A Stranger In The Mirror-Sidney Sheldon

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The book is a reflection of the apathy and horrors one goes through to be in a star-studded industry. The story shows the true side of the limelight, the struggle to be eminent, the sacrifices one has to make, the agony one goes through and the means sometimes one has to opt to reach at the top. The story goes along with two protagonists- Jill Castle and Toby Temple. The book starts with Toby’s life from childhood, his mother’s struggle to protect him and make him a star comedian. She sends him to the city to make a name for himself, but the struggle to become a star are not easy to get through. No one recognises his talent nor like his jokes. He does small stand-ups all around and one day his life turns around when a producer named Sam recognises him and gives him a break. On the other hand Josephine is born into a poor family but grows up to be a very beautiful woman and the high class children like to mingle with her and become friends with her. As she grows up she falls for her friend’s brother, and when they decide to get married, the boy’s parents do not agree and the information is reached to Josephine in a twisted manner which makes her leave her home and got to Hollywood to make it big under the name Jill Castle. With this starts her long and agonised journey to the top and on the way she meets Toby and that starts one whole another story.

The book is very fast paced and will keep you on your seat’s edge all the while you are turning the pages. The book very deeply surfaces the tempting situations a human comes along, then the guilt that follows, the wrong things that the conscious does not allow but has to be done for survival. The book shows the ugly side of the glamorous world of Hollywood that people crave for and are crazy for. How it completely changes one’s personality and makes a person as well as breaks him. I will give it a 9/10.

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