Actors Anonymous: A Novel
Written by James Franco
Narrated by James Franco
2.5/5
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About this audiobook
The actors in James Franco’s brilliant debut novel include a McDonald’s drive-thru operator who spends his shift trying on accents; an ex-child star recalling a massive beachside bacchanal; hospital volunteers and Midwestern transplants; a vampire flick starlet who discovers a cryptic book written by a famous actor gone AWOL; and the ghost of River Phoenix. Then there’s Franco himself, who prowls backstage, peering out between the lines—before taking the stage with fascinating meditations on his art, along with nightmarish tales of excess. “Hollywood has always been a private club,” he writes. “I open the gates. I say welcome. I say, Look inside.”
Told in a dizzying array of styles—from lyric essays and disarming testimonials to hilariously rambling text messages and ghostly footnotes—and loosely modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Actors Anonymous is an intense, wild ride into the dark heart of celebrity.
James Franco
James Franco is an acclaimed actor, director, artist, and writer. His film appearances include 127 Hours, Milk, Pineapple Express, Oz the Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers, and the Spider-Man trilogy. Franco has written and directed several films, and his visual art has been featured in solo shows in Los Angeles and New York. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, McSweeney’s, and other publications. Franco has an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College.
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Reviews for Actors Anonymous
25 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I get the creative idea behind the book and what James is trying to play out, but sometimes it gets sporadic and you get a bit lost... listen all at once and maybe it’ll make better sense. I listened to it in chunks at work so it was hard to keep track.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Giving it one star seems generous. The idea behind this novel is actually interesting and if it had been published anonymously or under a pen name I think it would have been better. It's hard to distinguish between what is real and what is made up since it was written and read by the same person which makes it seem autobiographical ramblings that don't make a lot of sense.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At first I didn't know what I was getting into with this books. A few chapters were all over the place, but some of the chapters were just awesome. Though there was some spots that I couldn't completely because I thought the idea was completely stupid. All in all I liked the book and I would read it again.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This book started out pretty good, I was following the story nicely. Then all of a sudden he cuts to some other characters that I don't care about and tho book turns to shit.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I'm with him right up until page 175. After that, Franco leaves behind and doesn't even notice 'cause he's playing his own game by then.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Just glad that it is over and I don't have to listen anymore!