Official Review: Dana Plato's Retreat by David Schwartz
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Official Review: Dana Plato's Retreat by David Schwartz
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dana Plato's Retreat" by David Schwartz.]
In Dana Plato’s Retreat, David Schwartz and Jessica True tell the intriguing story of running a swinger’s club with actress Dana Plato from Diff’rent Strokes TV show fame. Fans of Plato were mystified when she went from portraying sweet teen Kimberly Drummond to being arrested for holding up a video store after she hit hard times. When she got out of jail, she connected with Schwartz and she and True answered the phones and headlined at the club, singing and signing autographs.
The book uses a narrative style reminiscent of interviews that is very easy to read. While Schwartz has the larger portion of telling the story, True provides her perspective on the events, which is a nice counterpoint. I found it hard to put down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and get more details about things that were hinted at. Photos are also included that add to the evocation of the ‘90s atmosphere.
This book is not for everyone. There are graphic depictions of sex and swinging and heavy drugs and partying. Much of the text is more about Schwartz’s lifestyle at the time as a movie producer and the creator of modeling agencies/publications and the club than about Plato. This book will be more appealing to people who are interested in an insider view of this kind of lifestyle than to people who are only fans of Plato.
While I enjoyed reading the book, I’m afraid I can only rate it 2 out of 4 stars. There is a lack of cohesiveness in the story about Plato that was disappointing. I wanted to know more about when Schwartz first met Plato and when she left the club. It appeared that during her time in the club she wasn’t doing drugs, which made me want to know what else happened to her that led to her suicide or overdose on drugs. The story is told in a non-linear way, which did increase my interest but can also be confusing, because the time periods jump around. There are points at which more context and details are needed.
This book would benefit from a professional edit. There are many instances of the inconsistent use of italics and initial capitals for the titles of movies and TV shows, as well as some punctuation and spelling mistakes, which makes the book feel amateurish. A good editor could also help the authors create a more complete story about their time with Plato, and perhaps help to develop another book (or a second part of this book) that describes Schwartz’s story. There seem to be two books melded together here: one about Plato and one about Schwartz’s lifestyle of sex, money, and celebrities.
In spite of these issues, I did find this book riveting and worth reading. Readers interested in learning about this lifestyle from the inside and open-minded fans of Plato will enjoy it.
******
Dana Plato's Retreat
View: on Bookshelves
In Dana Plato’s Retreat, David Schwartz and Jessica True tell the intriguing story of running a swinger’s club with actress Dana Plato from Diff’rent Strokes TV show fame. Fans of Plato were mystified when she went from portraying sweet teen Kimberly Drummond to being arrested for holding up a video store after she hit hard times. When she got out of jail, she connected with Schwartz and she and True answered the phones and headlined at the club, singing and signing autographs.
The book uses a narrative style reminiscent of interviews that is very easy to read. While Schwartz has the larger portion of telling the story, True provides her perspective on the events, which is a nice counterpoint. I found it hard to put down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and get more details about things that were hinted at. Photos are also included that add to the evocation of the ‘90s atmosphere.
This book is not for everyone. There are graphic depictions of sex and swinging and heavy drugs and partying. Much of the text is more about Schwartz’s lifestyle at the time as a movie producer and the creator of modeling agencies/publications and the club than about Plato. This book will be more appealing to people who are interested in an insider view of this kind of lifestyle than to people who are only fans of Plato.
While I enjoyed reading the book, I’m afraid I can only rate it 2 out of 4 stars. There is a lack of cohesiveness in the story about Plato that was disappointing. I wanted to know more about when Schwartz first met Plato and when she left the club. It appeared that during her time in the club she wasn’t doing drugs, which made me want to know what else happened to her that led to her suicide or overdose on drugs. The story is told in a non-linear way, which did increase my interest but can also be confusing, because the time periods jump around. There are points at which more context and details are needed.
This book would benefit from a professional edit. There are many instances of the inconsistent use of italics and initial capitals for the titles of movies and TV shows, as well as some punctuation and spelling mistakes, which makes the book feel amateurish. A good editor could also help the authors create a more complete story about their time with Plato, and perhaps help to develop another book (or a second part of this book) that describes Schwartz’s story. There seem to be two books melded together here: one about Plato and one about Schwartz’s lifestyle of sex, money, and celebrities.
In spite of these issues, I did find this book riveting and worth reading. Readers interested in learning about this lifestyle from the inside and open-minded fans of Plato will enjoy it.
******
Dana Plato's Retreat
View: on Bookshelves
