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  <id>125750</id>
  <title><![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]></description>
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        <name><![CDATA[Rosemary Mahoney]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[I can't believe I'm giving such a low rating to such a well written book. This is Mahoney's memory of the summer she was 17 and worked as Lillian Hellman's housekeeper on Martha's Vineyard. Guess what--Hellman treated her as if she were... an employee!! She never invited Mahoney to eat with her, or ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7472243">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Fri Mar 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[A teenager with writing asperations volunteers to work part-time over the summer for her idol, Lillian Hellman, on Martha's Vineyard...Hellman's writing inspires hope in the young Rosemary Mahoney, but the real Hellman she encounters is nothing like her ideal -- and her illusions and hopes are shatt...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50922475">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[I had no idea exactly who Lillian Hellman <em>was</em> when I began this book; I was interested in the &quot;I worked for a literary celebrity&quot; angle. The author's summer job didn't work out as well as she'd expected - partly due to Hellman's being a rather &quot;difficult&quot; employer much of the tim...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52379673">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[I was struck, as I progressed through this book, with the fact that I switched sympathies from the protagonist, a teenage girl, to the elderly and cranky Lillian Hellman. This is a true story which the author based on her journals of a summer job at age seventeen, housekeeping for the writer Lillian...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66430914">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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  <published>1998</published>
</book>

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  <read_at>Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Mar 03 13:34:00 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Mar 03 13:40:37 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Terrible book.  Teenager spends summer as servant of aged Lillian Hellman.  Mahoney seems intent on describing every single line on every single face in Martha's Vineyard.  She loses Hellman for the trees -- and the flowers, watering cans, hoses, lawns, shoes, and just about everything else she come...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48136703">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48136703]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48136703]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44183458</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.32</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>53</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1998</published>
</book>

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  <date_added>Sat Jan 24 11:23:29 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jan 24 11:27:18 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Wittily written, funny, but awfully young and self-involved...That may be inevitable given how young Mahoney was when she spent the summer working for Hellman. Definitely worth reading if you're into Hellman or curious about her. I'd also love to read something elsee by Mahoney, who has got miles of...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44183458">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>650241</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.32</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1998</published>
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  <read_at>Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 09 13:59:35 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 17:46:02 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[While Lillian Hellman does indeed sound hilarious the book fell flat for me.<br/><br/>Mahoney's prose isn't great - a little flowery, some metaphors that are downright bizarre.<br/><br/>I could care less about how Hellman was a not-so-great boss (I mean, that's unsurprising - that bit that did s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/650241">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>22497590</id>
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    <location><![CDATA[Morocco]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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  <average_rating>3.32</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1998</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Ardith (my aunt)]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun May 18 13:41:13 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 24 15:02:31 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very simple story, but very enjoyable. I could relate to so much of what the author felt, which is a bit sad considering this is a coming of age story and I, uh, was supposed to have come of age 20 odd years ago. Although I really loved the book, it is a bit hard to recommend because I it really dep...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22497590">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>20819323</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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  <average_rating>3.32</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>53</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1998</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <date_added>Wed Apr 23 14:56:34 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 23 15:03:26 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this book before I read any plays by Lillian Hellman.  Mahoney's memoir is clear and interesting, and I'm sure she is being honest, Lillian Hellman probably was a raging b* to work for... <br/><br/>But, still, Hellman's works were progressive, and she was a pioneer among female playwrights....<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20819323">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20819323]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20819323]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>3614849</id>
    <user>
    <id>60219</id>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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  <average_rating>3.32</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1998</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <date_added>Thu Jul 26 18:20:27 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 02:17:57 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[After I read this I had to read the first chapter over again before I realized that the author probably did understand how her behaviors were immature and inappropriate - as you read the book, she seems to be completely unaware, even as the adult writing the book.  Anyway, it's a cool look at some c...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3614849">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3614849]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
  </title>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[I liked this memoir better than the one about Mahoney's trip alone down the Nile, though it was a bit painful to learn about her experiences working one summer for Lillian Hellman. (I prefer the image I have of Hellman based on her books Scoundrel Time and Pentimento and Jane Fonda's great portrayal...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31088188">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[This book was absolutely one of the best memoirs (my favorite genre) I've read. It's local (sort of - takes place during the summer in Martha's Vineyard).  The story is very interesting, and the writer is an amazingly succinct and colorful storyteller.  ]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[More fun and inside gossip, though if I'd been Rosemary, I'd have walked out on the cantankerous, ungrateful old bag.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[A Likely Story: One Summer with Lillian Hellman]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Travel writer Mahoney recounts the miserable summer she spent as a servant in Hellman's home on Martha's Vineyard.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Uncanny parallel to my experience with Oriana Fallaci, another brilliant, difficult writer.]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the 1970s, many a precocious American teenager weaned herself on  Lillian Hellman's <em>An Unfinished Woman</em>, <em>Pentimento</em>, and <em>Scoundrel Time</em>. So what if the author didn't look like her onscreen alter ego, Jane Fonda, in <em>Julia</em>. Few, of course, would have dared to act on their  obsession. But Rosemary Mahoney did, telling the chain-smoking, hard-drinking Hellman that she would love to work for her on Martha's Vineyard &quot;in any capacity.&quot; Who better to toil for than a star who &quot;glorified bad moods, gave them a glamorous edge, brought them to the level of art&quot;--or so the 17-year-old thought. In a fairy-tale-like development, Hellman took Mahoney on as her part-time housekeeper. But the fairy tale was almost instantly to end, and a more complex saga of innocence, experience, and class to begin.<p>  During the summer of 1978, Rose quickly discovered that some bad moods were beyond glorification. Relations between employer and employee were out-of-kilter from the start, since Hellman's version of the job gave &quot;part-time&quot; an entirely new, 24-hour definition. The gig was a far cry from Mahoney's vision of the two of them &quot;sitting at her table together, smoking cigarettes and making toasts to this and that with upraised glasses of a glowing amber drink (never mind that I had had only a few disastrous experiences with smoking and drinking), laughing sagely and discussing books and people and the world and life.&quot; Instead Mahoney's dream job was a  mixture of tension and tedium as she bumbled around the house and stubbornly refused to admit how much she wanted to be thought worthy. What's more, the teenager felt deeply out of her element amid such Vineyard glitterati as William and Rose Styron, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Some might find her descriptions of the increasingly infirm Hellman less than generous, but the older Mahoney is very much watching herself in the wings and finding her younger self just as wanting. <em>A Likely Story</em> is a cautionary tale about adoration and celebrity from one of our more gifted journalists--each scene literally leaps off the page, fraught with emotion recollected not entirely in tranquillity. <em>--Kerry Fried</em></p>]]>
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