Me Me Me

by David Huggins

Set in Beverly Hills, Me Me Me concerns itself with three generations of an Anglo-American acting family. Ralph Tait returns to LA, after an absence of eight years, to complete his grandfather's long-overdue memoirs. When Donald Tait goes missing shortly after his 76th birthday, it begins to look as if his autobiography may hold the key to some dark family secrets...

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2001

Reviews

[W. Champion · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as research for my biography of the author's father, Jeremy Brett. David Huggins wrote three novels after his father died. Then he apparently returned to a career in graphic design. This novel is clearly autobiographical, and as I saw it, may have put some of his demons to rest; but it was gratuitously salacious.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I picked up this random book and bought it because I thought the cover was nice and the blurb relatively interesting. It's described as a black comedy and to be quite honest, I had low expectations just because I don't typically like this genre portrayed in film. I had also checked the review on Goodreads before reading the book and saw the low rating so was also slightly swayed before reading this book.

However, the premise peaked my interest and the book was simply put, different from anything I've read before in terms of environment and culture. I think someone living in Los Angeles who is aware of its history and setting would highly appreciate the details in this book. As someone who is not from LA and isn't necessarily lifestyle, I found the small details added to understanding the atmosphere of the city and also the culture of the acting industry.

I personally felt the pacing was slow at the beginning which made it difficult for me to get through, but by the end of the book I thought it really picked up and I could appreciate the story much more. After finishing the story, I found that this book actually has a lot of range in having elements of comedy and thriller whilst being off-beat, which while I guess could be characteristic of the black comedy genre, was surprisingly enjoyable.

In my personal reading experience, the story walked the fine line between comedy and drama. In fact, I think the duality of this story is kind of a perfect representation of the dynamics between the main character, his family members, and the circumstances they have to face in the book. Overall, it was a leisurely fun read!