Christine Sneed

Thought you had read all there was to read about fame? Think again – Little Known Facts takes a look at Hollywood fame, but seen mainly through the eyes of those around the famous person. The star in this book is Renn Ivins, actor and more recently director and writer, who has been in the game for years. Not only is this man talented, he has the looks and longevity that everyone craves in Hollywood. Renn is a star amongst stars. Like most stars, Renn also has a bit of a messy personal show more life. He divorced his first wife, Lucy when his children (Anna and Will) were growing up. His second marriage to Melinda ended badly – so much so that she’s releasing a tell all autobiography. Now he’s dating Elise, an up and rising star – who Will also has his eye on.

Written in long chapters – almost a short story format – each section covers someone close to Renn and how his stardom has affected their lives. His daughter Anna tries to have a ‘normal’ life by becoming a doctor – but her personal life more closely mirrors her father’s. Will doesn’t know what he wants in life and aimlessly moves from one thing to the next. His girlfriend Danielle admits that she is attracted to Renn, but will she take it further? Elise is having a good time with Renn, but she is increasingly aware of the age gap – and Will. Lucy reflects on her marriage to Renn and tries to move on, while Melinda needs to edit her book severely to tone down Renn’s secrets. And who is stealing random items of Renn’s?

It sounds complex, but it’s not. Sneed has created a beautiful jigsaw where everything falls into just the right place at the last moment. It is a perfectly structured book. This is a book to be savoured, reading each word carefully to extract all the competing emotions. Sneed also convinces me that it just may not be worthwhile to be related to a movie star! All the characters have been affected by Renn’s fame and generally not for the better (with the exception of Elise). This books shows the motivations of human nature – for example, Will is not motivated to work for money (he has plenty) and so can’t settle. Anna becomes more like her amoral father in her choice of affairs. Melinda starts off incredibly bitter, but appears to accept her time with Renn better than Lucy, who ruminates over her failed marriage for most of the book.

These characters absorbed me, followed me around as I stopped reading to work and study and wouldn’t let me rest until I found what became of them all. That’s how powerful Sneed’s creations were – I found myself a little in love with Renn and admiring Elise and Anna’s work ethic. Will was a funny character – he does stupid stuff and lacks motivation, but he was still likeable, particularly in the latter half of the book. I’d love to read Melinda’s book – it was wonderfully witty and divulging!

This is a book that opens in an understated way but has you bewitched by the end.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Sydney for my copy.

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In her opinion, there were more than two sides in most debates, and most questions couldn't be answered with a simple yes or no. She had talked about this with Connie Fox, who was her hairstylist and not the person to get too philosophical with, as it turned out. As punishment for Lynne's willingness to argue for a third point of view, Connie Fox cut her bangs too short and later told the other women in the beauty parlor that she was an atheist, which wasn't true and Lynne had later said so, show more but she didn't know if anyone had believed her.

Christine Sneed is one of my favorite short story writers and, even if she wasn't, a book called Portraits of a Few of the People I've Made Cry is one I would have picked up anyway. The stories in this collection mostly deal with women dealing with men, often older men, usually men who feel they have a say in how that woman lives her life. From a teenage girl who realizes the man who told her he was a model scout wasn't who he said he was but wanting to take him up on his offer to take pictures anyway, to a woman who thought she had a casual arrangement with a well-off older man until she tries to break it off, from the granddaughter of a famous artist who inherits a sketchbook, to a divorced woman making a new start in the small lakeside town she used to spend holidays as a child, these women find that life isn't as clear or unhindered as it should be but that they are not without resources of their own.

What I like most about Sneed's stories is that each protagonist has her own voice and none of them could be mistaken for each other. Sneed's women are witty and fully themselves and the situations they find themselves are often absurd but also very real. show less

The house felt alive around him, its walls and stairways exhaling their stealthy breaths. Why had he and Kathryn felt they needed this particular assemblage of plaster and wood and glass? It seemed a foolhardy move, hubristic and reckless, to buy such a large old house and believe they could bring it to heel.

Christine Sneed's newest collection of short stories is wonderful. Each story takes a moment out of someone's life and give a glimpse into their wider life and concerns. Each story is show more different from the others and each ends at the right moment. Even the funniest story in this collection, The Monkey's Uncle Lewis, has a moment where a character's bizarre behavior is illuminated so perfectly.

There's no science fiction or flashy experiments, just well-told and beautifully written short stories. I wish there was a bigger market for this overlooked form, because the writers who excel at this should be encouraged to write more of it. show less

A well-written take on the perils of celebrity, both to the famous person and to those around him. I had trouble putting it down once I started reading, sort of like one of those magazines full of Hollywood gossip picks up in the waiting room at the dentist's office. Movie star Renn Ivins is at the center of the novel, but we also get parts of the story from his son and daughter, their various romantic interests, Renn's much younger, movie-star girlfriend, and his two ex-wives. This lively show more cast of characters are almost all utterly detestable, however - I found myself just shaking my head at the complete selfishness of the whole lot of them, with the exception of Ivins' first wife, who comes across as basically the only decent person in the book. Sneed's done an excellent job, though, and her writing makes this tale of celebrity and its consequences a compelling read. show less