Molly Bit – Book Review

Author: Dan Bevacqua

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: May 1, 2020

Book Description: A haunting and provocative debut novel about the stratospheric rise of an enigmatic Hollywood star and her legacy in the vein of Daisy Jones and the Six, from Columbia MFA graduate Dan Bevacqua.

Molly Bit doesn’t believe she’s destined for success—she knows it.

This certainly helps her get through the countless auditions featuring actors who look and dress just like she does; helps her swallow the indignity of less talented actors landing roles; even helps her endure the industry’s aggressive over-sexualizing of young women.

When Molly is offered a lead role in a major film, she knows, too, that to seize this opportunity she must sacrifice everything. Even her commitment to an old friend.

It’s her big break, and Molly becomes a star. But she soon learns the hardest part of fame is everything after.

Molly Bit begins as a portrait of the artist as a young woman and transforms into an ode to the strange, personal magic of moviemaking, and our obsession—public and private—with performance. In Molly Bit, Dan Bevacqua announces himself as a force of wit and insight with his profound reflections on celebrity, beauty, violence, and the power of art.

Rating: 2 Stars

Review: When I first saw it being compared to Daisy Jones and the Six, I thought I was going to be in for a treat. I totally do not think that is a fair comparison at all. In my opinion this was a very disjointed story and it is almost like there are two completely separate books written within the same cover.

We start by meeting Molly Bit as an aspiring actress. She is beautiful, has a ton of talent and she is almost magic when you see her act. When we first meet her she is auditioning for a couple of roles. Then we fast forward and Molly has had some success, but it looks like her career is about to explode. We keep forwarding with each chapter by years so you get snip-it’s into Molly’s career and many loves.

Suddenly you are thrown a curve ball and this book does a 180, which I will not spoil, but all I could think of is WHY?????. That is where it completely lost me. The time sequences were off, and I had an extremely hard time following it.

I think I understand what the author was trying to do, but to me it just did not work at all. I am sure there will be an audience that will love this book, and I will probably be in the minority, but this book was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.