Who knew how much fun it could be to read about completely reprehensible characters? In this satire of a romance novel, worlds collide as low brow reality television "celebrities" spar with--and eventually hook up with--high brow literary writers. No one is exempt from ridicule, and no one is particularly likeable. The reality star, for example, has more integrity than the book critic. There is lots of sex, a few drugs, and even a suspicious death. This book is recommended for public libraries. ( )

Sepp Gregory is a reality television star who hasn’t read the novel he supposedly wrote. A San Diego beach volleyball bum, Sepp’s main attribute is his six pack. He’s a simple dude.

Literary critic and blogger Harriet Post decides that Sepp’s book, Totally Reality, is a harbinger of the end of society as she knows it. Harriet likes words and believes in the transcendent power of true literature. Sepp’s book isn’t literature, but it’s too well written for the amiable but clueless Sepp to have had anything to do with it, so Harriet does some digging and decides to uncover the ghostwriter and expose his identity. She does actually find Curtis Berman, an undiscovered Brooklyn novelist who has been well-paid to write Sepp’s book – and that’s when things take a strange twist.

Mark Haskell Smith manages to skewer reality TV (an easy target), the book business, and the current culture of both Brooklyn and Los Angeles.
This is a smart, contemporary, fast moving and extremely witty commentary on media and entertainment – and a great story. ( )

Raw is more than just reading junk food. It got me thinking by providing an unexpected view of reality TV vs. the "real" reality. Harriet (the literary blogger) is so determined to expose the ghostwriter of Sepp (the hot star's) book that along the way she finds her (educated, high brow) ideals brought into question. Could it be that she actually has things in common with the ghostwriter and even (gasp) the stars themselves? As the story unfolds you feel Harriet's exasperation and frustration as she finds herself in one bizarre/ridiculous/absurd situation after another. Sepp on the other hand is facing his own issues (remember the Viagra?). I wasn't sure if I felt sorry for him because he's just so dimwitted or if maybe he's the one who actually has the whole game figured out!

For the full review and more look here:
http://crochetnirvana.weebly.com/2/post/2014/04/raw-a-love-story-by-mark-haskell... ( )

Enjoyable, sharp but also surprisingly sweet satire of the worlds of publishing, book blogging, reality tv, sex and other pastimes which test our notions of what is real. Quite funny.