{"product_id":"9780679313236","title":"Cease to Blush","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eLivingston, Billie\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVintage Canada\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e6\/5\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cb\u003eBillie Livingston’s second novel leads us to consider the nature of our hidden  lives and desires—and to question whether the sky would really fall if we admitted  our true needs and ceased to blush.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As \u003ci\u003eCease to Blush\u003c\/i\u003e opens, Vivian is late to  her own mother’s funeral. Wearing a tight red suit, Vivian stands out like a pornographer’s dream amongst the West Coast intellectuals mourning the death of prominent feminist  Josie Callwood. But for all of her bravado, Vivian finds herself emotionally numb  and spiraling downward. Vivian and her mother were in constant conflict, with Josie  disapproving of her daughter’s lifestyle; her inclination to use her body instead  of her brain, and her so-called acting career, which has amounted to little more  than playing prostitutes and the odd dead body. For her part Vivian has been invested  in antagonizing her mother’s feminist ideology. As the story opens Vivian’s career,  as well as her relationship with boyfriend Frank, is taking an unsavoury turn as  she wades into the quick cash scheme of Internet porn with herself cast in the lead.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But Josie has left a big surprise for her troubled daughter: a trunk full of mementoes  from her own past, all of which point to a secret life more exotic than anything  Vivian has been able to pull off. Puzzling together bits and pieces, Vivian learns  that her mother was at one time a burlesque performer named Celia Dare who rubbed  shoulders with the flashiest celebrities of the sixties. Vivian becomes determined  to uncover the true story of her mother’s life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chasing rumours, Vivian sets off  down the Pacific coast and soon finds out that truth is a slippery snake. With only  a few of her mother’s letters, some guarded anecdotes from Josie’s former confidant  and a slew of books about the sixties, Vivian begins to re-create her mother’s life,  placing her at the heart of some of the biggest events and scenes of the era. From  the protests and beat coffeehouses of Haight-Ashbury to the frenzied nightlife of  Rat Pack Vegas, from the political soirées of New York to mob meetings in glitzy  Miami hotels, Celia Dare saw and did it all. Yet the glamour hid an ugly underbelly,  and as Vivian peels away the layers of the past she begins to uncover her own emotional  truths as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eCease to Blush\u003c\/i\u003e drives the bumpy road from the burlesque stages  of Rat Pack Vegas to the bedroom Internet porn business, exploring just how far women  have really come. In Vivian, Livingston has created the perfect character through  which to explore what it means to be an independent woman today; with Celia\/Josie,  it’s clear that things weren’t so cut and dry in her day either. Though Celia’s story  is told vividly here, its accuracy is impossible to gauge and the ghosts are not  talking. But maybe this is Celia’s gift to Vivian: the ability of the past not only  to illuminate the future, but to re-imagine it.","brand":"Vintage Canada","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44215242719487,"sku":"9780679313236","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780679313236_s600x595.jpg?v=1782322507","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/products\/9780679313236","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}