I’ve been reading Jackie Collins’ Hollywood Husbands for two weeks! Since October 11th to be precise. And, pitifully speaking, I’m only 330 pages into the 543 given. And it’s not necessarily a slow read.
You’d think being in the Did Not Finish (DNF) groove by now (after jumping the ship on Nora Roberts’ Stars of Fortune and Tayari Jones’ Leaving Atlanta) that I’d just let Husbands go. I am tempted to stuff it into the wells of my bookshelf; out of sight, out of mind. Yet, I don’t quite want to at the same time. Maybe I'm enchanted with something about the book. Because when I try to pick another read in its place, I’m drawn back to finish Husbands off. I don’t want to cut Collins just yet–hoping this book would be as solid as the previous in the series, Hollywood Wives. But man is it hard to keep engaged with this slog.
But first, let me do a quick summary…
The book’s primary characters consist of a trio of Hollywood buddies. Jack Python is a talk show host. He's married to a cheating actress, though his philandering ways are anything but subtle. Anyway, Jack Python is slatted as the nobleman of the trio, given that he’s raising his Hollywood diva sister’s estranged child. He's also the character designed to become the reasonable and pragmatic voice within the group. Something that's evident by how he complains about being "over" the Hollywood scene. Then there’s Howard Soloman. He's a crackhead and movie studio owner with a line of divorces up to his bloodshot eyeballs. Not one to swallow impulses, he has his eye on a friend’s ex-wife. While, of course, presently married to an actress. Without a doubt Howard is his own enemy, and struggles with the pressures of owning a movie studio that needs a good film to stay relevant. Last there’s Mannon Cable. He’s the irresistible heartthrob actor in the group. He's also still hung up on his ex-wife (whom his friend, Howard, secretly covets), while his current wife tootles around pregnant with his child. However, sadly, Mannon can’t stand the thought of either one. He just wants a hot movie role and his ex-wife's jealousy over his new relationship. You know, the one with the pregnant wife that he can't bother to show any love to.
Besides the men there are a host of women players as well. Silver Anderson is Jack Python’s disunified sister. Nonetheless, she's rich, famous, commandeering, and–despite her haughty attitude–probably the only likable character. She does a lot of jacked-up things to her family, but she's a diva you're willing to throw out your moral code to entertain. As of late, she’s eloped to marry a down-and-out broke-in-the-pockets wanted barman. Naturally, his allure is that he's risky and thrilling. He also has a penchant for knocking her “bottom” out just the way she likes. Or at least enough to keep him around to the chagrin of her "loyal" staff. Who, of course, are making plans to get him away from your highness to bring order back to the Hollywood castle.
Let me see who else…
–Errr, well that’s really the only four that matters. The remaining cast are more or less facilitators of each of principle's story thread. So they're just sprinkled within to either kiss ass (in some cases literally), be insufferable to the principles, or push a scandal. However, as far as the 330 pages I've gotten to, I haven’t a clue who’s pulling chains around here yet. There's dirt to spread, but nobody's spreading it on each other; principle or secondary alike. What I can say is a few of these secondary players (like the belittled housewife) operate as underdogs ready to bark back at their tormentors. Which leaves one to continue reading and guessing how. So the book is not a total slog.
Additionally, there’s an outsider's narrative in between all these story threads. Taking readers back to a small town in 1974, it's a narrative featuring an abused teen turned arsonist heading for the Hollywood hills to “light” up one (or more) of the principle's life.
So why do I find the book so challenging to continue reading? Especially when all this crazy, dramatic, and wild stuff is happening? It's simple: every single character–with or without one–thinks only with their dicks!