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  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

  • The First Novel by Quentin Tarantino
  • By: Quentin Tarantino
  • Narrated by: Jennifer Jason Leigh
  • Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (187 ratings)

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

By: Quentin Tarantino
Narrated by: Jennifer Jason Leigh
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Publisher's Summary

Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited first work of fiction - at once hilarious, delicious and brutal - is the always surprising, sometimes shocking new novel based on his Academy Award-winning film.

The sunlit studio back lots and the dark watering holes of Hollywood are the setting for this audacious, hilarious, disturbing novel about life in the movie colony, circa 1969. 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells the story of washed-up actor Rick Dalton. Once Rick had his own television series, a famous Western called Bounty Law. But 'it ain't been that time in a long time' and now Rick's only regular parts are as the heavy, ready to be bested by whichever young 'swingin' dick' the networks want to make a new star out of come pilot season. When a talent agent approaches Rick about starring in Italian Westerns ('Eye-talian Westerns?'), it only ignites a new crisis of confidence for the perpetually insecure actor. 

And then there's Rick's stunt double, Cliff Booth, a war hero who killed more Japanese soldiers during the Second World War than any other American and who never thought he'd make it back home. If Rick's career has stalled, Cliff's has flamed out. Already living under a cloud of suspicion after the strange death of his wife at sea, Cliff makes the mistake of picking the wrong fight on set and is soon reduced to the status of Rick's full-time gofer. 

Right next door to Rick's still glamourous Benedict Canyon home ('the house that Bounty Law built') some Hollywood dreams are coming true, and these dreams belong to Sharon Tate. Not only is she Mrs. Roman Polanski - married to the only true rock-star director - but Sharon is fast becoming a star in her own right, living life on the upswing in a tough town. 

Only a few miles away, in the desert around Chatsworth, lives a different kind of dreamer. Charles Manson is an ex-con who has spellbound a group of hippie misfits living with him in squalor on an old 'movie ranch'. Little do his young followers know to what degree Charlie himself is an industry striver, more desperate for Columbia Records and Tapes' attentions than for the revolution he preaches. 

These indelible characters - and many more: an acting child prodigy beaming with hope; a booze-drenched former A-lister who's lost it all - occupy a vanished world from not so long ago that is brought to brilliant life. Here is 1969, the music, the cars, the movies and TV shows. And here is Hollywood, both the fairy tale and the real thing, as given to us by a master storyteller who knows it like the back of his hand. 

©2021 Quentin Tarantino (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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terrible and unreadable

terrible book with flimsy characters, unless you like VERY long, VERY arcane lists of unknown 1970s actors and TV shows... in which case you should read it, if not PLEASE don't....

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Historical fiction the Tarantino way.

To start, I loved the movie and couldn't wait for the book and was not disappointed. Tarantino wrote this novelisation to harken back to the past book adaptations of straight to screen stories. And much like some of the best, Tarantino fills out the story with more insight, Hollywood factoids and more backstory to the main characters that enriches the movie or good as a standalone. Jennifer Jason Leigh was fantastic narrating (as she's one of Tarantino's pals) and delivers his story perfectly.
Just a fun time, and one of the few audio books that I will re listen to.

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4 people found this helpful

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Awful book

I listened to three chapters and had to stop listening
So damn confusing who’s who in the zoo
Seriously I love Quentins movies but this book doesn’t cut the mustard
Stick to what you do … movies … stay away from books please!

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1 person found this helpful

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Amazing!

I read it in 2 days! wouldn't of minded If it was longer. so well written. And so easy to get lost in. read it!

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fantastic listen

really enjoyed all of this. the only problem was that I know the book has more, like scripts for Bounty Law which are not included or available. am I wrong?

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A great listen

I’ll be buying this novel in a hard cover first edition for sure! Quentin is the man.

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So good

Tarantino write so well; there’s a lot of movie nerd lore in here, but it works. He’s so clever with dialogue and the characters show just enough nuance and vulnerability to keep it feeling real.
Jason Leigh’s narration is probably the best work I’ve heard in this format. Just brilliant!

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  • Overall
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A great, funny original cowboy actor story

I loved everything about this story from the characters, dialogue and all the interesting descriptions and anecdotes about making cowboy TV and movies in the '50s and '60s.

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Smart and entertaining.

As a fan of True Crime books, TV, podcasts and documentaries I found this story an entertaining alternate play on the Charles Manson era in L.A. The genius of playing the lead characters based out of the house next door to infamous murder scene is just incredible. I seen the movie and loved every minute. I recommend you do the book first then watch the movie. Overall it's a well thought out story that is very well read by a good performer. A great investment for your audiobook library.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Don't turn a movie into a book...

Struggled to finish it. too much going on, and hard to follow. stick to movies, or write, but aim for a novel, not the other way around.

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