Search - The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters

"Hollywood and leukemia are the two unlikely poles of this wrenching, tragicomic first novel by independent producer and screenwriter Robinson. Pouring out her troubles in epistolary form, 34-year-old Olivia Hunt, a struggling film producer, chronicles a year of dizzying highs and devastating lows. As the novel begins, she receives news that her younger sister, Madeline, recently married and happily settled in the sisters' Ohio hometown, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Olivia herself is at loose ends, trying to jump-start her career by putting together a big-budget production of Don Quixote. Impatient, ambitious and often caustic, Olivia is very different from her big-hearted, big-haired sister, and as she flies back and forth between California and Ohio, she reflects on the choices she has made in long, searching letters to friends and family."---Publishers Weekly

interesting and entertaining book altho the main character is a bit crude.

This book was WONDERFUL !!!

love this book! story of sisters Olivia and Maddie...told from Olivia's perspective through letters to different people in her life...if you have a sister or even a close girl friend you should read this book...it's a wonderful read.

Good quick read.

The story of two sisters told entirely in the form of letters from one sister to the other. An ok read.

A great read! The story of a woman who is a hollywood producer and her family back home. I loved how the story was told entirely through letters.

A wonderful story of how you can love tour sister, even if she drives you crazy. Funny, poingnant, and a great read.

From Publishers Weekly
Hollywood and leukemia are the two unlikely poles of this wrenching, tragicomic first novel by independent producer and screenwriter Robinson. Pouring out her troubles in epistolary form, 34-year-old Olivia Hunt, a struggling film producer, chronicles a year of dizzying highs and devastating lows. As the novel begins, she receives news that her younger sister, Madeline, recently married and happily settled in the sisters' Ohio hometown, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Olivia herself is at loose ends, trying to jump-start her career by putting together a big-budget production of Don Quixote. Impatient, ambitious and often caustic, Olivia is very different from her big-hearted, big-haired sister, and as she flies back and forth between California and Ohio, she reflects on the choices she has made in long, searching letters to friends and family. Though she and her ex-boyfriend Michael, a painter living in New Mexico, are still in love with each other, they are both too devoted to their careers to settle down together. Just as it seems things might be patched up between them, Don Quixote swings into high gear and Olivia heads off to film in Spain. Her Hollywood adventures are pitch-perfect and hilarious, with Robin Williams ("like a beaver in a sweatshirt and jeans") and Jerry Bruckheimer, among others, making cameos. No less impressive is Robinson's unsentimental chronicling of the progress of Maddie's illness and the alternately heroic and selfish reactions of those around her, including the sisters' mother, an anxious children's book writer, and their father, a retired attorney and alcoholic. Olivia's cynicism, compassion and loyalty come through as funny, real and inspiring, and the novel's epistolary format is smoothly employed. Moving but never maudlin, this is an accomplished debut.

Great story! The letter format makes a quick read. Our book club enjoyed it!
Lindy

Advertising pages that precede the actual story in the front are a tad loose.

Told entirely through letters, this is the story of two very strong, yet very different sisters, Olivia and Madeline, as they deal with Madeline's fight against leukemia. Olivia is a cynical Hollywood producer whose love for her family is often at odds with her high pressured job; Maddie is the younger, traditional midwestern optimist who stayed behind to marry her true love. Sounds corny as I write this, but it wasn't at all; it's a book that I absolutely loved. I stayed up until 1AM reading it, and then got up and read until I completed it. I loved all the characters and didn't want the story to end. It was funny and heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. One of my all time favorites.