anita loos’s the talmadge girls reads more like a rich, elderly aunt’s reminiscence of her younger years in 20s hollywood, rather than a coherent biography of the talmadge girls as its title suggests. in actuality, the book itself should have been titled something along the lines of my life with the talmadge girls, writing for constance and norma, or even the talmadge girls and me— seeing as the actual content of the book is more autobiographical than anything. semantic argument aside though, the book is fun to read. the reader gets a lush, albeit, heavily glamorized look into late 1910s to mid 1920s new york, hollywood, and paris through the eyes of miss loos. loos’s simple, understandable writing style paints a captivating picture of silent era hollywood– from parties, to vacations, to acting/writing, to moving studios across the country, to love, relationships, marriage, sex, and meeting nobility; it seems as though these women had lived through it all in their short years of stardom. in hindsight, i don’t think i should have expected a serious biography. i went into this book expecting a semi-serious memoir featuring retellings of events from anita’s life and friendship with peg and the three talmadge girls. (a mistake on my behalf simply because i had been previously unfamiliar with anita’s writing style!) instead, it’s a humorous, occasionally frivolous recounting of her life as a writer for (most) of norma and constance’s silent films through the years 1918 to 1925. in terms of a biography, it’s loose. it doesn’t really “follow the rules” which makes it fun to read. not to relate this all to buster keaton but anita’s biography reminds me of buster’s autobiography– lots of laughs and a lot of “things that happened in my life as i remember it, just in chronological order.” funnily enough, parts of this book tend to read more like a gossip column than a biography or a memoir. the book can oftentimes be rather tell-all as it explains the whos and the whats of silent era hollywood. it’s like anita loos had kept all these dishy details to herself and waited until everybody mentioned (or just about everybody) in this book had passed away so everything could come out. it’s like the spirit of louella parsons took over her for a few chapters. i’ve mentioned it previously but i was also underprepared for how little norma, constance, and natalie were mentioned in a book that was named after them– natalie especially. compared to constance, norma, and peg there’s basically no mention of natalie (or nate, as she’s called occasionally throughout the book) much to my disappointment. i picked this up in hopes of trying to understand and learn more about her– seeing as there’s not much information about her online (other than her relationships to other people. ) i almost wish she had become a star like her sisters just so we could know more about her, but, alas, it’s clear through these little bits of anita’s writing that a superstar life was just not one natalie was meant to live. maybe one day we’ll know more about the enigmatic natalie talmadge but, for now, she remains in the shadows of her sisters. all in all, the talmadge girls is an entertaining read– even if i wished it was more informative about the subject, rather than its author. i kept finding myself coming back for more even when i’d finished reading for the day. i was hooked by its simple prose and even simpler writing, anita loos managed to scratch that literary itch. (and perhaps that’s why she was so good at what she did!) the book just worked in some aspects. the talmadge girls isn’t perfect by any means but should anybody have really expected that? memories can change or decay over time (much like many of the films anita had mentioned writing for– even the movie she included the script for as a bonus in the back is a lost film!) people can, and will, embellish life events or stories just for the sake of entertainment and i think that’s what anita did here. she tried to tell her story in the most entertaining way possible, and in that sense i believe she succeeded!

stephen king’s the body is poignant. it’s reflective. its second, formerly known title, loss of innocence, conveys exactly what the novella is about— growth, change, maturity, and the rapid speed at which a child can lose their innocence when thrown into (and forced to deal with) a terrible situation. it’s a coming of age story in its rawest form. there’s no rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia for gordon lachance (our narrator), he faces his past and dissects his adolescence. this novella has been on my radar since i first watched rob reiner’s stand by me (1986). that movie is an all-timer for me so reading the basis for it felt like a rite of passage. this was my first foray into foray into stephen king’s books and honestly? not a bad place to start. it was short, it kept a good pace, and i was hooked from the first page. what really bumped this up for me though was the characters. gordon “gordie” lachance, chris chambers, teddy duchamp, and vern tessio serve as our main characters as we follow them through their hometown of castle rock. the boys take it upon themselves to search for the missing body of ray brower— a boy their age who had been killed by a train while berry picking. what’s special about these boys is the fact that each and every one of them are easily discernible, they have a certain individuality about them— they are alive. from the moment the reader is introduced to them in the treehouse as they play cards, they aren’t characters on a page anymore. these boys are living, breathing beings who jump out at you. they’re your friends, your brothers. you watch them as an omnipresent narrator, hoping and praying you could save them from the hell of their situations. out of the four boys, the ones who stand out to me the most have always been chris and gordie. i see myself in both of their characters (both book + movie versions). there’s something so personal about two kids who are doing their best keeping one another alive. they both want the best for one another and are willing to do anything to harness the talent/ability of one another. from chris’s chilling, almost authoritarian seriousness while gordie tells his stories to gordie’s constant studying alongside chris, they want the other to succeed. they want it so badly that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. there’s something so personal about the magnitude of platonic love they share between each other. gordie and chris would walk over hot coals for one another— they are the type of brothers they both deserved to have. they are replacements for the brothers they lost. it’s special, what they share is special. it’s the type of friendship you’d protect with your entire being. i adore these boys. they swear, and they joke, and they tease, and they prod, and they poke but their camaraderie is touching. they’re pricks but i love them. i feel maternal and sisterly towards them all at the same time. i wish i could shove my hand into the book and grab gordie, teddy, chris, and vern out of the pages. i want to save them from their plight. they’re my sons, they’re my brothers. they’ve been written so well (and portrayed so well onscreen) that i would put my life down for them all— even when they say something dickish or out of line. the body is riveting. it sweeps you up in its pages and refuses to lessen its grip on you until the last moment. it balances the ridiculousness of twelve year old boys with older, wiser commentary through the lens of an adult gordie. it provides you with characters you can root for and feel connected to. you can pick and choose pieces of each character and it only makes the characters dearer to you. it plucks at your heartstrings and makes you reflect. this book is one of those examples where it feels like you’ve lived through the characters. i believe that, without a doubt, is what will stay with me the most— in that brief moment i lived with gordie, or chris, or vern, or teddy. i was right along with those boys. i was seeing that body, i was aiming that gun. for that single moment, i lived their lives (and in turn it made me reflect on mine). there’s nothing quite like the feeling of finishing a book that has changed and altered your perspective. seeing the world with new eyes is the most captivating part of it all.

what a lovely biography. i couldn’t think of a better book to honor merle’s legacy. she is one of the most resilient, compassionate people i have ever had the pleasure of reading about. although merle had her flaws, she was elegantly human. it made me happy knowing merle got to achieve her dream, even though the system was inherently against her— she kept persisting. she kept trying. merle never gave up. she was a trailblazer for south asian performers even if it wasn’t acknowledge in her lifetime. the world of film wouldn’t be the same without merle oberon, she is, and forever will be, a piece of history. queenie deserves her flowers and then some.