Loved, loved and loved this book.
Hofler does Dominick justice in this biographical writing. Something
Dominick Dunne searched for all his life was justice, for himself,
his murdered daughter, and his talent. Towards the end of his
life, he was finally able to receive the accolades he longed
for in his crime writing columns in Vanity Fair magazine.
He grew up as an Irish Catholic, a child of a dominant father
and surgeon, lived in one of the more affluent neighborhoods,
yet never quite felt good enough Dominick struggled his entire
life to overcome his father’s dislike of his effeminate
nature, and he soon married and had children to prove his
masculinity. Later divorcing and slowly “coming out”,
he was finally able to live free.
He has a long portfolio of literary and film credits that
tell his story and the story of the people surrounding him,
as he lived among the famous, yet he lived under the shadow
of his brother, John Dunne, and wife Joan Didion.
This book motivated me want to read the rest of his works
and delve further into his career history. Mentioned in his
credits are books and films that, though fictionalized novels,
lay hidden the real truths of Hollywood. He considered himself
a namedropper, but the names he dropped were not just any
names. They were the names of the rich and famous, and Dominick
Dunne knew them all personally.
As the film critics so often give the two thumbs up, I give
this one a “all hands on deck”. Come ready to
dive into this with all your senses ready to be engaged. It
is really well written and emotionally enthralling.
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