Book description
Maya Lowe is one of the world's most beautiful film stars
She still thinks she can lead a normal life, despite the fame that
has made her a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic. The twists and
turns of her public and private life are observed by Steve Watkins,
her friend since school-days. He, too, swears that their relationship
hasn't changed since they were teenagers.
But such a relationship becomes unbalanced. under threat. threatens
survive a fame as great as Maya's? Can a man like Steve seriously
remain part of her life? He certainly thinks so. But amid the twists
and turns of Maya's public and private lives, the gulf between what
Steve thinks and what is actually true gets ever wider. And in a world
where the obsession with celebrity seems to make everyone want to be
one, truth is hard to find.
Set in modern-day Britain, America and France, Alastair Campbell's
second novel is part psychological thriller, part exploration of the
psychology of fame. Steve is a brilliantly ambiguous figure, narrating
a story full of morally complex characters from the worlds of film,
business, TV, journalism and private investigation. Whether through
stars with a love-hate relationship with their public; agents milking
the culture of celebrity; a media that cannot get enough because the
public always want more, Campbell depicts a society feeding vainly on
fame, and the dangerous consequences for those caught up in its frenzy.
Alastair Campbell was born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1957, the son of
a vet. After graduating from Cambridge University in modern languages,
his first chosen career was journalism, principally with the Mirror
Group. When Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party, he asked
Campbell to be his press secretary. He worked for Blair - first in that
capacity, then as official spokesman and director of communications and
strategy - from 1994 to 2003, since when he has been engaged mainly in
writing, public speaking and working for Leukaemia Research, where he is
chairman of fundraising. He has continued to act as an advisor to Mr
Blair and the Labour Party, including during the 2005 election campaign.
He lives in North London with his partner of 25 years, Fiona Millar.
They have three children. His interests include running, triathlon,
bagpipes and Burnley Football Club. He is the author of the bestselling
The Blair Years
, extracts from his diaries, and the acclaimed novel
All in the Mind
.
