The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder - Hardcover

Naylor, Clare; Hare, Mimi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670033073 ISBN 13: 9780670033072

Publisher: Viking Adult, 2004

Synopsis

A former congressional intern who takes a job as second assistant at The Agency, a powerful Hollywood talent agency, Elizabeth Miller never expected to have to cope with the trials, tribulations, and dirty dealings of the film world, from a Machiavellian assistant and company power struggle to a lecherous producer and ritalin-snorting boss. 100,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

If contemporary fiction has one thing to teach us, it's that working for the rich and glamorous is a living hell. This simple truth has already been revealed by such books as The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, but for those who feel that the message bears repeating, Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare's The Second Assistant: Tales from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder offers yet another enjoyable (though fairly forgettable) lesson.

The heroine of this gossipy tale is Elizabeth Miller, a young, former campaign worker for a US congressman who finds herself between employment opportunities. Unable to obtain any more socially responsible work, Lizzie is lured into the job of second assistant to an executive at a glitzy Hollywood agency. Once there, she's hit with all the "pick-up my dry cleaning," "walk my dog," "hire strippers for my party" torment that the higher-ups can dish out. At first Elizabeth is isolated, out-of-place, and underdressed in her new world, but she makes friends, builds her wardrobe, and eventually grows to care for her menial job, her Ritalin-snorting boss, and the entertainment industry in general. Finally, she reaches the conclusion that thousands of other Californians have before her: what she really wants to do is produce. At times, Lizzie seems far too naļve to survive long in the shark-infested waters that the authors describe, but there can be only one kind of ending to such a light-hearted book, so we know she will somehow muddle through. Hare (who was once a Hollywood executive herself) and Naylor throw in a dreamy guy and a few plot twists that most readers could see coming from space, stir, and serve. Of course, a little frivolity is not a bad thing, and The Second Assistant is certainly an entertaining addition the new underling subgenre of modern fiction. --Leah Weathersby

About the Author:

Clare Naylor is the author of three previous novels, including Love: A UserĀ’s Guide and Catching Alice.

Mimi Hare was, at twenty-three years old, the director of development for a Hollywood production company, where she worked on such feature films as Jerry Maguire and As Good as It Gets. This is her first novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Adult
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0670033073
• ISBN 13: 9780670033072
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336