Mercury Pictures Presents
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- Create Date：2022-09-05 12:17:44
- Update Date：2025-09-24
- Status：finish
- Author：Anthony Marra
- ISBN：1399804405
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Summary
The epic tale of a brilliant woman who must reinvent herself to survive， moving from Mussolini's Italy to 1940s Los Angeles—a timeless story of love， deceit， and sacrifice from the award-winning， New York Times bestselling author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena。
Like many before her， Maria Lagana has come to Hollywood to outrun her past。 Born in Rome， where every Sunday her father took her to the cinema instead of church， Maria immigrates with her mother to Los Angeles after a childhood transgression leads to her father’s arrest。
Fifteen years later， on the eve of America’s entry into World War II， Maria is an associate producer at Mercury Pictures， trying to keep her personal and professional life from falling apart。 Her mother won’t speak to her。 Her boss， a man of many toupees， has been summoned to Washington by congressional investigators。 Her boyfriend， a virtuoso Chinese American actor， can’t escape the studio’s narrow typecasting。 And the studio itself， Maria’s only home in exile， teeters on the verge of bankruptcy。
Over the coming months， as the bright lights go dark across Los Angeles， Mercury Pictures becomes a nexus of European émigrés: modernist poets trying their luck as B-movie screenwriters， once-celebrated architects becoming scale-model miniaturists， and refugee actors finding work playing the very villains they fled。 While the world descends into war， Maria rises through a maze of conflicting politics， divided loyalties， and jockeying ambitions。 But when the arrival of a stranger from her father’s past threatens Maria’s carefully constructed facade， she must finally confront her father’s fate—and her own。
Written with intelligence， wit， and an exhilarating sense of possibility， Mercury Pictures Presents spans many moods and tones， from the heartbreaking to the ecstatic。 It is a love letter to life’s bit players， a panorama of an era that casts a long shadow over our own， and a tour de force by a novelist whose work the Washington Post calls “a flash in the heavens that makes you look up and believe in miracles。”
Like many before her， Maria Lagana has come to Hollywood to outrun her past。 Born in Rome， where every Sunday her father took her to the cinema instead of church， Maria immigrates with her mother to Los Angeles after a childhood transgression leads to her father’s arrest。
Fifteen years later， on the eve of America’s entry into World War II， Maria is an associate producer at Mercury Pictures， trying to keep her personal and professional life from falling apart。 Her mother won’t speak to her。 Her boss， a man of many toupees， has been summoned to Washington by congressional investigators。 Her boyfriend， a virtuoso Chinese American actor， can’t escape the studio’s narrow typecasting。 And the studio itself， Maria’s only home in exile， teeters on the verge of bankruptcy。
Over the coming months， as the bright lights go dark across Los Angeles， Mercury Pictures becomes a nexus of European émigrés: modernist poets trying their luck as B-movie screenwriters， once-celebrated architects becoming scale-model miniaturists， and refugee actors finding work playing the very villains they fled。 While the world descends into war， Maria rises through a maze of conflicting politics， divided loyalties， and jockeying ambitions。 But when the arrival of a stranger from her father’s past threatens Maria’s carefully constructed facade， she must finally confront her father’s fate—and her own。
Written with intelligence， wit， and an exhilarating sense of possibility， Mercury Pictures Presents spans many moods and tones， from the heartbreaking to the ecstatic。 It is a love letter to life’s bit players， a panorama of an era that casts a long shadow over our own， and a tour de force by a novelist whose work the Washington Post calls “a flash in the heavens that makes you look up and believe in miracles。”
Reviews
Jena Best
，
I loved this。 Mercury Pictures Presents is not quickly paced。 Nor is it a look at the glamorous side of Hollywood。 No， this story is a slow build of characters in the real world facing the prejudice of the time， people who are lost （literally and figuratively）， and family feuds in business。 This will NOT be everyone's cup of tea， but I really enjoyed it all。 And the last few chapters？ Tears。 I loved this。 Mercury Pictures Presents is not quickly paced。 Nor is it a look at the glamorous side of Hollywood。 No， this story is a slow build of characters in the real world facing the prejudice of the time， people who are lost （literally and figuratively）， and family feuds in business。 This will NOT be everyone's cup of tea， but I really enjoyed it all。 And the last few chapters？ Tears。 。。。more
Nancy
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4。5
Amy
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All the stuff that Marra does so well: friendships and siblings and quippy dialogue and tight scenes that range from bedroom farce to war。 He has a genuine warm affection for his characters， and he lets us know what happens to all of them （even the cat）。 Though his characters face all kinds of moral dilemmas， this is a feel-good book。 Closer to Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" than to Simon Mawer's "The Glass Room。"This book is a little zanier than Marra's "A Constellation of Vital All the stuff that Marra does so well: friendships and siblings and quippy dialogue and tight scenes that range from bedroom farce to war。 He has a genuine warm affection for his characters， and he lets us know what happens to all of them （even the cat）。 Though his characters face all kinds of moral dilemmas， this is a feel-good book。 Closer to Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" than to Simon Mawer's "The Glass Room。"This book is a little zanier than Marra's "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena，" which makes sense。 A book set in Hollywood， exploring propaganda， can be more playful than a book set in Chechnya， exploring Russian war crimes。 At times I thought the writing here was a little overdone， with the occasional baroque sentence or intrusion of commentary on today's historical moment。But I'm always impressed with how Marra writes women characters who are believably strong， smart， and independent。 I love how he manages digressions--he places them perfectly and doesn't let them go on for one sentence too long。 He is a great storyteller， and I'll always let his books jump to the top of the reading stack and derail everything else I planned to do for the day。 。。。more
Lisa McElwain
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DNF - too many characters， too all over the place。
Jim Willse
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The best novel I've read in some time。 Artfully written， intricately plotted but not overly so， deeply researched， with a cast of major and minor characters worth caring about。 The pacing is just right， sometimes slow， sometimes staccato。 The themes are big but never overstated -- guilt over actions done and not done， identities assumed and imposed， the breath-taking hypocrisies of war and politics。 I'd hope it achieves the same commercial success as A Gentleman in Moscow -- it's certainly in th The best novel I've read in some time。 Artfully written， intricately plotted but not overly so， deeply researched， with a cast of major and minor characters worth caring about。 The pacing is just right， sometimes slow， sometimes staccato。 The themes are big but never overstated -- guilt over actions done and not done， identities assumed and imposed， the breath-taking hypocrisies of war and politics。 I'd hope it achieves the same commercial success as A Gentleman in Moscow -- it's certainly in the same league。 。。。more
Martha
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This book is far better than my 3 rating。 The author， however， wanders off in the back stories losing my interest。 I loved the main characters though！
Judith
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This is an amazing book。 I listened to most of it and it was as if I were listening to a symphony of words。 Anthony Marra is a great talent。 Someday this should be required reading in an American Lit course。 Definitely a classic about the mid 20th Century。
Nad
，
Fantastic！ His writing is superb， the story is compelling - what more could you want？ I also loved the characters and the mixture of locales in this novel - Hollywood in the 30s and 40s and Italy during those time periods。 Plus there are a number of moments that brought tears to my eyes。 I have read Anthony Marra's other books and loved them as well （A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Tsar of Love and Techno）。 This is one more "must read"！ Fantastic！ His writing is superb， the story is compelling - what more could you want？ I also loved the characters and the mixture of locales in this novel - Hollywood in the 30s and 40s and Italy during those time periods。 Plus there are a number of moments that brought tears to my eyes。 I have read Anthony Marra's other books and loved them as well （A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and The Tsar of Love and Techno）。 This is one more "must read"！ 。。。more
Terri
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I did not finish this book。 I tried。。。I really did but I couldn't get into it。 It gave me a headache and then I kept falling asleep。 The writing style was very difficult to follow。。。。and boring。 I did not finish this book。 I tried。。。I really did but I couldn't get into it。 It gave me a headache and then I kept falling asleep。 The writing style was very difficult to follow。。。。and boring。 。。。more
Robert Swanson
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A fascinating read with a cast of characters that takes you back to the years before and during WWII。 Laugh out loud at points， but heartbreaking at others。 Marra crafts sentences that require a second read because of their intensity and brilliance。
Aaron S
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Excellently written， but I felt like there were characters and/or scenarios that truly weren’t needed。 The story would’ve been fine without some of the unneeded extras。 Worth reading。 Not as good as Constellation of Vital Phenomena。
Terri
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I just couldn’t with this one。 Too disjointed and verbose for me。 That said， the premise was what drew me to it， so others may like it。 It’s pre-WWII in Hollywood。 A mass of emigrants flee Europe due to changes in politics， etc。 There are many story lines in this tale， but the main one involves Maria Lagana who is forced to outrun her past in Italy。 Maria finds herself working for Mercury Pictures and Arty Feldman。 Her boyfriend is Eddie Lu， a Chinese American actor， who can’t escape the studio’ I just couldn’t with this one。 Too disjointed and verbose for me。 That said， the premise was what drew me to it， so others may like it。 It’s pre-WWII in Hollywood。 A mass of emigrants flee Europe due to changes in politics， etc。 There are many story lines in this tale， but the main one involves Maria Lagana who is forced to outrun her past in Italy。 Maria finds herself working for Mercury Pictures and Arty Feldman。 Her boyfriend is Eddie Lu， a Chinese American actor， who can’t escape the studio’s typecasting。 Enter Pino/Vincent， a stranger from Maria’s father’s past that threatens Maria’s carefully constructed facade。 Mixed with some historical truths and weaving timelines， I found myself lost a few times and never really connected with the characters。 。。。more
Cara Tuzz
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Beautifully written。 Each sentence is complex， leaving you feeling satisfied。 For me， it had a few too many characters。 Good ending to a satisfying story。
LynnB
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4-1/2 stars。 There were some 5 star moments in this story。 At some points I really had to stop to consider things from a point of view I had not thought about before。
LucyV
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4。5 stars。
Rick Alpert
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Author writes with great wit and interesting characters。 Loved the first part of the story， but began to lose interest half way through。 DNF
Beth
，
Anthony Marra‘s A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA was so wonderful that I read his second book， THE TSAR OF LOVE AND TECHNO， without bothering to first read its reviews。 So I was disappointed; it did not measure up to CONSTELLATION。 Still， when his most recent book， MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS， came out， I bought it。 And， again， it doesn’t measure up to CONSTELLATION “Fool me twice， shame on me。" If you want to read MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS because you loved CONSTELLATION， be warned that you wil Anthony Marra‘s A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA was so wonderful that I read his second book， THE TSAR OF LOVE AND TECHNO， without bothering to first read its reviews。 So I was disappointed; it did not measure up to CONSTELLATION。 Still， when his most recent book， MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS， came out， I bought it。 And， again， it doesn’t measure up to CONSTELLATION “Fool me twice， shame on me。" If you want to read MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS because you loved CONSTELLATION， be warned that you will be disappointed。 。。。more
Lynn Peterson
，
Okay I waited a long time to get this book and read a lot about it and was really excited to read this。 Well I made it to 50 pages。 DNF。 Its rare for me not to finish books but my rule is to give it at least 50 pages and if I dread picking up the book - then I stop reading it。 This book goes back and forth a lot。 A lot。 Paragraphs， while well written， were so long that I began skipping parts of them。 I just have way too many books waiting for me to try and get thru this one。
Heather Bottoms
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This book follows multiple immigrants that have come to work in Hollywood leading up to WWII。 The perspective is interesting， but there are so many tangents off the main story that it gets a bit congested at times。 But Marra’s prose is beautiful and he is effective at creating a rich atmosphere for his characters。 I listened to this one and highly recommend the audiobook as the different voices and accents help you follow the multiple characters and storylines。
Lisa
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DNF at page 192 not for me
Lisa Wisniewski
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I really wanted to love this book but for whatever reason it did not draw me in。 It wasn’t bad， just not good。
Asma
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Anthony Marra is one of very few contemporary authors whose latest books I anticipate to read。This latent offering， however， didn't work for me。 I wasn't inspired to continue reading it so abandoned reading it after 60 percent through it。 Anthony Marra is one of very few contemporary authors whose latest books I anticipate to read。This latent offering， however， didn't work for me。 I wasn't inspired to continue reading it so abandoned reading it after 60 percent through it。 。。。more
Angela
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3。5 Stars Love this author but this book just didn’t quite work for me。 A brilliant plot， and I loved the Italian immigrant story but the characters felt forced。 The language was impeccable- the author took great pains to use exceedingly sophisticated language to describe the most simple things。 I think that’s why it was so hard for me to feel connected to these characters。
Hayley Hoerner
，
Wayyyyy too many characters to keep track of， especially when listening to it on audio。 Audiobook was the only way I could get through this book。 Every time I opened the book I would read a sentence and just couldn't do it。 The timeline also jumps around too much for me。 Wayyyyy too many characters to keep track of， especially when listening to it on audio。 Audiobook was the only way I could get through this book。 Every time I opened the book I would read a sentence and just couldn't do it。 The timeline also jumps around too much for me。 。。。more
Georgiana
，
We may think we’ve read all there is to read about World War II， but Anthony Marry has discovered and brought to life a segment that this reader has not seen before… what happened in Hollywood。 While it is a war story， it’s more an immigrant’s tale， following well drawn， fascinating characters as they traverse from Nazi controlled Italy to the bright lights。Marra braids the stories of Mercury Pictures a B grade movie house and the feuding twin brothers who run Mercury with stories from Hollywood We may think we’ve read all there is to read about World War II， but Anthony Marry has discovered and brought to life a segment that this reader has not seen before… what happened in Hollywood。 While it is a war story， it’s more an immigrant’s tale， following well drawn， fascinating characters as they traverse from Nazi controlled Italy to the bright lights。Marra braids the stories of Mercury Pictures a B grade movie house and the feuding twin brothers who run Mercury with stories from Hollywood personalities， overbearing politicians and displaced immigrants trapped in wartime quarantine。 His characters include a photographer， an architect specializing in miniatures， a clever guilt-ridden daughter of the best lawyer in San Lorenzo， and a supporting cast of aunts， politicians， and ladder climbers to create an extensive though brilliant cast of characters。 Throughout the story， Marra’s fresh language， sharp wit， and humor from a time where we’ve been conditioned to find none， carries a story threatens to break the reader。 As it is， the humanity holds both the novel and the reader together。 It’s simply brilliant。Mercury Pictures Presents was released on August 2， 2022。 Thanks to the publisher， Random House Hogarth for this advanced readers copy。 。。。more
Laurel Flynn
，
Let me begin by saying that "Mercury Pictures Presents" is a very different tale from "Constellation"， Anthony Marra's previous book。 The two novels share some structural elements: multiple viewpoints that each have their own focus， real people as characters （warts and all）， a sense that the ending is not the point of the piece， a bibliography。 Read this book just for the turn of phrase， the vocabulary， the imperfect characters and， yes， eventually you reach the end of the book。 Savor it。 Beneat Let me begin by saying that "Mercury Pictures Presents" is a very different tale from "Constellation"， Anthony Marra's previous book。 The two novels share some structural elements: multiple viewpoints that each have their own focus， real people as characters （warts and all）， a sense that the ending is not the point of the piece， a bibliography。 Read this book just for the turn of phrase， the vocabulary， the imperfect characters and， yes， eventually you reach the end of the book。 Savor it。 Beneath the humanity is an interesting treatise on propaganda and censorship that may leave you to think for quite awhile。 。。。more
Pamela Dolezal
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I loved this book。 It is very complex story in the late 30’s to the early 40’s taking place in Hollywood and in Mussolini’s Italy。 Two stories told in counterpoint to each other - an Italian family divided by a fascist regime， the father sent to exile for speaking against the government， the mother and daughter head for Hollywood to make a new life for themselves。 More to come…
Minya
，
Massive DNF。 I'm annoyed to have read 210 pages and finally， after desperately trying to finish it， gave up。 This story is drowning in description。 I can't read another paragraph wholly。 I was skimming and realized I should not have to force myself to continue a story with so many mixed-up plotlines， timeframes， and a multitude of characters I didn't give a shit about。 Also， I feel the author handles his prose well， but under the title of Captain Pretentious。 I'm pretty convinced this was origin Massive DNF。 I'm annoyed to have read 210 pages and finally， after desperately trying to finish it， gave up。 This story is drowning in description。 I can't read another paragraph wholly。 I was skimming and realized I should not have to force myself to continue a story with so many mixed-up plotlines， timeframes， and a multitude of characters I didn't give a shit about。 Also， I feel the author handles his prose well， but under the title of Captain Pretentious。 I'm pretty convinced this was originally a college dissertation for WWII history class turned overlong book。 P。S。 It does have a few good one-liners。 。。。more
Roxie
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Just so good。 It was a slow build for me and took time to get into， but once I was in I was in。 I loved the characters and the small glimpses into their lives outside of the bigger story。 A transporting novel。
Lisa Roberts
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