A Good Read

Holiday reading. I grabbed this off my book shelf a few days before leaving.

Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland

tells the absurd and tender story of Susan Colgate, a former tv star and Barbie child beauty pageant contender, and John Johnson, a hard-living movie producer, who find each other by losing themselves. John is a producer of adrenalin fuelled action flicks. He’s led a decadent life purchasing his way through sex and drugs, the process of which has reduced his capacity for love. Waking up in an L.A.hospital, John is amazed that it was the flu and not an overdose of five different drugs mixed with cognac that nearly killed him. Whilst in a coma he has a vision of Susan. Once recovered, he decides to give up his decadent lifestyle, give away all his worldly goods and live on the road. 
After her parents squander her tv sitcom earnings Susan marries a heavy metal rock singer who needs a Green Card, in exchange for $10,000 a month. But when the band's popularity dwindles, the marriage dissolves. Flying back to Los Angeles, the plane crashes and Susan is the only survivor. As she walks away from the disaster virtually unscathed, she, too, decides to disappear. 
John and Susan are two souls searching for love in the capricious, celebrity-obsessed domain of LA, and are driven, almost fatefully, toward each other. 
Funny, fast-paced and a bit heart-wrenching, Miss Wyoming is about people who, after discarding their self-made identities, begin the search for a love that exposes all vulnerabilities. I was drawn into this story immediately and thoroughly enjoyed it.