Ten days in the hills

On the morning after the 2003 Academy Awards, Max--an Oscar-winning writer/director whose fame has waned--and his lover, Elena, are in bed, still groggy from last night's red-carpet festivities. They are talking about movies, talking about love, talking about the just-begun war in Iraq. But a house full of guests demands attention. They share their stories of Hollywood past and present; they watch films in Max's luxe screening room; they gossip by the swimming pool, and tussle in the many bedrooms. The tension mounts, sparks fly, and Smiley delivers a virtuosic, unputdownable romp of a novel about love, war, sex, politics, storytelling--and, of course, redemption--that's Hollywood!