Salome is an interesting character, forever known for her dance of the seven veils and her request for the head of John the Baptist as reward. She is the focus of this novel, albeit in the form of a subject of a Hollywood movie, where our key focus is the drama taking place behind the scenes.
It's the 1950's and our director is desperate to bring to the screen the story of Salome. Many actresses are desperate to get their hands on the role, so it is something of a shock when the director decided to cast unknown Mexican actress Vera Larios in the role. Moreno-Garcia focuses on Nancy, the bit part actress determined she will make it some day even though her career has stalled of late; Vera, the young actress who is far more clever than she is expected to be and Salome, the young girl playing a dangerous game in a time where she is not expected to have her say.
The action cuts between the three characters. It's clear that this was meticulously researched and I did find it interesting to see the way Hollywood was brought to life. While we are often struck by the glamour of the big screen, the reality is often a more sordid picture, and in our two young actresses we are given the opportunity to see the constraints placed on them by a male-dominated world. At times I bristled at the casual racism and misogyny that was in place, but I felt that we were given opportunity to see beneath the surface in Vera's case and to see just what she could have offered a world that wasn't quite ready for her.
The shifting viewpoints worked well here, allowing us to get under the skin of each of our characters, creating sympathy in Vera's case and inciting rage at Nancy's callous behaviour. I found myself wondering just how the story would play out. It certainly didn't disappoint!