Susan Compo’s narrative voice—sharp-tongued and allusive—has earned her comparisons to those great satirists of the pre-war demimonde, Dorothy Parker and Dawn Powell, and her characters display a similarly irresistible blend of smart-ass wit, despair, and whistling-in-the-dark bravado. Following two highly praised story collections, Compo’s debut novel, first published in 2001, offers a satirical and very funny take on LA’s celebrity culture industry.

Talent agent Giselle Entwistle has her hands full juggling her oddball roster of clients. There’s Adon, struggling to make the transition from teen idol to mature star with the aid of a goatee; and would-be rock impresario Hedda Hophead, “aggressive as junk mail and just as relentless.” There’s country singer Len Tingle, whose career has as many ups and downs as his love affair with Giselle; and Tupperware demonstrator Troy Harder, “a living legend in food storage,” who Giselle fears might want to plastic-wrap her. Not to mention child prodigy belter Frances Culligan, who suddenly goes missing.

And then there’s Pandra, whose haunting memoir of growing up in suburban Orange County and coming of age back in ’70s glitter-era Los Angeles (platform boots, Rodney’s English Disco) forms a book within this book. Giselle hopes to get Pandra’s true story published—though it does bring up the matter of a possible murder . . .

from the reviews of Pretty Things

“ ‘A wealth of charmed knowledge’ is how Susan Compo describes one of her cracked but winning characters, and the same phrase nicely sums up what she brings to her own work—a high-spirited story that allows us to sense the pain that throbs just beneath the surface.” Jonathan Kirsch | Los Angeles Times

“Susan Compo writes with cool precision and humor as she parades her pretty things through a canny narrative mix of fact and friction.” Barney Hoskyns | Rock’s Backpages

Susan Compo grew up in Orange County, California, where she published the pioneering “ ´ “ (subtitled The Fanzine for the Blank Generation. She is the author of two story collections, Life After Death and Malingering, and a novel, Pretty Things, as well as A Wild Life, a biography of Warren Oates. Her most recent book is Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell To Earth. Her newest book is David Bowie and ‘Cracked Actor’: The Fly in the Milk, co-authored with Mark Wardel.

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