The Garden on Sunset: A Novel of Golden-Era Hollywood (Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Book 1)

Reading the first two of Martin Turnbull's nine-book series Hollywood’s Garden of Allah Novels, I was taken on a rollicking journey as I followed the intertwined lives of Marcus, Kathryn and Gwendolyn-- three gutsy young people from very different backgrounds, each determined to follow their unique dreams wherever they might lead in the still-nascent world of post-Silent Hollywoodland. I loved having a fly-on-the-wall view for all of the interesting twists, and trysts, that pulled me behind-the-scenes through all of the high spots of the day, like the Cocoanut Grove, the Brown Derby, Schwab's, Vendome, Grauman's, Bullock's, and the Garden of Allah itself... As a lifelong fan of the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was a dream come true! I found myself Googling every address and location mentioned, and marveling at the amount of research and resulting detail excavated by Turnbull. Each of these books is clearly a labor of love.Scenes vacillated from single character introspection to rocketing straight into a raucous nightclub scene, the background of which was filled to the brim with all of those famous faces one would surely see buying cigarettes, making (and breaking) deals over Martinis and caviar, and dancing the night away... With the turn of every page, I could smell the perfume and taste the "sideways punch" served poolside, hear the rustles of palm fronds and paper lanterns in the breeze during a Garden of Allah party, then squinting upwards at the bright lights of the infamous "living" billboard for MGM's Hollywood Revue...The lead characters' interactions with the famous and the infamous were intriguing. Turnbull captures the physical imagery (wardrobe, hair, facial expression, vocal inflection) of folks like George Cukor, Ramon Novarro, Talullah Bankhead, Errol Flynn, Marion Davies, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Alla Nazimova so vividly, it was as if I were standing among them. Painting a picture with words, giving characters (both real or imagined) breath, life, vulnerabilities and a real story to move through… these qualities are the marks of great writing. It is one thing to simply "tell" a story, but it is something else entirely to vividly "show" the reader the world they're in, in order to breathe and live it themselves. Turnbull’s obvious love of Old Hollywood is evident throughout this series of tales he has spun, and gives new life to a time that I fear may be lost if not resurrected by stewards of history like himself.I initially read the first two novels, The Garden on Sunset and The Trouble With Scarlett, nearly a year ago when I received the free sample .PDFs via email through Turnbull’s website. As with all things, Life simply got in the way for the next year, until recently, when I ordered hard copies of both, in addition to Books 3 and 4, Citizen Hollywood and Searchlights and Shadows respectively. In a matter of days, I roared through Books 1 and 2 all over again, savoring and delighting in the trio’s adventures as much as I had the first time, feeling as though I’d been reunited with old long-lost friends. You genuinely *feel* for these characters, and you *want* them to succeed and find their bliss, in the end, despite all the ups and downs that their respective journeys have taken. Now that I’ve just begun Book 3, I cannot wait to see what our plucky trio have collectively gotten up to in the year that’s followed.If you’re a fan of Old Hollywood, and dream to walk among those who contributed to the creation of that legendary era, do yourself a favor and check out Martin Turnbull’s Hollywood’s Garden of Allah Novels. You’ll be glad you did!

I'm normally not a big fan of historical fiction, but "The Garden on Sunset" looked to be interesting, if nothing else. Reading about young people struggling to make it big in Golden Age Hollywood should have been an entertaining ride, especially with so many big names of the era also populating these pages. And for the most part, author Martin Turnbull manages to provide a colorful picture of a Tinseltown on the cusp of a revolution, as talking pictures emerge on the scene and stand to change the movie industry forever. Sadly, while the setting is vivid, the plot is lacking, and the abysmally slow pacing of the novel almost seems to mock the reader.In the midst of the Prohibition, shortly after "The Jazz Singer" has made history as the first commercial motion picture with sound, three young people arrive in Hollywood to seek their fortunes. Marcus, thrown out of his small-town home for being caught in a homosexual act, seeks to find the actress he idolizes and become a writer -- first for short stories, later for screenplays. Kathryn, having had enough of her mother's attempts to make an actress out of her, flees her own home to realize her own dream to become a journalist. And Gwendolyn, a pretty Southern belle, has actress dreams of her own and will do almost anything to climb to the top. As these three dreamers' lives intertwine, they watch a parade of stars pass through Hollywood, get caught up in scandals and disasters of all kinds, and witness the slow but inexorable evolution of Tinseltown firsthand.Turnbull pays close attention to detail in this novel, giving us a vivid look at the golden days of Hollywood. He's clearly done his homework and presented us with a careful rendition of how the entertainment capitol of the world looked in its heyday, as well as which stars were present and what films were playing at the time. At first I thought I'd caught a goof in there being a nightclub called the Cocoanut Grove -- the one I knew about was in Boston and was destroyed in a tragic fire in the '30s -- but a little research on my part shows that there did indeed exist an establishment of that name. And there are plenty of famous names of the time peppering the novel as well -- George Cukor, William Randalph Hurst, Groucho Marx, Errol Flynn, Greta Gabor, etc., though these characters are mostly just window dressing (with the exception of Cukor, who actually figures into the plot).The setting, sadly, is the best part of the novel. The plot, such as it is, is barely present, and the story serves to just nudge our three characters from one random event after another. And every time our characters make a little progress in realizing their dreams, the author seems to yank the rug out from under them for no reason other than cheap drama -- either a golden opportunity falls through due to accident or stupidity, or what looks like a golden opportunity turns out to be a sham or less than expected. The reader can only have their chain yanked so many times before they start to get more annoyed than sympathetic toward the characters... Also, it gets obnoxious to see Marcus mostly preoccupied with sex. I get that he's just starting to explore his sexuality in a time when homosexuality was far more taboo than it is today, but many of his scenes involve him chasing men to the point of doing remarkably stupid things. (There's also a scene where Kathryn ends up trapped in a collapsed building with a man... and they end up sleeping with each other right there in the ruins. What?!)The characters themselves are also lacking. Despite having different dreams and backgrounds, they largely have the same voice, and despite everything they go through they remain largely static throughout the novel. Give them some character development, please -- or at least have what happens to them have repercussions past the end of a chapter. Seriously, even with massive career setbacks or personal upsets, nothing seems to faze these characters emotionally, or at least past a chapter or two...While a nice look at golden-age Hollywood, there wasn't much of a story to be had here, and by the end of the novel nothing much seems to be resolved -- our characters have only progressed a few steps by the novel's final pages. Possibly to set up for the sequel? I doubt I'll be reading it... and unless you have a deep passion for this era of Hollywood's history and are more interested in exploring the setting than getting a compelling story or characters, I wouldn't recommend this novel.

I loved this book. Three starry eyed young people with varied pasts meet up at the Garden Of Allah hotel. Real Hollywood big names are also part of the story and it is wormed together to make a very good story. I'm ready for the second in the series.

Turnbull has written a history of the Hollywood wannabes from the 1920's and 1930's. It's focused on three young people who want to get into different aspects of the business - acting, screen writing, and journalism. Their lives had enough drama before they moved into the Garden of Allah that they want to leave behind. But breaking into Hollywood was never easy. Turnbull gives the reader an interesting realistic picture without getting too seamy.

Fans that can remember the old Hollywood names and faces will really have fun with this book. The story moves along but the depth is not a strong suit. If you don’t like Hollywood and or you are conservative, skip this series.Otherwise the series is a relatively lighthearted, entertaining way to spend summer.

I had no idea what to expect when I started reading - for once I hadn't read the introduction - and what a wonderful surprise it turned out to be!So well written, straight forward and easy to move through. I was completely invested in the future of every character after the first chapter and, one very bleary-eyed night later I was turning the last page. I can't wait to read Book #2!!

The Garden on Sunset is a fascinating ride through the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in that era. It's impressive how much information there is, and how detailed it is.I was surprised just how difficult it was for homosexual men in the 1930s (assuming that angle is accurately presented). When one reads biographies, the extra-marital activity - both homosexual and heterosexual - of Hollywood stars appears to have been rife, at least behind the scenes. So one might assume that plenty of blind eyes were turned, and it was a relatively accepted lifestyle away from the public eye. Yet the legal risk that gay men faced in this era, and the degree of discretion they were forced to employ, seems to have been immense.The one thing I struggled in the novel with was the jumps in time. It frequently skips months or even a year between one scene and the next, which is partly to include certain historic events. The problem is that one becomes invested in the three protagonists, and wants them to succeed, in their love and work life. But the jumps greatly slow down their progress. Kathryn seems to have been sending articles to the newspaper proprietor for years before finally finding a way to get his attention. Gwendolyn is particularly problematic: six years go by, and despite being brilliantly connected with a roommate who's the private secretary to an A-list actress, she never even manages to get a screen test. Was it really like that back then?The problem may perhaps be that the author is trying to remain faithful to history. The reality is that there wasn't an actress called Gwendolyn Brick who made it big: she's a fictional character. As such, she's not permitted to play in that arena. The same with Marcus and the the film star he has a brief liaison with - suddenly a year has passed and he hasn't heard from him since. Kathryn is at least permitted some success in her sphere, as a journalist. I wasn't convinced by Marcus missing out on a job because a security guard had a personal vendetta against him - surely he could have made a complaint when he finally arrived, a few minutes too late? Perhaps that was based on a real incident though.All in all it's great writing, with sparkling scenes, and it will keep you gripped. But it's not a "rags to riches" Cinderella story of young people making it big in Hollywood. The three protagonists are really a lens for the reader to see the reality of Hollywood in a past age, and as such cannot significantly intrude on or impact that history.

Charming novel with intrigue and romance. Great characters and well written. All in all, an enjoyable read!

Really liked this book. Follows three characters trying to make a living in Hollywood during the 1920’s and 30’s. Real life actors/directors etc play major and minor roles in the book. A great sense of the time from reading this.

Garden of Sunset, takes you back in time to those golden years when talkies first began. Fiction interloped with the stars and places of the period. Nitty gritty of the times and morals of the period. Three people the main protagonists, who have left home for one reason or another and meet up at the opening of the Garden of Allah Hotel, a house once belonging to Allah Nazimova. three people trying to make their mark in Hollywood Land.Riveting story and I just had to get the rest of the series.