Praveen Asthana

This is one of those books that I picked up based on its title and dust jacket. It reeks of film noir and Old Hollywood. It does…in a way. The story’s premise is that clothes carry a ghostly fragment of whoever wears them, and when another wears them, those remaining fragments transfer to the new wearer.

Genevieve works in a vintage clothing story in Hollywood. They have clothing worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and a host of others. One day the store receives a box of clothing that was found in an abandoned storage unit. The best item in the box is a scarlet dress.

Soon a man comes looking for the box, in particular the scarlet dress. But, alas, the dress has already been sold. The man is a throwback to the ‘40s men’s style. He intrigues Genevieve.

Needing something to wear to a party, Genevieve borrows an outfit from the store. Knowing who wore it, gave her the courage to be more outgoing, even flirty. And so begins Genevieve’s interest in how the transference of personality can travel through a person’s old clothing.

The prologue is pretty good. A woman wearing a scarlet dress heads out in a 1954 convertible to kill someone. That’s all the reader gets. The story then switches to Genevieve’s point of view.

For me, this was a weird story. Each chapter title was the name of an old movie star, like Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart, and others, but the chapters themselves had little or nothing to do with the actor.

There are tidbits of gossip about the stars but given that there many inaccuracies in the story, I wasn’t sure if they were real or if the author had invented them

I expected a lot more from this novel and was terribly disappoint that it is such a dull read. I didn’t understand how Genevieve came to “discover” the personality transference, But I did get how she came to believe that if she was wearing another’s clothing, how she could become begin to act like them.

The Woman in the Movie Star Dress gets two stars in Julie’s world.… (más)

This book started out with so much potential, that I'm disappointed that it didn't have a good editor to help the author make this a much better story.
Asthana obviously has a great deal of knowledge and love for the golden age of hollywood, I love that era also, so I was intrigued just from the description. Unfortunately it was soon clear that the author wanted to fit about 4 or 5 ideas into this novel and all those threads and different styles of writing ruined the whole thing.
I just couldn't finish it...too bad.… (más)

The Woman in the Movie Star Dress by Praveen Asthana has an intriguing storyline but needs editing for homonyms and typos. This does not reflect on the writing of this author. The premise is an excellent one: that a person's soul can be imprinted on the fabric of their clothing. Unfortunately the repetitiveness of the words "transference" and "chi" became distracting. Half of the references could have been omitted. I gave this book three stars.

Genevieve, the protagonist was born Daisy Bear Nightcloud, but changed her name after what was called "The Incident!" She lives at home with her father, Jimmy an alchoholic and brother, Travis who is mentally unstable and bent on revenge.

She works for Annabel at Mel's Hollywood Clothing Store where they sell clothing that had been used in movies. The Store specializes in costumes and clothing worn by movie stars and set extras. She works with Gretchen who entertains her by discussing her sexual escapades as they sell items and gossip. Genevieve has a cavalier attitude about the store inventory and treats it like her personal wardrobe without the knowledge of the owner.

She steals her father's peyote to help her feel more confident and to establish a better connection with the stars who wore the clothing.

She ends up with three possible men: Cameron Scott, who raped her mother and had just been released from jail; Todd, who she grew up with and finds him a bit boring; or Renzo, the mysterious guy who sells murder memorabilia. I was puzzled why she would consider dating the man that attacked her mother. She is promiscuous in her interactions with strange men she selects at Hollywood parties.

I received a complimentary kindle copy from Doublewood Press an Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and NetGalley.… (más)

The concept underlying this book is both entertaining and unique. Genevieve works in a thrift shop specializing in Hollywood castoffs (and knockoffs). Her father's stories about peyote use and Native American traditions leads her to wonder whether she could absorb some of the chi that might remain in the clothes of famous actresses.

It's a fun experiment with some dark edges -- after all, many Hollywood starlets were not only famous but famously unhappy, or depressed, or suicidal.

The book manages to work in a lot of both fact and rumor about Old Hollywood's cast of characters. Mae West, Natalie Wood, Ava Gardner, Jean Harlow, Katherine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Hedy Lamarr, Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, and Marlene Dietrich all get at least a mention.

Unfortunately, I found the writing to be somewhat stilted, and as a result I never quite got pulled into the story. That's the reason for the 3-star review, which on the Goodreads scale means "liked it."


I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


… (más)