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DRIVEN
The central role in this story belongs not to a human being, but to a magnificent edifice surrounded by gleaming white marble columns, and perched high on a rise overlooking the sparkling waters of the Pacific ocean. Inside, crystal chandeliers hang elegantly above spacious, luxurious departments, where the well heeled clientele from California’s premier beach suburb are catered to royally. Prestigious Robert‘s Department Store has been a landmark in wealthy Newport Beach, California since 1947, when its founder, Allan Roberts, having made his fortune in movie theatres during and after the Great Depression, built his dream store, moving his family to a beach house on the shores of nearby Laguna Beach.
Inanimate though it may be, Robert’s has easily survived many ups and downs in the economy, until, in 1974, a troubling downturn brought on by the then recession, sees it struggling to show a profit. This scenario is the backdrop for the people whose lives are linked inextricably through Robert’s and, inevitably, with each other.
From;
Paul Roberts, son of the founder and now its president, who is fighting to maintain control as his store struggles to survive, and his marriage begins to unravel;
to his wife, Sue, whose expose novel about the wealthy Newport Beach Orange County clientele who shop at this store is creating chaos in Paul’s career, especially when;
his mistress, Annette, a renowned model, commits suicide over him, and ;
her brother, Tim, vows to seek revenge against Paul’s hurting his sister;
And into this battle field of human emotions comes the brilliant young woman, Joanne, whose sudden thrust from sales clerk into a management position, starts a chain of forward thinking ideas that pumps life back into the struggling store;
which proves easier to do than reconciling her love for the talented bisexual dress designer, Gino, who Joanne falls in love with and whose twisted love affair involves ;
the Native American gym owner, Larry, from Palm Springs, who seeks to, and almost destroys, Joanne through Indian black magic.
The characters are as exotic as the store that links them together, and as Robert’s continues to stand firmly on its ground and entice shoppers to spend, spend, spend, the people who run it and are affiliated with it find their lives turned upside down as they scatter around looking for stability in this story that has them all Driven by despair, ambition, greed and revenge. Robert’s Department Store will survive, but will they?
Inanimate though it may be, Robert’s has easily survived many ups and downs in the economy, until, in 1974, a troubling downturn brought on by the then recession, sees it struggling to show a profit. This scenario is the backdrop for the people whose lives are linked inextricably through Robert’s and, inevitably, with each other.
From;
Paul Roberts, son of the founder and now its president, who is fighting to maintain control as his store struggles to survive, and his marriage begins to unravel;
to his wife, Sue, whose expose novel about the wealthy Newport Beach Orange County clientele who shop at this store is creating chaos in Paul’s career, especially when;
his mistress, Annette, a renowned model, commits suicide over him, and ;
her brother, Tim, vows to seek revenge against Paul’s hurting his sister;
And into this battle field of human emotions comes the brilliant young woman, Joanne, whose sudden thrust from sales clerk into a management position, starts a chain of forward thinking ideas that pumps life back into the struggling store;
which proves easier to do than reconciling her love for the talented bisexual dress designer, Gino, who Joanne falls in love with and whose twisted love affair involves ;
the Native American gym owner, Larry, from Palm Springs, who seeks to, and almost destroys, Joanne through Indian black magic.
The characters are as exotic as the store that links them together, and as Robert’s continues to stand firmly on its ground and entice shoppers to spend, spend, spend, the people who run it and are affiliated with it find their lives turned upside down as they scatter around looking for stability in this story that has them all Driven by despair, ambition, greed and revenge. Robert’s Department Store will survive, but will they?
461 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 20, 2010
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