Cast your mind back to late 2017, when Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse by more than 80 women. Now imagine you’d been part of that world, trying to claw your way up the film industry’s ridiculously competitive ladder: how much, and how often, would you turn a blind eye to certain situations in order to safeguard your own position? And how would you feel about it a decade later when headline-making accusations come to light? This is the premise of Complicit (Orion), the second novel by London-based, American-Taiwanese author Winnie M Li – and it’s a must-read for anyone who’s ever wondered what really goes on behind Hollywood’s PR-approved glamour.
“When we first meet 39-year-old protagonist Sarah Lai, she’s a screenwriting lecturer at a no-name college, despite having had a promising career as a film producer in her 20s,” says Stylist Loves editor Gemma Crisp. “When a star reporter at The New York Times gets in touch to ask about her years working with bigshot producer Hugo North, you can’t help but make comparisons to journalist Ronan Farrow and Weinstein. What follows is a series of flashbacks as Sarah methodically reveals her struggle to get a foot in the door, the inequalities she put up with, the power struggles she witnessed as she dedicated her life to her career – and how she slowly begins to lose sight of herself and her values as her success increases. It’s a slippery slope that many will recognise and a timely reminder that we should never lose sight of the #MeToo movement.” £14.99; Bookshop.org