"The ultimate Hollywood novel!" says Blurb, and for once he may be near the mark…. [In] Frederic Raphael's "California Time": Victor England, well-known director and ladies' man, returns to Hollywood to make a film…. [At times Raphael stops the action to drop numerous] helpful hints on how best to read a book called "California Time." (p. 33)

There are some remarkably funny scenes and exchanges in here [in addition to nearly a pun a page.]… [One] may imagine a benign purpose to the author's word-play, a determination, perhaps, that we be made constantly aware that we are reading, so as not to be hoodwinked by his skills into thinking we are already watching the movie of the book, or leafing through the book of the movie, or, worst of all, stuck up to our eyeballs in life.

In sum, there are some very happy moments in what Reviewer might...