BLOG TOUR: Plastic by Frank Strausser @FrankStrausser @SuzyAPBookTours #plastic #bookreview

The moment I saw the cover of Frank Strausser’s novel Plastic, I wanted to read it. The cover has that sort of campy satire vibe, but the book itself is a bit more serious. Dealing with themes of fame, beauty, and aging with a contemporary twist and a touch of irony, this was a commentary on The Scene prevalent in society and particularly in cities like LA, with a fun and engaging plotline and a leading duo that I really enjoyed.

About the Book

Dr. Harry Previn, the renowned Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, is secretly called in to operate on the disfigured face of the ravishingly beautiful teen pop star Fay Wray following an assault. Surrounded by image makers who value beauty over all else, he soon fears Fay is in mortal danger. Will he risk everything to save her beauty, her life, or himself?

Plastic is a novel of psychological suspense about a heinous crime that leads to a desperate Hollywood cover up. Welcome to “The Capital of Good Looks,” an ephemeral world of celebrity and beauty crashing at the intersection of Hollywood and rock and roll.

Reflection

Going in, you’d think the two main characters would be unlikable. An attractive, successful LA plastic surgeon whose gorgeous wife is divorcing him. But Harry and Helen do not necessarily fit the stereotypes. When we open, their marriage is in trouble. After miscarriages and fertility issues, the couple that was once so in love is completely disconnected.

Helen is a natural beauty—one of the few who hasn’t been touched by plastic surgery. But after her most recent round of fertility drugs, she’s gained weight and doesn’t feel like herself. She never really paints anymore—something that was once her passion. And after so much disappointment, Harry doesn’t seem to be with her anymore. He’s thrown himself into his work, leaving Helen feeling alone.

On the morning after Helen meets Harry for dinner and serves him divorce papers, Harry has a surgery that doesn’t go well. The patient dies, and Harry is worried that his emotional state may have been to blame. But all of that will fall by the wayside when a beautiful young singer is brought to him for emergency surgery. Fay Wray appears to have been assaulted, but her managers want it kept underwraps. They enlist Harry to try and repair her famous face. The most beautiful face.

But there seems to be more to this request than meets the eye… Conspiracies, the value of beauty, and suspense drive this novel forward. When I found out the author is a playwright, it made sense to me. The book  has a very on-stage feel to it. The characters are truly characters, the leads grow over the course of the book, and the narrative is heavy with dialogue over internal monologue.

A quick read with an interesting premise. I think those interested in the glitz, glamour, and gritty underbelly of Hollywood will enjoy this. I liked the message on the value of beauty and what sacrifices are made to preserve it. I also liked the focus on what your worth is if you lose the thing that makes you who you are.

Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours and Rare Bird for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author

Frank Strausser came of age as a producer, playwright, and novelist while living in The Capital of Good Looks. His plays include Psycho Therapy, The Powder Room, The Split, Valentine Triage, and Wishing Well. Plastic is his first novel. He studied story and character development with Robert McKee and with the late Milton Katselias, at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Strausser is currently working on his second novel, Here Comes The Son. He completed the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Program at Harvard University and majored in English Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He divides his time between Palm Beach and Los Angeles with his wife and son.

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