The Art of Social War
by Jodi Wing
List Price: $13.95
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780061568244
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
New York career woman Stacey Knight marries James Makepeace just as she learns he's been offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run a major Hollywood studio. There's one catch: they must relocate to Los Angeles. Will Stacey be lost in translation, or will her hard-earned New Yawk survival skills prove yet again, as Ol' Blue Eyes so often said, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere?
The unwitting newlyweds land in a Technicolor high-stakes Social War, pursued by ruthless power brokers in the film demimonde. What's a girl to do when the promise of a glittering blockbuster future descends rapidly into film noir despair? At once seduced and repelled by the rigid caste system and predatory aspect of Hollywood life, Stacey navigates a sea of confusing social obstacles and extremely bad behavior. Empowered by 2,500-year-old military strategist Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Stacey takes control of the War Game and learns that they must adapt to survive and attack if they are to thrive.
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1. To what extent does Stacey's comfort with her identity as a New York professional prevent her from fully embracing the possibility of life in Los Angeles with Jamey?
2. How does the behavior of the Pacificus team at Jamey and Stacey's New York wedding hint at their ability to wreak havoc on their lives in Los Angeles?
3. How does the author's Dickensian use of suggestive last names for her characters (Jamey Makepeace, Julia Mallis, Charlie Trueheart, Phil Craven) affect your appreciation of their roles in the novel?
4. How does the portrait of LA society in The Art of Social War compare to the everyday social encounters and relationships in your circle?
5. Why does Stacey feel inadequate when she's among the ladies of leisure in the exclusive Los Angeles film community?
6. How does Stacey's rallying around a coyote relocation program transform her identity and others' perceptions of her?
7. How does Sun-Tzu's The Art of War influence Stacey in her scheme to expose Simon's misuse of corporate funds? To what extent is she successful in her efforts?
8. How does Julia Mallis's past come to haunt her in a very public way, and what roles do Barb Spurndoff and Ritzy Snippington play in her exposure? To what extent is Julia personally responsible for their retribution?
9. How do the many hardships that Stacey and Jamey have experienced make possible the exciting professional offer Stacey gets from Charlie Trueheart at the end of the novel?
10. Of the many humorous moments in this novel, which did you find most memorable or compelling, and why?
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"a brainy, satiric chick lit novel that forgoes a typical looking-for-love plot in favor of a happy-couple-against-the-world story....entertaining."
— Publishers Weekly
"The Art of Social War is a smart, witty, yet cautionary tale about what goes on behind the studio gates and down the private driveways where Hollywood works and plays. Jodi Wing’s newcomer-turned-insider narrative is a look at what happens when girl world intersects with the boys club in a town where winning is everything."
— Carol Wolper, author of The Cigarette Girl and Mr. Famous
"A sassy, out-spoken woman in Hollywood? What’s not to love? I couldn’t put this book down."
— Kim Delaney, actress
"The gloves are off in Jodi Wing’s hilariously witty account of Hollywood’s social battle ground. For anyone who has ever wondered what it really takes to make it here, The Art of Social War delivers a knockout punch!"
— Thea Andrews, correspondent for Entertainment Tonight
