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A Slice of Life
by Francine Brokaw
Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel
Danielle Steel has written more than 70 books and has been a beloved author for decades. This time she takes readers into the often glamorous but always turbulent world of Hollywood and fashionable Beverly Hills.
Tanya Harris is a mother/wife/short story and sometimes soap opera writer in Marin County California. She is married to an attorney and has a picture perfect life. She has a fabulous house, three great kids, the job she loves and the perfect man. But when she gets offered the opportunity of a lifetime, Tanya has to evaluate whether it is worth it.
She is offered the chance to write a feature film and work with a top notch producer and director and possibly win an Academy Award. And the best part is the big Hollywood salary. The only downside is she would have to move to Beverly Hills for nine months while she is writing the script and the film is being produced. Sure, she would be able to come back to Marin on weekends, providing the schedule permits, but Tanya is too happy with her life the way it is to jeopardize it. When her husband encourages her to take the job – with three kids about to be enrolled in college at the same time the money would come in handy for tuitions – she claims she doesn’t want to do it, but soon she is tempted too much to turn it down. Her family – with the exception of one of her daughters – is excited about the project, and their next door neighbor volunteers to keep watch on her kids when she is in Hollywood. So Tanya moves into Bungalow 2 at the fabulous Beverly Hills Hotel for her nine month adventure through the ups and downs of Hollywood life.
Tanya is unique in the world of Hollywood. She continually talks about her husband and children and how much she cannot wait until the weekends to get back to them. She is not influenced by the lavish lifestyle, however the staff at the hotel look after her every need, and the room service is delightful. No dishes to wash. Lovely. And let’s not forget about the incredible bath tub in her bungalow. But as pleasant as all these things are, she still longs to return to her home and family.
Unfortunately, there are many weekends when she cannot go home. Although she wrote a great script, sometimes rewrites are required. She contemplates quitting, but her husband tells her they would most likely be sued by the producer if she did and they could not afford that and he encourages her to stick it out, insisting everything is fine at home. But they are not. Soon Tanya is thrust into a world of deceit, which comes from Marin, not Hollywood.
Bungalow 2 then becomes more than just a place to stay while she works on the script. In a way it is her sanctuary and in a way her hell. Tanya’s professional career blossoms while her personal life flounders, but she is a tough woman who forges on with her life in search for the perfect ending.
If you love Danielle Steel, you’ll love this book. Steel gets to the heart of her characters, a trait that has endeared her to her readers.
© 2007 Francine Brokaw
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