Superstars by Ann Scott
Superstars, as the blurb indicates, was originally published in French back in the year 2000. It was not translated into English until this year. I had never heard of it until it hit my desk waiting to be catalogued. The author, Ann Scott (a pen name) has had quite an interesting life. Born in 1965, her father was Russian and her mother was French. As a young teenager, she lived for a while in England, where she became interested in the burgeoning punk scene. She played drums in a band, and she also modeled for a spell. Then she became a writer. Superstars was her first book.
Superstars is narrated by Louise, a 31-year-old techno DJ living in Paris in the late 1990s, and a recipient of a substantial record company advance to record an album. I suppose Louise would consider herself bisexual? (This being an era where gender was still considered by many (?), most (?) to be binary. (I don't write that with any judgment whatsoever. Nor do I feel particularly equipped to write about LGBTQ+ sexuality with any degree of expertise--so I apologize if I get anything wrong).
Back to Louise. She is a techno musician, though she started off--in her 20s--as a guitar playing rocker. For several years, she was in a relationship with Nikki, a fellow rock musician who is described as looking like a cross between Syd Barrett and Keith Richards. (Nikki is a guy). At some point, they broke up and Louise entered a relationship with techno musician Alex (Alex is a woman). I like how Scott uses a traditionally "female" spelling for Nikki, and a traditionally "male" name for the female lover, Alex. I'm not sure if that was intentional, but I assume it was. The "gender blending" is a nice touch.
At this point, I have to say that the relationship dynamics in the book get a little muddy, so I might get some stuff wrong. Louise and Alex break up and Alex begins dating 17-year-old Inez, who comes off as a bit of an ingenue and femme fatale--and is studying for her "bac" (short for baccalaureate--essentially the equivalent of a high school diploma in the States). At first, Louise is dismissive of Inez and says some unkind things about her--until she discovers Inez is attracted to her. Louise forgets about whatever she once thought about Inez and becomes completely starry-eyed for her.
So, we have a 31-year-old in a romantic relationship with a 17-year-old. If you're thinking what I'm thinking, I agree that it's a bit icky or, in contemporary parlance, cringe. I recently listened to an interview with Ann Scott on the LARB (Los Angeles Review of Books) Radio Hour podcast and she acknowledged this but also talked about how the LGBTQ+ scene in Paris was much smaller in the 1990s and how age differences just weren't thought about much back then. (After a Google search that I hope doesn't get me added to some government registry, I see that 15 is the age of consent in France).
I won't delve much further into the romantic relationships and entanglements in Superstars. For one thing, they are complicated. Secondly, I don't want to give away any plot points for anyone interested in reading the book.
As it takes place in the late '90s, there is quite a bit here that will satisfy nostalgia for that decade. Louise and her friends watch a substantial amount of MTV, and there is mention of Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails. This is also the early days of cellphones, when not everyone had one and landlines still dominated. Characters in this book also have answering machines, and that took me back to those days. However, it was the mention of VCRs, VHS tapes, CDs, and stereo systems that gave me the warmest bath of '90s nostalgia.
Louise drinks a lot of Coca-Cola and is obsessed with the "McMorning" breakfast at McDonald's. There is a consistent gag throughout the book of Louise's quest to get to Mickey D's in time to get a McMorning. When she finally does, it doesn't seem that the McMorning meets her lofty expectations. (All the while, I am reading the book and thinking, "Louise, you live in PARIS! Why do you care about Coke and McDonald's?").
The characters in the book, including Louise's flat mate Pallas (pronounced in my head like "palace" or "Dallas with a P") whom I had not mentioned to this point and feel the need to namecheck, are almost always out clubbing, DJing, and going to raves. The dance/techno scene in Paris is described in great detail. Even legendary Detroit techno DJ Kevin Saunderson makes a cameo appearance early in the novel. There are also many Paris place names and real-life clubs mentioned--for all of the Parisphiles out there.
There is a lot of sex and drug-taking in this book. Louise is an equal opportunity sexual partner, so she has sex with men and women. As far as sex scenes go, they are well-written. (That was a very strange sentence for me to write). There is one sexual encounter in the middle of the book that is particularly explicit, but pivotal to the rest of the novel. I write all of this just in case anyone reading this is sensitive to too much sex and drugs in their reading. (I have described Superstars as like Trainspotting, only less bleak).
Louise is a messy character. She makes plenty of questionable or poor decisions. I was rooting for her but also scratching my head at various points after she'd done something else ill-advised. That said--and without giving too much away--the book ends with Louise in a good place. There is hope for her.
I'll close by saying I enjoyed this book. It was a window into a world I knew nothing about. And as I seem to write in all of these reviews, if anything I described sounds interesting, then seek out this book and read it.
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