The One and Only Vivian Stone by Melissa O’Connor is a dual storyline novel following two disparate lives. Vivian Stone’s life is found on cassette tapes in Margot DuBois’s grandmother’s house. She found them while cleaning out the house to prepare it to be sold. The story lines go from the time of early Hollywood with its titans of power to modern day. The book is listed as a historical fiction and a romance.
I found I was more fascinated with Vivian’s story than Margot’s story. I also found myself curious about the amount of power (for good and evil) the heads of the various movie conglomerates had. I had read in the past about their behaviors and having that information included in the book just reinforced my belief about men in power over women and the extent that they would push their power.
While I did not choose this particular book to read, my bookclub did. It was not a book I would have necessarily picked up, but overall I enjoyed the novel. I found I was very curious about how the tapes ended up in Margot’s grandmother’s house. I wondered about the connection and was surprised.
To me, there seemed to be a number of connections to Lucille Ball and her time on TV and Viviane Stone. I was uncertain how I felt about that parallel that seemed to grow as the tapes continued. I did not find Margot’s and Viviane’s connection as strong as I expected.
The One and Only Vivian Stone by Melissa O’Connor was a good read.
