Last Night at Chateau Marmont

A Novel

By: Lauren Weisberger

Narrated by: Merritt Wever

Brooke loved reading the dishy celebrity gossip rag Last Night - until her marriage became a weekly headline, that is.

Brooke was drawn to the soulful, enigmatic Julian Alter the very first time she heard him perform “Hallelujah” at a dark East Village dive bar. Now five years married, Brooke balances two jobs—as a nutritionist at NYU Hospital and as a consultant to an Upper East Side girls’ school, where privilege gone wrong and disordered eating run rampant—in order to help support her husband’s dream of making it in the music world. Things are looking up when, after years of playing Manhattan clubs and toiling as an A&R intern, Julian finally gets signed by Sony. Although no one’s promising that the album will ever hit the airwaves, Julian is still dedicated to logging in long hours at the recording studio. All that changes after Julian is asked to perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno—and is catapulted to stardom, literally overnight.

Amazing opportunities begin popping up almost daily—a new designer wardrobe, a tour with Maroon 5, even a Grammy performance. At first, the newfound fame is fun—who wouldn’t want to stay at the Chateau Marmont or visit the set of one of television’s hottest shows? Yet it seems that Brooke’s sweet husband—the man who can’t handle hot showers and wears socks to bed—is increasingly absent, even on those rare nights they’re home together. When rumors about Brooke and Julian swirl in the tabloid magazines, she begins to question the truth of her marriage and is forced to finally come to terms with what she thinks she wants—and what she actually needs.

©2010 Lauren Weisberger (P)2010 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Weisberger has insightful takes about the price of success in our celebrity-obsessed culture." ( Publishers Weekly)

Rather Slow

Would you try another book from Lauren Weisberger and/or Merritt Wever?

I would try another book from Lauren Weisberger but I think I'll stear clear of Ms. Weaver's narration.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Merritt Wever?

Anyone.

Could you see Last Night at Chateau Marmont being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Probably not although condensing it all into two hours or so might pick up the storyline sonewhat

Any additional comments?

Ms. Weaver seems to be overly concerned with diction which causes her to overpronunce some words (ex: impordant for important). Her diction is probably just fine naturally without this over pronunciation.
But most unenjoyable is her voice quality. I found I needed to listen to this audiobook with a very low volume as the voice did give me a headache, twice, Please no disrespect or offense meant toward Ms. Weaver.

loved this!! great original story

This was great, loved the story and thought that it was a great narration. Would love to see this made into a movie.

Why is this titled “Last Night at Chateau Marmont”?

I kept waiting for the story to start. Literally nothing happens throughout the 12 hour read. The plot is in the last two chapters of the book. All we need is a two chapter summary and we can all get along with our day. I picked this title because I thought it revolved around The Chateau Marmont hotel, but it literally only mentions it twice throughout the book. Also it randomly jumps around like a television script and provides no details that would be benefit the reader. Also the main character is unlikable and annoying. Would definitely skip this one, I’m going to get my money back.

A Modern Fairy Tale?

Lots of kids dream of being rock stars, but a love that lasts - possible???

Sweet fluff

Feel good book that goes down as easy as a martini at the end of a long work week.

Lousy Narrator!

Book is so-so but I’m not sure I’ll make it through with a narrator who puts a “d” in the word “important” and doesn't vary her tone of voice enough to make a conversation clear.

Good Listen

Another good, easy listen with humor and a fun story line. Romance, modern, and up to date with what our 'real world' stars may actually deal with.

Loved it!

Loved the story but the performance from the reader really made it come alive! A must listen!

A good follow-up to her earlier successes...

I'd have to put this firmly in the popular fiction category, but I wouldn't call it celebrity fiction, though that's what it is about. Lauren Weisberger treats us to a husband and wife team who actually achieve their highest aspirations financially and professionally, and suffer personally for it. So it has something for everyone...those who hope they succeed, and those who hope they fail. What kept me listening initially was the girlfriend talk in the beginning. It's always amazing to me that two people so different become such lasting friends. This is fiction, granted, but Weisberger seems to have a firm grip on the public pulse. In fact, she looks/writes like the pretty, popular girl at school. If you ever wondered what they were thinking while talking, here you might look behind the curtain.

Weinbeger talks about a different way of life from my own, and while I do not add reading celebrity gossip sheets to my list of guilty secrets, I do wonder about what it must be like to have one's privacy ravaged daily in supermarket tabloids. I actually admire those able to keep steady under such fearsome scrutiny. At her best, Weinberger reminds me of British novelist and screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who introduces us to a world beyond our imaginings in the upper reaches of British royalty. She is a bright, understanding, and seemingly balanced observer of human foibles as practiced by those we sometimes treat as super-human, when in fact they are only beautiful, famous, or rich, or all three.

I did grow somewhat tired of the stiff resistance to success as practiced by the wholesome main character, but it gave me moments to think what I might have done in such circumstances, and to wonder if I would have been so circumspect if I was 28 or 30 years old. But the ending was pure fiction of the old feel-good variety. I wasn't expecting it--things never turn out that way. But it was so delicious, that I listened to it twice.

Check the sample to see if you like the narrator!

After Chasing Harry Winston I was excited to listen to another of Lauren Weisberger's novels. This one, however, was slightly disappointing. I had to convince my self to look past the narrator to keep going. I found her winy and slightly annoying which I am sure Lauren was not going for in her main character. The book seems a bit bland and I feel like parts are un-realistic in that the lead character makes decisions that most women our age (30 something) would not make in the same situation. Bottom line, check the sample to see if you can stand the narrator for 12+ hours.