Kitty KaboomPlayground by Jennifer Saginor
August 22nd 2008 01:40
This is my first book review. I don't usually do them but I just finished reading this one & thought I'd give it ago.
Playground is Jennifer Saginor's account of growing up in & around the Playboy Mansion.
A brief rundown: Her father was the infamous Dr. Feel Good, doctor to the Playmates, stars & wanna be's. He led a life of drugs, dealing debauchery & Bunnies. He was a misogynist & passed a lot of his sexism & superficiality on to his daughter. He also enabled her to begin following in his footsteps at the tender age of 13, when she realized she could be popular & happy by throwing crazy parties, taking drugs & having emotionless sex. This ultimately led to a life of depression, isolation & self hatred.
The novel begins innocently enough with a little Jennifer discovering the Mansion & sex for the first time. We also witness the toxic relationship between her mother & father. As a result of her mothers bitter remarks about her father & the constant fights with Jennifer , she decides to move in with her father when she is 13. Excited about her new life without rules & with endless gifts, cash & clothes, she soon discovers this new life has left her alone. Her father is usually at the Mansion & the space between her mother & sister who still live together is ever growing. Her father sees her as a possession, not as a daughter & his temper is wrathfully experienced often by Jennifer. She starts taking medication from her dads endless supply, just to get through the day & sleep through the lonely nights. She throws parties, hooks her friends up with prescription pills & loses her virginity to a stranger. She spends more & more time at the Mansion & less time at school or with her friends, which pushes them further away too. She believes that no one understands the girls at the Mansion & she feels at ease with them. She spends her days working out, doing lunch & partying with the Bunnies. She begins dating a much older soap actor & is seduced for the first time by Hef's girlfriend Kendra. She falls in love with Kendra who eventually cuts ties with her years later after a secret & occasional romance. Jennifer moves to New York & pays for her grades through collage. In the final chapter she attends a party at the Mansion & reflects on the kindness of Hef & the Junkie fool her father has become, although she still feels an understanding with him.
Now I have a few problems with this book. For starters the constant name dropping became very irritating very quickly. Sure at times it had its' place, but mostly it was just there for show. The constant reference to what designer she or her friends were wearing & the update on what song & which band was on at the time reminded me of Brett Easton Ellis' 'American Psycho'. Even in explaining the thoughts of a sociopath I found it irritating. So you can imagine my delight at the repetitive superficiality in this book. The story line was also lacking. I didn't enjoy the style of writing at all. It was very dull even at times where something interesting was happening.
Over all I feel that this novel was a self indulgent form of therapy & reeked of ego. I did struggle through to the end, but will definitely not read anything by this Author again.
Playground is Jennifer Saginor's account of growing up in & around the Playboy Mansion.
A brief rundown: Her father was the infamous Dr. Feel Good, doctor to the Playmates, stars & wanna be's. He led a life of drugs, dealing debauchery & Bunnies. He was a misogynist & passed a lot of his sexism & superficiality on to his daughter. He also enabled her to begin following in his footsteps at the tender age of 13, when she realized she could be popular & happy by throwing crazy parties, taking drugs & having emotionless sex. This ultimately led to a life of depression, isolation & self hatred.
The novel begins innocently enough with a little Jennifer discovering the Mansion & sex for the first time. We also witness the toxic relationship between her mother & father. As a result of her mothers bitter remarks about her father & the constant fights with Jennifer , she decides to move in with her father when she is 13. Excited about her new life without rules & with endless gifts, cash & clothes, she soon discovers this new life has left her alone. Her father is usually at the Mansion & the space between her mother & sister who still live together is ever growing. Her father sees her as a possession, not as a daughter & his temper is wrathfully experienced often by Jennifer. She starts taking medication from her dads endless supply, just to get through the day & sleep through the lonely nights. She throws parties, hooks her friends up with prescription pills & loses her virginity to a stranger. She spends more & more time at the Mansion & less time at school or with her friends, which pushes them further away too. She believes that no one understands the girls at the Mansion & she feels at ease with them. She spends her days working out, doing lunch & partying with the Bunnies. She begins dating a much older soap actor & is seduced for the first time by Hef's girlfriend Kendra. She falls in love with Kendra who eventually cuts ties with her years later after a secret & occasional romance. Jennifer moves to New York & pays for her grades through collage. In the final chapter she attends a party at the Mansion & reflects on the kindness of Hef & the Junkie fool her father has become, although she still feels an understanding with him.
Now I have a few problems with this book. For starters the constant name dropping became very irritating very quickly. Sure at times it had its' place, but mostly it was just there for show. The constant reference to what designer she or her friends were wearing & the update on what song & which band was on at the time reminded me of Brett Easton Ellis' 'American Psycho'. Even in explaining the thoughts of a sociopath I found it irritating. So you can imagine my delight at the repetitive superficiality in this book. The story line was also lacking. I didn't enjoy the style of writing at all. It was very dull even at times where something interesting was happening.
Over all I feel that this novel was a self indulgent form of therapy & reeked of ego. I did struggle through to the end, but will definitely not read anything by this Author again.
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