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Another City, Not My Own: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir by Dominick Dunne
Review: Dunne has dished out some real treats in his literary career, and the gossip is always the tastiest part. But this is a real flop. Rather than give his readers the inside scoop, Dunne seems far more intent on glorifying himself through his hateful alter ego Gus Bailey, who pays court to all the dragon ladies of LA society (Liz Taylor, Nancy Reagan, Betsy Bloomingdale) to bask in their gilded presences (!) and to share their moral outrage at the OJ trial. It seems to slip right over Dunne's head that there's something pretty pathetic about these society lights who seem to have do with their lives except to watch and obsess about this stupid murder trial, but there's nary a note of self-irony from beginning to end. The worst thing that Dunne's friends seem to think about OJ is not that he is a murderer but that he is an arriviste, and Dunne's "Bailey" seems to agree wholeheartedly. It seems to escape "Bailey's" attention, however, as he clucks over OJ's pretensions at hanging out with the Brentwood set, that he himself, delightedly clucking to the reader about scoring choice seats at the Eva Gabor funeral, is every bit as much a pushing parvenu himself. The only thing dopier than the cameo by Princess Diana (who, Cassandra-like, divines the ending of the trial, as if her royalty somehow gifted her with extrasensory perception) is the incredibly self-congratulatory ending. Save your money and read one of Dunne's other, and actually enjoyable romans a clef, such as A SEASON IN PURGATORY or THE TWO MRS. GRENVILLES.
Review: I thought this was a great book. I, too was very tired of the OJ farce but this book put a new spin on everything.Luckily I read a review that said someone gave away the ending and I stopped reading reviews!!!!I would think since most of us are readers we should know better than to give away the endings. The ending in this book is totaling worth reliving OJ!
Review: Dominick Dunne's "Another City, Not My Own" is an extraordinarily confusing novel. The protagonist is Gus Bailey, who is essentially Dunne himself. Dunne suggests that the renaming of the protagonist and the label of "novel" applied to the book are to protect against libel suits, though any legal protection these devices afford is at best dubious. The story, such as it is, is of Bailey/Dunne's coverage of the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson that so dominated the media. Well, that's part of the story. The rest involves Bailey/Dunne's visits with celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor to Nancy Reagan to Andrew Cunanan. With so many books about the trial, the question of this book's worth is probably whether it adds anything new. In some respects, Dunne does contribute to our understanding of the case by sharing insights about the main players, from the defense team to the prosecution to some of the witnesses. Of course, we are told that the book is fiction, and that fact mitigates against the faith we can put in Dunne's tales. Some of the events are obviously fictitious, but some are patently real. Where the truth lies is something Dunne evidently would prefer to avoid disclosing. One of the more curious aspects of "Another City, Not My Own" is that Bailey/Dunne repeatedly laments the people who would rather tell him what they know than tell officials. At the same time, Dunne himself is being exceedingly less than forthright in using the literary structure he does. We are told to believe in Simpson's factual guilt because of the hearsay Bailey/Dunne hears, but the result is merely one of preaching to those who have made up their minds one way or the other. In the end, one must wonder to what end this book was written, aside from the net effect on Mr. Dunne's bank statement. If the book is purely fiction, then one wonders why such a fictional account is necessary. If the book is mostly non-fiction, then why disclaim it as Dunne does? Finally, if the book is a mixture of fact and fiction (as it is), how are we to know what is what?
Review: Pure fun on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the murders! So clever of Dunne not to drag us through the well known facts of the case--he got right to the juicy (no pun intended) stuff. As enjoyable for the snapshot of his "society-lunching lifestyle" as anything. Great literature? No. A great entertainment? Yes!
Review: i read this book several years ago and i've passed it on to every OJ junkie i know. its BEYOND spectacular. Dominick Dunne is a master at creating a riveting page-turner with a wicked jaw dropping sense of self depricating humor.
ive since read this book 3 more times.
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