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91 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Now you write about people like us, December 15, 2009
This review is from: Too Much Money: A Novel (Hardcover)
Novelist/columnist Dominick Dunne died in the August of this last year, leaving behind a legacy of reporting on the uppermost circles of American society.
And he doesn't disappoint in his final roman à clef, a gilded look into the unseen world at the top of New York, where scandals and crimes swim under the glimmering surface. But "Too Much Money" could easily be called "Portrait of an Artist Who Knows the End is Near" -- the main character is pretty much identical to Dunne himself in his final years, and there's a poignant bite to his last quiet quest for the truth.
Gus Bailey has had a rough two years, especially since a corrupt politician (suspected in the death of an intern) is suing him for libel because of a careless mistake. So he's focusing on a pet project he's wanted to work on for years -- "An Infamous Woman," about the philanthropist Perla Zacharias and the mysterious, suspicious death of her husband Konstantin. However, Perla isn't about to take this lying down -- and she'll unleash filthy rumors, spying, and whatever else it takes to keep all her skeletons in the closet.
While this is going on, society is undergoing shifts both subtle and massive. The infamous Elias Renthal is being released from prison, and he and his wife are beginning a crusade to reenter polite society; a genteel old-guard matron finds herself "downsized" from her life of grandeur, but is offered a new chance; and a charming, light-fingered gay "walker" wends his way onto the trains of wealthy women. Some will rise, some will fall, and Gus Bailey will see it all.
Dunne was dying when he wrote "Too Much Money," and it shows -- there's a slight roughness to his prose, and the whole "suspicious death of Konstantin" is wrapped up in a limp, unsatisfactory manner (seriously, WHAT HAPPENED?). It's a credit to Dunne's skill that his final book is nevertheless an engaging one -- he writes sleek, elegant prose riddled with genteel charm and dignity, and a poignant look at a once exalted slice of New York's society.
Of course, there's also a healthy dose of scandal and crime shielded behind false names, lots of lush descriptions of how the wealthy live and maintain their exalted status ("It's supposed to overpower a room. That's the point of owning a Canaletto"), and how elegantly-dressed nouveau riche can supplant the old Auchinclossian aristocracy. And Dunne takes a hard, piercing look at what makes a life truly worth living, rather than an empty one of fair-weather friends and parties.
But the heart of this book is ultimately Gus. He IS Dunne in his waning years: an elderlywriter with a dead daughter and two sons, who is loved for his wit and loathed for his roman à clef novels. He's even sued for libel by a corrupt politician involved in an intern's disappearance (sound familiar?).
He's also a likable, humble man who is bent but not broken by the temper tantrums of his rich enemies, and determined to ferret out the truth even if he has to anger the third-richest woman in the world. There's also a pretty colorful gang of supporting characters -- genteel society matrons escorted by their charming gay "walkers," a Wall Street businessman and his "trashy" wife, kindly Irish cooks, and the screeching, icy-cold Perla (who seems determined to hide... something we never quite see).
"Too Much Money" sputters at the end of Gus's years-long quest to reveal the truth, but the journey is what makes Dominick Dunne's final novel a good (if flawed) read. Farewell, Mr. Dunne -- you will be missed.
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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"People Whisper Things In My Ear.", December 22, 2009
This review is from: Too Much Money: A Novel (Hardcover)
Dominick Dunne did not go gently into that good night. For those who loved his jaded look into the lifestyles of the rich and famous -- and I count myself among them -- this is his swan song. And precisely because he does have loose ends to tie up and things to put to rest, this book is not as satisfying as his others -- People Like Us, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, and Season in Purgatory, to name a few.
Here, his alter ego -- Gus Bailey -- again glides through the world of the most swanky invitations and best restaurant tables, an insular world where people think nothing of buying Karl Lagerfeld designer duds with sable cuffs and joining the ultra-chic social club, The Butterfield in Manhattan.
His characters are very thinly veiled stand-ins for people whose names have become household words -- Adele Harcourt, for example, is obviously Brooke Astor, Christine Saunders is Barbara Walters, Kyle Cramden is Gary Condit and Perla Zacharias is Lily Safra, the international jet-setter whose husband died in a mysterious fire. Grayson Carter -- the editor of Vanity Fair -- also is depicted. And there are famous "walkers" here, too -- gay men who accompany stupendously wealthy divorcees and widows to high-visibility public events. And, of course there are the "wanna-bees" -- put-upon personal cooks, gossipy florists and undertakers -- all those who float below the world of the high-and-mighty.
The plot is thin -- at the center of it, Gus Bailey struggles to complete one last book about the death of Perla Zacharias' husband, while she summons every bit of money and influence to defeat him. Favorite past charcters like Ruby and Elias Renthal and Lil Altemus make their appearance. It is not a spoiler -- because it has been reported extensively in the media -- that Gus Bailey (Dominick Dunne) "outs" himself for the first time here, to put wide-spreading rumors to rest. To this reader, it was poignant and sad that this man who entertained so many was unable to live authentically and receive the love he deserved.
This book also functions as a "once upon a time". Once upon a time, we were all fascinated with this insular world where social antennae quivered and wealthy "people like us" were exalted. Now all the excess seems positively obscene, and the focus has shifted to those who are "self-made" men and women and who have given back (Bill Gates, for example). Still, readers can thank Mr. Dunne for his always entertaining social chronicles and hope that this tortured but oh-so-talented diarist has found his peace.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the last of his sleek prose, inside dish and deep skepticism about the rich, December 17, 2009
This review is from: Too Much Money: A Novel (Hardcover)
Part of the appeal of Dominick Dunne's novels is that he rips the veil off the rich and powerful; underneath he gives us the stench of corruption and desperation. And yet his first-person narrator --- Gus Bailey, a thinly disguised stand-in for Dunne --- gets asked back to dinner. Talk about your unlikely hero!
The aging hostess and the dying guest are staples in Dominick Dunne's final book. Written while he was dying --- and knew it --- this is a book about older people, Society figures from Dunne's novels of the 1980s and 1990s.
There are some new elements. On a radio show, Gus has shared a piece of gossip about a Congressman who's a suspect in the disappearance of an intern; just as Dunne was by Gary Condit, Gus has been sued for millions. The editor of Park Avenue Magazine assures Gus that the boss will cover his legal fees, inspired, no doubt, by a promise that Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter reportedly made to Dunne. And Gus confesses to his lawyer that he's bi-sexual, though he has been celibate for decades.
If you didn't read Dunne's first few novels, think twice --- you'll have a hard time figuring out who's who here, to say nothing of what they're fighting about. But for the millions who loved his sleek prose, inside dish and deep skepticism about the rich, Dominick Dunne's exit interview is surely necessary reading
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