By Heidi Simmons
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Raw: A Love Story
By Mark Haskell Smith
Fiction
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The popularity of reality television is a strange phenomenon of our time. Watching strangers lose weight, sing their hearts out, manage a household or hook up with a mate, for some reason, fascinates Americans. We turn ordinary, or sub-ordinary, people into celebrities. In Mark Haskell Smith’s amusing and satirical novel, Raw (Grove Atlantic, 277 pages) a “reality star” finds it hard to discern what is real.
Sepp Gregory is a heartthrob hunk with washboard abs famous for his part in a reality television show called “Sex Crib,” an unscripted series about a group of hotties trying to hook-up — have sex — as many times as possible. The contestant with the most “connections” wins.
So successful at hooking-up, Sepp became the star of an equally popular spin-off called “Love Express.” Sepp is a beloved character of the reality crazed audience, not only because of his abdominals, but because he fell in love with his reality co-star, Roxie, who dumped him! Roxie is the show’s skank and manipulative “beotch.” Unfortunately for Sepp, he was heartbroken — both on the show and in real life. He actually believed she loved him!
With his incredible popularity, Sepp’s agent arranged for an autobiography to be written, but not by Sepp. The book is a fictional biography based on Sepp’s life because the producers of the reality TV show own the rights to his real life. “Totally Reality” becomes a best seller. Sepp, on his book tour, hasn’t even read “his” book.
Curtis Burman is the talented but previously unpublished author, who ghostwrote Sepp’s story. He is a struggling artist who can’t legally claim fame for his tell-all prose — and doesn’t want to. Curtis rightfully feels like a sell-out for taking the work.
Literary blogger, book reviewer and novelist Harriet Post, is outraged that “Totally Reality” is selling well and has become a critical success. She knows there is no way Sepp could have written his book and she doesn’t appreciate the author who would stoop so low and write such “quality” trash.
Harriet is furious that original thought, intelligent discourse and literary culture have taken a backseat to celebrity drivel. It doesn’t help that she hasn’t had sex in four years and no one will publish her second novel. She decides to uncover the ghostwriter and expose Sepp and the publishing industry for duping the public and tainting society.
In short order, the three meet. Harriet, Sepp and Curtis collide during a book signing in Los Angles and again at a party at the Playboy Mansion. She quickly finds herself swept away with lust – not for Sepp but for the ghostwriter Curtis. Confused and angry, Harriet over-reacts and makes a terrible mistake that takes her on unexpected, desperate and sex-filled journey with Sepp!
Rendered impotent after the public humiliation with former co-star Roxie, Sepp gets his groove back with Harriet and believes he’s in love with her. Sepp thinks their unlikely relationship and adventure would make great television plus help Harriet get a book deal. Unbeknownst to Harriet, secret filming begins. But when she finds out, her life becomes far more absurd than she ever believed possible. Raw: A Love Story is their unlikely affair where sex is the only thing they have in common. Both Harriet and Sepp lose touch with what is real and begin to make their own alternate reality.
Sepp is an innocent plucked from a simple So Cal lifestyle and thrown into a manipulative environment that exploits him for profit. He is caught up in the orchestrations of reality TV to the point where he no longer knows what to do without a producer giving him direction. When in doubt of what to do or how to answer, he takes off his shirt and shows off his six-pack abs. He is an endearing protagonist.
Harriet is a seething antagonist lost in her intellectualization and disappointment of the world. With a superior attitude, she believes she can control reality. It’s a sad tale of the weak and the strong, on the road to destruction.
Author Smith makes the romp amusing, as well as cringe worthy. He cleverly intersects two worlds: highbrow publishing and lowbrow television. Smith’s narrative is not necessarily building a social commentary about the extremes of what society finds stimulating or entertaining. Nor does he argue a philosophical point about forming our own reality. But these ideas lurk under the surface with Smith’s witty prose and raucous action.
There may be a very substantial and interesting essay on the subject of what the three main characters represent within our culture. No doubt a very highbrow pursuit. But Raw’s lowbrow factor may not appeal to every book club. (Although, it might be worthy of meaningful discussion questions in the back pages.)
Raw is a fun and quick read. The pages are scattered with sex and literary references. What could be better while sitting by a pool? Its contemporary setting involves the reader with a real world that exists in our time and embraced by millions. Whether or not you enjoy high or lowbrow entertainment, Raw delivers a colorful glimpse into several of society’s extreme realities.
