older and wiser person she is now. The older, wiser voice does appear a little towards the book's end, when she speaks a bit about her healing and self-empowerment, and then winds up her cautionary tale with supportive words for those of us seeking fame.

The book did give me some insight into what it's like to be a celebrity, not that this burst any bubbles. And it was not totally surprising but did make me sad to hear how thoughtless, greedy, rude, and downright mean people can be to celebrities, whether in or out of favour. It is a terrible shame that Bateman ever had to endure this, but it seems she has come to terms with it, transcended the pain, and moved on to use her gifts and do what she loves in life.

I did not enjoy "Fame", but I still find the author very compelling, so I'll give her next book a try, and will definitely check out her films.

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