Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD About?
This is novelization—and retooling (as I understand)—of Tarantino's 2019 movie. It follows two days (with typical Tarantino flashbacks and flashforwards for many of these characters) in the lives of a few people in 1969 Hollywood. A former TV star who had his shot at movie fame, and missed—he's now a traveling bad guy (“heavy”) guest star on TV shows. His stunt double/gofer/driver, notorious for getting away with murder (and is somehow possibly the most sympathetic character. Also, Sharon Tate, Squeaky Fromme, and Charlie Manson.

THE PACKAGING
I trust whoever put this book together got a nice bonus—or at least a good bonhomie slap on the back—it's so well done. The whole thing is a throwback—the cover style looks like a movie novelization from the 70s/early 80s, with stills from the film. Inside you get a lot of the full-page advertisements for novels (and novelizations) that were era-appropriate and common in the back of Mass Market Paperbacks at the time.

It was a nice little treat.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD?
Eh...I'm not sure. I guess I should say that I didn't watch the film—outside of the writer/director—there was nothing about it that appealed to me. I only picked this up out of curiosity about Tarantino as a prose-writer. That colored my appreciation of the novel for sure. It's not surprising at all that a movie that didn't appeal to me resulted in a novel that left me unmoved.

I'm glad I got to see what Tarantino was like as a novelist. I know what he's like as a screenplay writer and director. And this was different—but similar. Had this been anyone else writing, I'd have commented on how well they capture the Tarantino-vibe. There are so many (seemingly?) aimless stories shared by characters that can only come from him (or someone trying to rip him off).

There's also this nice recurring thing where a story is being told—characters introduced, etc.—that turns out to be the characters and story of the pilot episode that the has-been actor is shooting. Sort of a novelization within a novelization. That was neat—and there's so much more going on in that story and with those characters than is possible for a 1969 TV Western, that I give myself a little slack

But as for the novel itself? Eh, I don't know. I guess I think I understand the point—I just don't see where they were stories that need to be told. It wasn't a bad novel, and I don't resent the time I spent reading it (as I frequently do with books that don't work for me)—and I enjoyed bits of it quite a lot. But I've got nothing to say good or ill about it. Put this down as the most tepid of 3 stars.

I wasn't expecting too much going into this book, I was really hoping it would be just as good as the movie or not a complete copy of the movie, but if it was I wouldn't be upset. But, fortunately this was much more than that. It adds so much to each character, Tarantino also does a fantastic job at keeping the same atmosphere as the film. Characters like Charles Manson, which only had once scene in the film, had a lot more to do in this novel. And “pussycat” became a much darker character than I thought she was from the movie, even though I knew she's a part of the Manson family. And, the biggest depth is definitely to Cliff Booth. They add so much to his character that he feels like a brand new character even though all of it makes complete sense. I would love this novel, everything that is in it, to be adapted into a mini series. But, this novel definitely isn't going to appeal to everyone. If you thought the film was good but didn't like it until the final 30 minutes, this novel won't do much for you, other than the insight it puts on Cliff Booth and the Manson family, which doesn't take up nearly as much as the entire novel. Also, if you don't have love for cinema, like really, really love this novel also won't be for you. There are many chapters where the characters just go on tangents about different actors, films, or directors that doesn't really relate to the story of the novel. But I personally loved that stuff. So, if you loved the atmosphere, the entire film from beginning to end, loved the characters or were interested by them, and love cinema, this novel is definitely for you. I am excited for what Tarantino decides to write next.

9/10

I had forgotten the novel was going to be a thing, so I was pleasantly surprised to bump into it on a grocery store shelf a couple weeks ago. An appropriate location to find it given the mass market drugstore paperback look of the book.

The book expands on Cliff Booth's backstory and focuses more on Rick Dalton's coming to terms with where his career is heading. There is some substantial re-jigging of the plot so ultimately the Manson family and Sharon Tate stories could've been excised completely and the book would've been better off for it. Some things don't work here either - there are three unnecessary chapters completely set in the world of Lancer, and the precocious child actor didn't work for me in the film. Her role is greatly expanded here.

Overall, a fun read. Not great as a novel. Tarantino digresses too much into asides about B movie directors and TV stars for it to work as a novel, but those digressions were probably my favourite parts of the book. His writing of certain female characters feels much more cringy on the page than on screen (He twice mentions a character's “dirty soiled panties”) and the crudity can get a bit eye-rolling at times, but I would definitely read more from him if he goes down this route.