{"product_id":"2026100011161-secondhand-the-distant-laughter","title":"The Distant Laughter","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Wear and tear with damage\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBehind the gilded facade of Hollywood's golden age lies a world of ambition, illusion, and quiet devastation — and it is into this world that Bryan Forbes draws us with razor-sharp precision in The Distant Laughter. The novel chronicles the life and slow unravelling of a celebrated film star, set against the opulent yet corrosive backdrop of the British and American film industries, where fame is a currency that depreciates without warning. Forbes presents a cast of richly drawn characters navigating the treacherous terrain of celebrity, loyalty, and self-deception, rendering the glamour of the silver screen with both affection and unflinching honesty. The tone is elegiac and wry — the laughter of the title always heard from just out of reach, a bittersweet echo of lives half-lived.\n\nAs both a novelist and a distinguished filmmaker in his own right, Forbes brings an insider's authority to his portrait of an industry that devours its own, investing the narrative with an authenticity that purely literary observers could never achieve. The Distant Laughter sits in the tradition of great novels about fame and its discontents, drawing thematic comparisons to the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald while retaining a distinctly British sensibility — sardonic, melancholic, and quietly devastating. Forbes's prose is elegant and controlled, capable of sudden emotional ambushes that linger long after the final page. For anyone who has ever wondered what truly lies behind the smile on the silver screen, this novel offers an answer both beautiful and deeply unsettling.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50573053755611,"sku":"2026100011161-SECONDHAND","price":20.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/c403e6bc-e117-491c-aa2d-d56a9eb078f4.png?v=1791167707","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100011161-secondhand-the-distant-laughter","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}