All the Stars in the Heavens

I happened upon this novel at Target and thought it would be a good one to pick up and read quickly.  I have read several novels by Trigiani before and enjoyed them. I like historical fiction, and this is what the book was supposed to be.  I enjoy watching the old movies, especially those with Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable.  This would be a lighter read after finishing The Boys in the Boat, so I postponed The Girl on the Train for a while.

Observations:

While this is a book based on the life of Loretta Young and her relationships with Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable, I had trouble with the disclaimer at the beginning of the book.  The author stated the usual 'any semblance to persons living or dead was purely coincidental and did not depict actual events' or something to that effect.  Then I am reading about the movie The Call of the Wild and I know that existed and I know that Loretta won an Oscar for The Farmer's Daughter and I am wondering just how Trigiani can use all of this factual information in a book and declare that using it in reference to real people is coincidence or not meant to be true.

Following that vein of thought, I googled the both Loretta and Clark and found much of the same biographical information that was in the novel, which further puzzles me.

Second, I became bogged down with the long explanations of the filming in Washington state, of the love affair between Young and Gable, and the back and forth between the two of them with whether they loved each other or not or whether he would divorce his wife, then whether their daughter would be told of her true parentage.  I actually felt like I was re-reading passages over and over and often double checked to be sure I had remembered to turn the pages.  The story-telling seemed tedious.

Finally, I had to skim through the last 75-100 pages of the book.  I wanted it to be over.  I am not one to just quit reading anything, so I knew I had to finish it, by oh my.  It was hard to do.  I kept putting down the book and checking my phone for messages and for FB posts, and I wouldn't have done that if I had been truly interested in where the next page was taking me on this journey through Loretta's life.  Even her marriage was dull and boring.  Suddenly Judy had two brothers and I am not sure when they came into the family.  They were just there.

When I checked online reviews after I finished, this evening, I found that many shared my opinion.   

All in all, I am glad I read it, I guess, but I won't be recommending it to any of my friends as a good book to read, like I did with The Boys in the Boat.

Next up - The Girl on the Train.