The Seventh Veil of Salome

I’m a little conflicted on how I feel about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed the dual timelines and the parallels between the different POV characters. If you prefer character driven stories, this one is worth reading. 

On the other hand, there were a lot of interjections from characters that we never saw again, which I think were supposed to add some historical context, but in the end they just felt pointless and stressed me out because I thought I had to remember all the names (I did not).
I also don’t think I really gained anything new from reading it? I’ve read this style of Hollywood celebrity book before, and the only unique thing about it was the connection to the past via Salome.

I’m giving it 4 stars overall because I did enjoy reading it (especially the second half, which I finished in one sitting), but not a full 5 stars because I think it could have been stronger. 

A tedious and convoluted story that bored me from cover to cover


Moreno-Garcia has become a go-to author for me over the last few years. Although I haven’t loved all of her books, everything else I had read by her was at least creative and original. I love the way she reimagines other stories or tropes with strong elements of Mexican history often with some sort of supernatural element. The Seventh Veil of Salome is a departure from her other works. As far as I know, this is her first book that was strictly Historical Fiction.

I was extremely hesitant to read The Seventh Veil of Salome because I hate Hollywood and celebrities – whether real or fictional. When I initially read the synopsis, I figured I should skip this one. I even declined an ARC. But in the end, I couldn’t resist trying this book. I fully admit that my personal dislike of the topic did affect my enjoyment of this book, so take everything with a grain of salt. But even if everything related to Hollywood didn’t make me gag, I still would have had issues with this book.

The novel is about a movie version of the biblical story of Salome being filmed in 1950’s Hollywood, the unknown Mexican actress, Vera, who wins the role, and a struggling actress, Nancy who envies Vera’s success.

“It's passion. It's madness on the stage. The intensity of feeling that gets under your skin. It's chasing a moment you'll never regain. It's loving, for the first time. When you love like that, I think, you'd like to tear your heart out.”

The story is told from multiple POVs and tenses with the narrative drifting around in a confusing and convoluted manner. There were first person sections that seemed like documentary interviews discussing events after the fact. Then there were third person sections from Nancy’s and Vera’s perspective about events as they unfolded. Finally, there were third person sections reimagining the story of Salome.

The constant jumping around in the narrative was annoying. It was hard to keep track of people and events. Plus the foreshadowing had all the subtly of a runaway train. There also was almost no character development. Most of those narrators in the “documentary” sections would only pop up once or twice and did not matter beyond the small snippets of information they provided. Salome was a paper-thin character and despite the political machinations, her sections almost bored me to sleep. They were definitely the most tedious parts of the book. Vera had potential but no development to her character. She was just a placeholder to represent how women in Hollywood were used and discarded, particularly minorities. But Vera was suspiciously lacking in personality. Despicable as she was, Nancy was the only character who had some development, so she was the only one that was remotely interesting.

This book was drowning in instalove. Vera’s love story was cliqued and her love interest was as lacking in character development as Vera. It was saccharine and predictable. Then there was Salome’s love which was the literal definition of instalove since she fell obsessively in “love” after literally only hearing a guy talk once.

The whole story was monotonously slow. As I mentioned, the story heavily foreshadowed what would happen. The oncoming tragedy was obvious from the beginning, and I absolutely did not care. I was not even a tiniest bit invested in the events. Doomed love stories are tedious. The Seventh Veil of Salome didn't have the atmosphere or spark that Moreno-Garcia’s other work did. This book was a total dud for me. The only reason I’m giving it two stars is that it wasn’t as bad as the books I’ve recently given one star.

At least this book didn’t glamorize how toxic Hollywood is.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 1 Star
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 2 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

Let me state upfront: Silvia Moreno-Garcia could write a list of names, and I would read it. I resonate with her writing, and this story was no different.

In the golden age of Hollywood, a twenty-one-year-old Mexican girl, Vera, is found and cast in the leading role of a Biblical epic, The Seventh Veil of Salome. Vera is thrust into the glitz, glamour, and seedy underside of fame that will come with a steep price. But, the story is also about Salome, the court of Herod, and all of the drama leading up to the beheading of John the Baptist, as told in the Bible.

This novel reads like a Hollywood tell-all and also a sweeping historical narrative. I was mesmerized by Vera and Salome, and I loved this story.