Catch the Sun by Lee ZamlochRelease date: 2008
Publisher: Self-Published
Source: Gifted by the author
Link:Goodreads / Amazon
My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Synopsis: Marilyn Monroe begins appearing on Amanda Grace's patio dancing, laughing at the moon and gazing at Amanda through the glass doors. Is it possible that Marilyn, against all reason, has somehow transported herself through time and space to contemporary Los Angeles? And why does she flaunt Amanda, but whose talent is questionable?
The visitations begin when Amanda's mother, Edith, commits suicide, an event that shakes Amanda to her foundation. For, while she has been a successful model, she has always measured herself against her mother, a well-known artist who has overcome severe obstacles. But unlike Edith and her accomplished sister, Joanne, Amanda Grace has not distinguished herself intellectually or artistically, nor even managed to marry and have children. In her eyes, she has failed to live up to her mother's expectations. Now, with Edith's death, she has forever lost her chance to prove herself. In her grief, she forgets to eat, sleep, or carry on with life's simplest tasks. The final blow comes when Amanda accidentally learns she was adopted. With the loss of her family as a touchstone, her foundation crumbles, and her fragile sense of self dissolves completely.
Catch the Sun is a story about how an obsession with a celebrity can impact the life of an ordinary woman. It explored our endless fascination with Marilyn Monroe's fragility, beauty and dazzling rise and fall.
I was very surprised when I first started reading Catch the Sun. I found myself engaged in the storytelling, turning page after page trying to find out what would happen next. I thought I knew how it was going to end but the twist totally threw me off and I was left reeling. What really happened? Did Amanda imagined everything?
In the beginning, I found myself tearing up and sympathizing as Amanda and her sister Joanne dealt with the suicide of their mother. However, as we learn more about Amanda, I became irritated about how self-absorbed she was. Apparently, since she was so "sensitive" (as her mother, Edith, puts it) it gave her a way out on leaving all the arrangements to Joanne. And when this was pointed out to her, she ran away crying, leaving everything to be figured out by other people. Again.
This story is told in Amanda's POV as well as in Marilyn's POV. I really enjoyed Marilyn's point of view since it would give us more knowledge on the starlet's life and how it was entwined with Amanda's. I don't know much about Marilyn Monroe's life but I enjoyed how Ms. Zamloch was able to transport us back into Miss. Monroe's life and how authentic it felt.
My only issues with the story were the "woes is me, nobody loves me, men only like me for my body" that both Marilyn and Amanda talked about. I think that so much time was spent whining about everything that I rolled my eyes so many times that I was worried they were going to get stuck that way. They both complained so much about how they were stuck in their vicious cycle and were both so unhappy that I started to force myself to care about it. I just wanted for Amanda to get out of dark clouds and do something for once. Which she does but like I said, I'm still confused with how it ended.
I will probably reread this book again just so I can understand it better and pick up on those clues that I know were right in front of me. And I'm definitely curious about Marilyn Monroe and I would love to learn more about her and her short life.
Author's Bio:
Lee Zmaloch lives on the Central Coast of California where she writes fiction. Her work has appeared in a number of literary journals and she has won several honors for her writing including the Booklegger Award for best submission of the year from Toyon and honorable mentions from the Nelson Algren Award, and Raymond Carver Short Story Contest. She has published two novels which are available from Amazon.com in both print and kindle editions. She is currently at work on her next novel.
Lee has been a teacher, a consultant, a college professor and a program designer. She enjoys hiking, reading, traveling and romping with her two Siberian huskies, Sunny and Storm.
Contact Lee Zamloch here: Website / Twitter / Goodreads
*Giveaway*
Ms. Zamloch is giving away an e-book copy of her novel, Catch the Sun. All you have to is enter the giveaway down below.
Good luck!
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