Page 6 August 2, 2018 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Reviewed by Kristina Kora-Beckman,
Librarian, El Segundo Public Library
Recently, I fell into reading Liane Moriarty’s
novels and was quickly hooked. Her writing
is smart, thought-provoking and at times,
gripping. With many of her stories, I found
the Australian author’s searing portrayals of
complicated relationships that join and divide
family members and friends engaging and
relatable in their realistic depiction.
My favorite of Moriarty’s is What Alice
Forgot, about a woman who wakes up from
an accident and can’t remember the last 10
years of her life. What’s worse, she barely
recognizes the new life in which she now
finds herself immersed—nearly 40, divorced,
with three children she can’t remember and
strained relationships with the people who
used to matter the most. At first, readers
sympathize with Alice’s confusion at what
could have happened in the missing years
to end up at this point. But as Alice slowly
recovers her memories and unravels the
mystery of the past decade, readers come to
understand how a series of events can create
tensions that can result in a life that would
be unrecognizable to our younger selves.
I also enjoyed The Husband’s Secret, which
is about three seemingly unrelated women
Entertainment
whose lives are shattered by secrets that
are revealed. The interconnectedness of the
stories and similar feelings of asking “what
if” for the various scenarios made for an
interesting, riveting read.
To check out or browse Moriarty’s fiction
titles, please visit the library to apply for
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty.
your free library card. These titles would
also qualify for our Adult Summer Reading
Program, going on until September 1. It’s not
too late to sign-up and win prizes! Stop by
the Reference Desk for more information. •
Check It Out
Author Spotlight:
Liane Moriarty
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.
Kristina Kora-Beckman.
Film Review
In Generation Wealth, Plastic
Surgery for Dogs is Commonplace
By Morgan Rojas
for www.cinemacy.com
Yes, you read that right…plastic surgery
for dogs. If the jowls on your canine companion
hang too low for your liking and you
have enough dollars and cents (sans common
sense) to want to fix it, you can now
get facial reconstructive surgery... for your
dog. Shockingly, this is only a sliver of the
outlandish anecdotes in Lauren Greenfield’s
eye-opening documentary, Generation Wealth.
Derived from years of photographing subjects
from all around the world, Greenfield’s independent
film is a fascinating look at the 1
percent and the stark reality of what too much
money can do when a person starts to lose
sight of life’s more important joys in favor
of the superficial happiness cold, hard cash
can temporarily bring.
It can be argued that, in some respects,
the character of modern-day society is in
decline. Technologically, we are evolving at
lightning speeds -- autonomous cars, smart
cities, artificial embryos and intelligence are
just a few of the ways that we are attempting
to better our quality of life. But remember,
we sent a man to the moon before there was
Internet or Instagram, so technology is not
the problem. It’s the growing lack of human
connection coupled with undervaluing
close relationships, which is resulting in a
more merciless society. Humans as a species
have never been more self-aware and selfcritical
than we are right now. That said, we
are in luck because if we can afford it, we
can pay our way to happiness, right? Wrong.
Photographer Lauren Greenfield knows
first-hand how growing up in a well-to-do
environment can shape one’s outlook on
life -- and whether the effects are apparent
or subconscious, they follow you forever.
In Generation Wealth, Greenfield showcases
how money affected her classmates at the prestigious
Crossroads School in Santa Monica,
some 20-plus years post-graduation. She also
exposes the privileged lives of more infamous
figures, including Charlie Sheen’s “$30,000
porn star friend” Kacey Jordan; former hedge
fund manager Florian Homm, whose net
worth exceeded $800 million (and who, due
to shady activity, sat on the FBI’s most wanted
list); and Jackie Siegel (aka The Queen of
Versailles), owner of one of the largest and
most expensive single-family houses in the
United States.
What we learn from their stories plus the
stories of others profiled in the film, is that
more money often equals more problems.
The green-eyed-monster doesn’t discriminate
between age, gender or location…and while
some people are able to navigate through this
dark period in their lives with a lesson learned
as the outcome, the majority of subjects are
still really sad. Money couldn’t buy them
happiness, no matter what lies and false
promises the affluent society had sold them.
As a whole, Generation Wealth feels like a
cathartic experience for Greenfield, who addresses
personal issues with her aging parents
that had stemmed from childhood. Certain
points of the film feel like we are eavesdropping
on a closed therapy session, which at
times can feel obtrusive and slightly removed
from the film’s bigger objective. When the
movie sticks to the script and delves into
the unusual lives of various wealth addicts,
it is fascinating. However, when it starts to
detour into Greenfield’s issues of her mother
abandoning her as a child, it starts to feel
unnecessarily sad.
Generation Wealth is a 21st century fairytalemeets
horror-story. Lauren Greenfield’s
energetic storytelling about America’s dirty
little secret will definitely keep audiences
intrigued and fascinated during the entire
runtime.
Generation Wealth is rated R. 109 minutes.
Now playing at the Landmark and select
Laemmle theaters. •
Generation Wealth. Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Morgan Rojas.
“What a blessing it is to love books.”
– Elizabeth von Arnim
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