Published: June 22, 2012
Words: 90,494 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9780985129422

Short description

A fresh-faced San Joaquin Valley girl masterminds a wildly successful bottled water empire only to find herself sidelined as a pampered Beverly Hills wife. To escape an unraveling marriage and her twin brother's tragic death, Magdalena embraces the L.A. lifestyle with a comic vengeance. ”This is a book Joan Didion will wish she’d written!” — Chris Abani, author of Graceland

Extended description

Beautiful Magdalena de la Cruz, hailing from California's San Joaquin Valley (as memorialized in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath) breezed through UC Berkeley and built an empire selling designer water. She’d never felt awkward or unattractive…until she moved to Los Angeles. In L.A., where “everything smells like acetone and Errol Flynn,” Magdalena attempts to reinvent herself as a geographically appropriate bombshell—with rhinestones, silicone and gin—as she seeks an escape from her unraveling marriage and the traumatic death of her younger brother. Magdalena’s Los Angeles is glitzy and glamorous but also a landscape of the absurd. Her languidly lyrical voice provides a travel guide for a city of make-believe, where even Hollywood insiders feel left out.

“Electric, funny, lively, edged prose illuminates the pages of So L.A.-Hoida knows how to write sentences and characters that bite right into you.”
-Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt & The P.. (Read more) Beautiful Magdalena de la Cruz, hailing from California's San Joaquin Valley (as memorialized in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath) breezed through UC Berkeley and built an empire selling designer water. She’d never felt awkward or unattractive…until she moved to Los Angeles. In L.A., where “everything smells like acetone and Errol Flynn,” Magdalena attempts to reinvent herself as a geographically appropriate bombshell—with rhinestones, silicone and gin—as she seeks an escape from her unraveling marriage and the traumatic death of her younger brother. Magdalena’s Los Angeles is glitzy and glamorous but also a landscape of the absurd. Her languidly lyrical voice provides a travel guide for a city of make-believe, where even Hollywood insiders feel left out.

“Electric, funny, lively, edged prose illuminates the pages of So L.A.-Hoida knows how to write sentences and characters that bite right into you.”
-Aimee Bender, author of The Girl in the Flammable Skirt & The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

“In So L.A. Bridget Hoida has crafted that rarest of books: intelligent, gorgeously written—and, best of all, fun. The charming, witty and slightly off-kilter voice of narrator Magdalena de la Cruz brings to mind the writing of Nabokov—but in a distinctly California style. Hoida’s sharp, exquisite prose awed me, and brought me to both laughter and tears.”
-Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Water Ghosts

“Bridget is a rare thing-an original writer with a unique voice. Her writing is ironic, satirical, smart, sexy and deeply tender. This is a book Joan Didion will wish she’d written!”
-Chris Abani, author of Song for Night & Graceland

“Bridget Hoida has crafted a remarkably fine novel. The language of this work is fresh, surprising and relentless. The novel captures California, it captures the culture, it captures this one woman’s life and it captured me. This is strong stuff from a strong talent. Hoida’s voice is here to stay.”
-Percival Everett, author of Assumption & Erasure
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Tags

hollywood, california, los angeles, fashion, beverly hills, contemporary fiction, west coast, materialism, plastic surgery, glitter

Available ebook reading formats

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Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Reviews

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Review by: Ken Long on Aug. 12, 2012 :
This book was hard to put down! Bridget Hoida has put together an excellent satire of the L.A. life we all see on the faux reality TV shows while expertly working through some very serious themes. Magdalena de la Cruz, tormented by the loss of her brother, seemingly finds every possible way one can deal with such horrific pain without actually dealing with it. A young woman built of opposites, the reader can't help but feel Magdalena's anguish as she increasingly builds incongruities into both her inward and outward self and pushes away those who care about her.

Ms. Hoida's descriptions are magnificent. We have the agricultural Central Valley of Califorina, which does not seem to appear frequently in literature, described in stunning detail. The long drive up Interstate 5... insane valley heat... citrus groves... irrigation canals... vineyards. Then we have the big city 'high life' - expensive cars, clothes that cost as much as a 'regular' car, people made of plastic, the world-famous freeway traffic, shopping on Rodeo Drive. These opposing forces are all parts of Magdalena's experience which she must weave together into a life without destroying her real self in the process. People and actions are presented equally well and you will certainly develop some vivid pictures in your mind as you make your way through this slice of Magdalena's life.

You will find yourself simultaneously rooting for and despising Magdalena as you fear the worst in this wonderfully engaging read. I highly recommend it!
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: Karin Kaleta on Aug. 10, 2012 :
From the very beginning to the very end, this book had me eagerly guessing about what would happen next and I often guessed wrong, which is part of what I love about this book.

On one hand, I feel as though I have nothing in common with Magdalena, the main character of the book and the one who talks to you, the reader, directly, and holds your hand as you experience her wild, self-destructive, never-a-dull-moment journey. On the other hand, Magdalena reminds me of the part of me, and everyone, that you hope for your own sake never wins out against the rational, take-a-deep-breath-before-you-decide-what-to-do part of yourself.

The book is very entertaining and cleverly written, with so many specific references about California and life in general you have to keep reminding yourself it's fiction.

I found myself stealing time away from my kids and husband to read just a few more pages of this book. Highly recommend!
(reviewed the day of purchase)

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