If I close my Eyes

Author: Ben Fama

Publisher: SARKA (2023)

In a debut novel as emotionally raw as it is uncanny, a tragic love story unfolds against the complicated backdrop of Hollywood's elite, where the line between reality and fantasy blurs under the modern tension of the civilian and celebrity worlds.

The novel tells the story of two strangers who begin an affair after surviving a mass shooting at a Kim Kardashian book signing. Lust and pleasure fuel the romance between a 19-year-old aspiring screenwriter and a 30-year-old struggling actress over the backdrop of our fast-paced, digital world. Set in Los Angeles and New York City, playing out through text message banter, trashy tabloid stories and other appropriated forms, If I Close My Eyes presents the story of two damaged bodies whose lives briefly touch and are forever changed as a result. Humorous and melancholy, simultaneously satirical and deadpan, If I Close My Eyes is for readers of Bruce Wagner, Bret Easton Ellis and even Evelyn Waugh.