Oh man, what happened Mr. Tryon? In the 70s you wrote four books, two of them classic horror novels, a literary small-town 'mystery' and four interlocked novellas about a fictionalized Hollywood. All of the books had distinct voices and observations. All That Glitters has the voice of some drunk boasting to those unlucky enough to be near about his glory days. Boring. Boring. Boring.Crowned Heads is the easiest comparison here because All That Glitters would have you believe its more of the same. It's not. Because Crowned Heads had some flaws, but it was unique and even subversive, with Tryon's creations fitting seamlessly into the Hollywood he knew so well. Glitters is artless and crude, jamming five more names into the firmament, in turns gushing and bragging about his knowledge of them, and expecting you to play along.Someday maybe I'll find the motivation to finish this, but its officially in cold storage now. Thank you Alan Bennett for reminding me that "one reads for pleasure," and that "reading is not a duty."My last update said the little twist/trick at the end of Babe was enough to keep reading, despite everything, but I've tried several times to get past first few pages of Belinda and its too hackneyed. Night of the Moonbow was a weaker story, but it was miles better than this.
