Line #18 Literature/Maya


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-mayabookcover_8911.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:200:''"A novel of fame and friendship."'']]
3	Maya is Creator/AlastairCampbell's second novel, published in 2010. It is told from the point of view of an ordinary man, Steve, as he descends into obsession with his lifelong friend, the eponymous Maya. Maya happens to be a global megastar actress. Fame and media attitudes to the famous are major themes.
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5	----
6	!!''Maya'' contains examples of:
7	* AbuseMistake: [[spoiler:Steve thinks Maya's in denial about Dan's abuse, but then Steve is an UnreliableNarrator.]]
8	* AllFirstPersonNarratorsWriteLikeNovelists: Justified. See NostalgicNarrator.
9	* AuthorAppeal: A plot that calls for so many subtle (and not-so-subtle) digs at invasive twenty-four hour news media is only to be expected from Alastair Campbell, whose contempt for the British press is legendary.
10	* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: [[spoiler:Averted. Averted to Hell and back. Vanessa can barely talk to Steve by the time she gives birth, never mind let him anywhere near their child.]]
11	* TheBeautifulElite: Maya and Dan.
12	* BigFancyHouse: Of course Maya and Dan own one in North London.
13	* BreakTheCutie: Lovely Maya is subjected to a shower of traumatic events throughout the novel.
14	* ChildhoodFriendRomance
15	* [[spoiler:DownerEnding: Almost inevitably, Steve loses everything.]]
16	* FawltyTowersPlot: PlayedForDrama.
17	* GoodParents: Maya's mum and dad. Along with Vanessa, they might be the only truly good and honest people in the novel.
18	* {{Jerkass}}: Maya's selfish and arrogant husband, Dan. On the one hand, Steve's presentation of him is coloured by mindless jealousy. On the other, Dan really is a colossal jerkass.
19	* MorningSickness: For Vanessa.
20	* NostalgicNarrator: Rather than narrating a novel for us, Steve is in fact writing a memoir for publication. Which throws additional light on him as an UnreliableNarrator.
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22	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Most reviewers were quick to draw parallels between Maya and Creator/AlastairCampbell's former boss, UsefulNotes/TonyBlair. A popular global figure going through crisis after several years in the limelight; a reliable old friend there to help her out; a [[LivingEmotionalCrutch spiral of codependency that (almost) destroys every other aspect of this friend's life...]]
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24	* PrivateDetective: Hired by Steve to follow Maya.
25	* PurpleProse: The sex scene is such a ripe example that it was [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11788105 nominated for a dubious award.]]
26	-->"Now there they were, perfect objects of desire, my hands touching them and my lips moving down to kiss them. I ran my tongue around her nipples and then into the valley of her throat and up to her lips..."
27	* SanitySlippage: Steve's growing obsession with Maya.
28	* SelfInsertFic
29	* SinisterSurveillance: Of Maya, by Steve's hired PrivateDetective.
30	* SlidingScaleOfBeauty: Maya is clearly a Level II, World Class Beauty.
31	* StalkerWithACrush: Steve to Maya. Well, it starts out as an innocent crush which escalates.
32	* StalkingIsLove: [[spoiler:Averted. Maya flips her shit when she finds out.]]
33	* StrawManNewsMedia: Reporting on pretty much everything that happens.
34	* TheSvengali: Nick, Maya's morally ambiguous agent.

Context Literature / Maya