The Pretenders

by Gwen Davis

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000NPUMU0
• Release Date: January 1970
• Publisher: New American Library
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Classic of the genre.

The Pretenders came out towards the end of the Jacqelyn Susann, Harold Robbins peak of the trashy jet set roman a clef and tried to outdo all of them, especially in the sex department. It was just about as raunchy as Robbins (with a female perspective) and just as juicy and gossipy as Susann. Set among the rich and famous in Sixties New York, The Pretenders follows the interacting lives of various socialite and showbiz types who spend much of their time trying to screw each other in every sense of the word. The plot is melodramatic, but Davis definitely knows how to keep your attention. She centers the novel on the gathering of most of the main characters at a funeral and much of the novel is told in flashback. It works. In fact the whole trashy book is quite skilfully done by today's standards. The plotting and character development are reallly quite detailed and imaginative. There is also an interesting take on the Sixties as seen from a wealthy, somewhat disengaged perspective. These characters partake of the drugs and sexual revolution without really connecting to the music and cultural changes around them. It's an interesting time capsule. Then there are the sex scenes which are plentiful and were pretty hot by the standards of the day. All in all, this is a fun read that shows you how this kind of book can be done.

Out-of-print but shouldn't be!

This book, a lively trash classic, was once described as "a crunchy, chewy salad of green sex." It is--and coincidentally enough, it inspired the name of the group fronted by Chryssie Hynde and Co.! Worth reading if you can find it.