Brief

Los Feliz Confidential follows the vibrant Nora Novak's life from her family's immigration to American, to her adventurous and freewheeling twenties. It follows her adventures through the dazzling 1970s as she makes friends, forms relationships, and explores Hollywood.

What We Liked

Nora has lived an incredibly exciting life. This book is full of twists and turns as Nora says yes to spontaneous adventures and travels the world. The writing is wonderfully immersive and readers will really feel as if they're experiencing these events alongside Nora. The supporting characters are vivid and well described as well. Dee is a highlight and it is impossible not to love her. Readers will walk away from this book feeling driven to shake up their own lives and make the most of every moment.

Film: Nora's time with Jay in Los Feliz naturally lends itself to a feature film, as there is a clear beginning and a satisfying ending. While the story might need more structure in order to fully work as a film, the bones are certainly there to craft a compelling and riveting film.

TV: This book is a perfect starting point for a TV show. Nora is a fantastic leading character, but the supporting characters around her would likely be fan favorites. The world of this book is so expansive and exciting that it would provide seasons and seasons of content for a show.

Key points: 1. Immersive writing style. 2. Likable characters. 3. Inspiring message about living life to the fullest and taking chances. 4. Vivid and exciting settings. 5. Unpredictable twists in the story.

Synopsis

Nora introduces readers to her home, a crumbling mansion in Los Feliz. She lives with her boyfriend, a rich alcoholic who calls himself a hospital administrator, but really comes from money. His name is Jay Turnbull. Nora attends a party at the mansion and considers her close friend Dee, who has a habit of leaving makeup on everything she touches. Nora also thinks back to her parents and their difficult lives before moving to America from Belgium.

At just two during her parents’ move, Nora has little memory of it. Her older brothers retained some memories of their experiences with friendship and seasickness though. After traveling much of the country and meeting all kinds of unique people, Nora and her family finally arrive in an apartment in Los Angeles. Her oldest brother has to get a job, but Nora goes to school. Though she’s too young to remember much, she does know that she vowed to buy all the pretty shoes she wanted after her family’s struggle, and eventually, she did. The family struggled with a language barrier, since they mostly spoke Flemish, not English.

Her father, Rene, was a fitness nut, so the family would get up early in the morning to go to the beach. Frank, the eldest, enlists in the army and moves away. Nora and her parents and brother, Mark, move to a new neighborhood. Nora joined the Girl Scout’s and deeply loved horses, much to her father’s dismay, as he was very against pets. To this day, neither Nora nor her brothers have ever had a pet. Nora also reflects on tragic moments, such as Kennedy’s assassination.

Rene was a tough, harsh man, but one summer he surprised the family with a European vacation. Nora was thrilled, but everyone was a little worried about leaving the home, since they’d recently had some teenagers break in. Rene’s niece, a nun, agrees to watch the home. The family visits Antwerp, Paris, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy.

When Nora reaches high school, Mark moves back home for a while. He experiments with modern art, and when he’s drafted, his artistic skill allows him to work as a cartoonist for a military newspaper. Nora gets into rock bands and psychedelic interests in school. By 17, her body has dramatically changed and when the family takes another vacation, Nora gets a lot of unwanted attention from men.

Nora enrolls in Orange Coast College to study art. Over the summer, Nora takes off to Europe to explore for a while. She thumbs her way from city to city, staying in hostels along the way. Back at school, Nora meets Deirdre for the first time. The two become inseparable friends. Dee introduces Nora to Krista, who takes her to a gay bar. Nora has an experience with a woman, but she’s uncomfortable for most of it, since she herself is not gay.

Dee and Nora travel to San Francisco, where Dee is totally in her element. Nora continues on to the south of France to spend some time with her parents, who are currently living there. Afterwards, Nora keeps traveling. She lives in a French flat for a while after a middle-aged man offers it to her. She dates while there, but knows the relationship won’t last. Nora goes to London and meets an illegal arms dealer who offers to let her travel with him as his “secretary.” Nora agrees. After traveling for a year, Nora realizes it’s time to go home.

Nora explores applying to Playboy, but she’s told she’s too old. She and Jackie decide to go to Vegas. Nora helps two Italian businessmen translate a phone call and they thank her with a ticket to Milan. The trip is dull though, and Nora leaves early for a visit with her cousin in Belgium.Once back in California, Nora decides to get a drama degree alongside her art degree. Acting in a play inspires Nora to chase Hollywood fame. Dee and Nora move to West Hollywood. Dee introduces Nora to Jay Turnbull. Jay takes Nora to expensive restaurants and exclusive parties. When she and Dee are evicted, Nora moves in with Jay.

After meeting Jay’s zany parents, Nora begins to suspect that Jay isn’t a hospital administrator at all. Nora doesn’t care if he wants to live a secret life though, and she spends her time going to shows.

One evening, a transgender woman named Jane arrives and claims to have mutual friends with Nora. Intrigued, Nora is thrilled to spend time with Jane, who Nora finds beautiful and alluring. They party together at Jay’s house.

After some time in LA, Dee gets hired to work wardrobe on All in the Family. Nora works as an extra and gets her union card. She’s homesick though, so she visits her family for the holidays. It’s a lovely time until Dee calls her and urges her to come home. A woman named Donyale has moved into the mansion and completely taken over. When Nora gets home, nothing appears to be wrong, but she’s not upset with Dee about the call. Back in LA, Nora takes trips, goes and sees punk shows, and meets celebrities at her job at the shoe store. Nora takes photos with Eddie Dodson, a sweet if slightly creepy Southern man who later turns out to be a bank robber. Nora is shocked when she sees his mugshot on the news.

Nora starts a new job at Tiffany & Company. Her relationship with Jay grows increasingly tense, but she doesn’t know where she can afford to go on her salary. At a Halloween party, Nora walks in on Jay playing voyeur with a group she doesn’t know. Later, she catches Jay doing what he claims is a Playboy photoshoot. His alcoholism also gets worse.

As the 80s approach, Nora adjusts to the new era and the New Wave music. It’s not a seamless transition, but ultimately the new sounds thrill her. A pivotal moment takes place when John Lennon is murdered. Nora says she’ll never forget his tragic death.

Nora meets James Cunningham and agrees to go out with him. She’s very intrigued by him and considers leaving her life with Jay in favor of something new with James. Nora, James, and Dee take a tropical vacation to Jamaica. After five years of living with Jay, James convinces Nora to leave and move in with him. After much consideration and a tearful conversation with Jay, Nora leaves. As she drives away, she realizes she’s just getting started in her life.

About The Author

Originally from Belgium, Nora Novak is an artist, actress, writer, and designer. She has exhibited her work in the U.S. and in Europe and has traveled the world throughout her life.