Thank you Libro.fm / Harper Audio, for the ALC and Bibliolifestyle, William Morrow, #partner, for a finished copy of The Anatomy of Desire in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio
Published: May 11, 2021
Summary:
A modern tale of American striving, social media stardom, a fatal love triangle, and a young woman on trial for murder—a mesmerizing reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s classic novel of crime and punishment, An American Tragedy.
Claire Griffith seems to have it all, a thriving career, a gorgeous, successful boyfriend, a glamorous circle of friends. She always knew she was destined for more than the life her deeply conservative parents preached to her. Arriving in Los Angeles as a flat broke teenager, she has risen to become a popular fitness coach and social media influencer. Having rebranded herself as Cleo Ray, she stands on the threshold of achieving her most cherished dreams.
One summer day, Cleo and a young woman named Beck Alden set off in a canoe on a quiet, picture-perfect mountain lake. An hour later, Beck is found dead in the water, her face cut and bruised, and Cleo is missing. Authorities suspect foul play and news about Cleo’s involvement goes viral. Who was Beck and what was the nature of her and Cleo’s relationship? Was Beck an infatuated follower who took things too far? If Cleo is innocent, why did she run? Was it an accident? Or was it murder?
As evidence of Cleo’s secret life surfaces, the world begins to see just how hard she strived to get to the top— and how fast and far the fall is from celebrity to infamy.
L. R. Dorn’s reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s novel, told in the form of a true crime docuseries a la Serial and The Jinx—with characters speaking through the “transcripts” of recorded interviews—The Anatomy of Desire exposes the ambition, sexual passion, and dark side of success that readers will find as achingly poignant as they did a century ago.
My thoughts:
This is a book that I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time and am so glad I finally did. I ended up listening to it and I have to say, the audiobook is amazing – it’s a full cast narration and is done superbly! If you are an audiobook listener, I highly recommend giving this a chance on audio…you won’t be disappointed!
This is one of those books where you really need to keep reminding yourself that this is a fictional story, or at least I did! It’s a tale of an Instagram Influencer accused of murder and is told through a docuseries format. It is quite clever and I found myself completely engaged. Using transcripts of recorded interviews, this one pulled me in from the beginning and I really had no idea where it was headed.
This book really shows the good, the bad and the ugly of social media. I loved that part and think that it’s an interesting commentary on how some people get way too caught up on the success tied to social media. Definitely a lot of food for thought here, as well as a great court-room/legal thriller.
Again, if given the change, I highly recommend going with the audio as it is a full-cast narration and with the multiple narrators it makes for a phenomenal listening experience.
