The Love Machine

Rating:
Summary: Jacqueline Susann avoids sophomore slump
Review: Those of you who loved VALLEY OF THE DOLLS will not be disappointed by Susann's follow-up novel. THE LOVE MACHINE is the story of Robin Stone, a network television executive who is as sexy, cold, and violent as the electronic medium he manipulates. Readers who hoped for a replay of VALLEY'S sheer enjoyability will be somewhat dismayed by this novel. No other Susann book even comes close for characters who are - to be blunt - utterly despicable. Robin Stone is without any redeeming features whatsoever, and the three women in his life may be described as follows: a vapid, masochistic and bubbleheaded model (Amanda), a selfish, arrogant, and corrupt tv-reporter-turned superstar-actress (Maggie), and a vain, obsessive, neurotic, and useless socialite (Judith). Despite (or perhaps because of)the flaws of the characters, the LOVE MACHINE is compelling reading - aren't the bad guys usually more interesting than the good guys! I could not put this book down. Although Sus! ann's characters are utterly hedonistic pleasure-seekers, her writing style maintains a subtle distance from them, resulting a peculiar type of reader identification - we enjoy her characters even as we condemn them. Susann may be the most perfectly American novelist of the late 20th century, and her books will doubtless one day be seen as the literary classics they are. I can't say that I enjoyed this book, but nevertheless, I couldn't stop reading it.