Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures [Paperback]

A Bookpage Best Books of 2012 pick

“At once a delicious depiction of Hollywood’s golden age and a sweet, fulfilling story about one woman’s journey through fame, love, and loss.”—Boston Globe 

In 1920, Elsa Emerson is born to the owners of the Cherry County Playhouse in Door County, Wisconsin. Elsa relishes appearing onstage, where she soaks up the approval of her father and the embrace of the audience. But when tragedy strikes her family, her acting becomes more than a child’s game of pretend. While still in her teens, Elsa marries and flees to Los Angeles. There she is discovered by Hollywood mogul Irving Green, who refashions her as an exotic brunette screen siren and renames her Laura Lamont. But fame has its costs, and while Laura tries to balance career, family, and personal happiness, she realizes that Elsa Emerson might not be gone completely. Ambitious and richly imagined,Laura Lamont’s Life in Picturesis as intimate—and as bigger-than-life—as the great films of the golden age of Hollywood."At once iconic and specific, Emma Straub's beautifully observed first novel explores the fraught trajectory of what has become a staple of the American dream:  the hunger for stardom and fame.  Laura Lamont’s Life in Picturesaffords an intimate, epic view of how that dream ricochets through one American life." – Jennifer Egan, author ofA Visit from the Goon Squad

"Emma Straub is a magician, full of  brilliance and surprise."— Lorrie Moore

"An exquisite debut novel that brings Depression-era Hollywood to life with startling immediacy. Laura Lamont is a memorable character, and Emma Straub illuminates her inner life with uncanny authority."— Tom Perrotta, author ofThe LeftoversandLittle Children

“I absolutely loved this tale of one woman's incredible jló