Faking a love story is a whole lot easier than being in love...
The world can see that international A-list actress Whitman "Win" Tagore and jet-setting playboy Leo Milanowski are made for each other. Their PDA and their fights break the internet. From red carpet appearances to Met Gala mishaps, their on-again, off-again romance has titillated the public and the press for almost a decade. But it's all a lie.
As a woman of color, Win knows the Hollywood deck is stacked against her, so she's perfected the art of controlling her public persona. Whenever she nears scandal, she calls in Leo, with his endearingly reckless attitude, for a staged date. Each public display of affection shifts the headlines back in Win's favor, and Leo uses the good press to draw attention away from his dysfunctional family.
Pretending to be in a passionate romance is one thing, but Win knows that a real relationship would lead to nothing but trouble. So instead they settle for friendship, with a side of sky-rocketing chemistry. Except this time, on the French Riviera, something is off. A shocking secret in Leo's past sets Win's personal and professional lives on a catastrophic collision course. Behind the scenes, the world's favourite celebrity couple is at each other's throats. Now they must finally confront both the many truths and lies of their relationship. And Win is forced to consider what is more important: a rising career, or a risky shot at real love?
Clements and Datta leverage celebrity culture in this familiar trope of a faux romance.
With an ear for dialogue that is the perfect balance of banter and flirting, the writing is both believable and beautiful. What elevates the narrative is that the tension between the characters when Leo urges Win to speak out against the issues she faces as a non-white actress. Although the author team tackle some weightier issues—racism and sexism—this slow-burn romance is swoon-worthy.
The View Was Exhausting is a charming and modern love story that is a comment on the realities that women of colour face in a world run by men. But don't let the gorgeous exotic locales fool you, this is not a breezy beach reach, this is a story with substance.
MIKAELLA CLEMENTS has been featured in the New York Times, the Guardian, Hazlitt, Catapult, and more. In 2019, she was shortlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Prize and in 2018, the Bridport Short Story Prize.
Originally from Australia, she lives with her wife, Onjuli Datta, in Berlin.
ONJULI DATTA has been published in The Billfold and Daddy Magazine.
Originally from England, she lives with her wife, Mikaella Clements, in Berlin.
No comments:
Post a Comment