Plot Summary
Reunion and Regrets
Eddie Hartley, once a promising actor, now a drama teacher at his elite alma mater, attends his 15th high school reunion. Surrounded by successful classmates and haunted by the meteoric rise of his ex-girlfriend Martha Martin—now TV's Dr. Drake—Eddie's sense of failure deepens. His marriage to Susan is strained by infertility and financial stress, and the reunion only sharpens his awareness of what he's lost. The night is filled with nostalgia, envy, and the subtle cruelty of old friends. Eddie's best friend Blakeman hints at a way to help with Eddie's money troubles, setting in motion a chain of events that will test Eddie's morals and reshape his life.
Fertility Struggles Unveiled
Eddie and Susan's marriage is defined by their struggle to conceive. After months of failed attempts, medical interventions, and mounting debt, the couple's hope is frayed. Susan's longing for a child becomes an obsession, and Eddie's sense of inadequacy grows as he learns his sperm is the problem. The cost of IVF is crushing, and their families can't help. The couple's love is tested by disappointment, blame, and the relentless pressure of their biological clock. Eddie's inability to provide a solution gnaws at him, and Susan's faith in him—and in their future—begins to waver.
The Temptation of the Tape
At a dinner with Blakeman and Morgan Bench, Eddie is propositioned: does he have any old videos of Martha, now a celebrity? Morgan, a meme entrepreneur, claims he can sell even tame footage for thousands, and explicit content for much more. Eddie is initially repulsed, but the lure of easy money grows as his financial desperation mounts. He retrieves the old tapes, reliving his passionate, complicated relationship with Martha. The prospect of selling their private moments becomes both a moral crisis and a possible salvation.
Past Loves, Present Debt
Watching the tapes, Eddie is forced to confront the truth: Martha was always the real talent, and he was never more than "Handsome Eddie"—good-looking but forgettable. Their breakup, her success, and his stagnation are all replayed in painful detail. Meanwhile, Susan's discovery of Eddie's old debts and her suspicions about his feelings for Martha add new cracks to their marriage. The past is inescapable, and Eddie's inability to move on threatens to destroy his present.
The Price of Fame
Eddie decides to sell the most explicit tape to Morgan for $100,000, rationalizing it as a sacrifice for Susan and their future child. He lies to Susan about the source of the money, claiming it's a windfall from an old acting job. The influx of cash brings hope and a renewed sense of possibility, but the moral cost is high. Eddie's guilt is matched only by his fear of being found out. The transaction marks a point of no return, as Eddie trades privacy and dignity for a chance at happiness.
Selling the Private Self
The tape's existence leaks to the tabloids, and rumors swirl about a Martha Martin sex tape. Eddie scrambles to cover his tracks, feeding Susan half-truths and hoping the story will blow over. But the media frenzy grows, and Eddie's connection to Martha becomes public knowledge. The couple's fragile peace is shattered as Susan's suspicions and the world's prying eyes close in. Eddie's sense of control slips away, and the consequences of his decision begin to spiral.
The Sex Tape Leaks
The tape is released online, and Eddie's worst fears are realized. He is quickly identified as Martha's partner, and the story explodes across tabloids, gossip sites, and social media. Eddie is fired from his teaching job, hounded by paparazzi, and publicly shamed. Susan, newly pregnant with triplets after a successful IVF, is devastated by the betrayal and the humiliation. She throws Eddie out, exposing his lies to the world. The private act meant to save their family instead destroys it.
Scandal Consumes Everything
Eddie becomes a pariah, his every move documented and mocked. Susan, meanwhile, is courted by reality TV producers and becomes a media darling for her poise and resilience. Martha, too, weathers the storm, her career ultimately unscathed. Eddie's attempts to explain or redeem himself are drowned out by the relentless churn of the media machine. The boundaries between reality and performance blur, as everyone involved is recast as a character in a never-ending public drama.
Collapse of Career and Marriage
Homeless and jobless, Eddie drifts through New York, staying in hotels and crashing at friends' places. He is tempted by offers to monetize his notoriety—interviews, reality TV, tabloid exclusives—but is paralyzed by shame and indecision. Susan, now the star of her own reality show, moves on with her life, supported by a new circle of admirers and suitors. Eddie's sense of self dissolves as he becomes a spectator to his own downfall, unable to reclaim his place in his family or the world.
The Lure of Notoriety
Eddie is drawn into the orbit of reality TV, first as a curiosity, then as a participant. He enters a staged relationship with Melissa, a beautiful, fame-hungry nineteen-year-old, orchestrated to keep him in the public eye. Their "romance" is engineered for maximum drama, and Eddie learns to perform for the cameras, sacrificing authenticity for attention. The show's producers, led by the enigmatic Brian Moody, manipulate every aspect of his life, turning pain and humiliation into entertainment.
Susan's Rise, Eddie's Fall
As Susan's reality show becomes a hit, she is celebrated for her strength and "relatability," while Eddie is cast as the villain and buffoon. Their stories are edited for maximum contrast, and the audience is invited to judge, forgive, or condemn. Eddie's attempts to reconnect with Susan are thwarted by the demands of the show and the expectations of the audience. The couple's real history is rewritten in the service of narrative arcs and ratings, and Eddie's sense of agency is eroded by the machinery of celebrity culture.
Reality TV's Embrace
Eddie's existence is now fully mediated by cameras, contracts, and producers. His relationship with Melissa is exposed as a sham, but the show must go on. The lines between acting and being are obliterated, and Eddie is forced to confront the emptiness at the heart of his pursuit of fame. The audience's appetite for spectacle is insatiable, and Eddie's suffering is both the product and the fuel of the system. The only escape is to surrender completely—or to walk away.
Manufactured Lives, Real Pain
The death of teen star Justine Bliss becomes a national tragedy, and Eddie is scapegoated as a symbol of cultural decline. The show's manipulations become more brazen, and Eddie's attempts to assert his own narrative are crushed by the demands of the audience and the producers. Even acts of contrition or rebellion are absorbed into the spectacle, stripped of meaning and repurposed for entertainment. Eddie's private grief and longing for redemption are rendered meaningless in a world where only the story matters.
The Melissa Plotline
The show engineers a love triangle between Eddie, Melissa, and her ex-boyfriend Patrick, one of Eddie's former students. The drama is scripted, but the emotions are real: jealousy, betrayal, and heartbreak. Melissa's hunger for fame and Eddie's desperation for relevance collide, and their relationship unravels on camera. Eddie's final act is to end things with Melissa, hoping to reclaim his dignity and perhaps win back Susan. But even this gesture is co-opted by the show, and Eddie is left alone, his life a cautionary tale.
The Death of Innocence
The death of Justine Bliss, a young reality star, becomes a cultural watershed, prompting soul-searching and blame. Eddie is vilified as a symptom of everything wrong with celebrity culture, while Susan and others are recast as survivors or martyrs. The machinery of fame grinds on, indifferent to the real suffering it causes. Eddie's attempts to escape or expose the system are futile; the audience's appetite for drama is endless, and the show must go on.
The Audience's Judgment
Eddie's fate is no longer in his own hands, but in those of the audience and the producers. His every action is judged, edited, and repackaged for mass consumption. The possibility of redemption is dangled before him, but only if it serves the needs of the story. The show's creator, Moody, reveals his philosophy: there is no truth, only what the audience wants to see. Eddie's struggle for authenticity is both tragic and absurd, as he realizes he has become a character in someone else's narrative.
The Final Bargain
Moody offers Eddie a deal: play the villain, accept his punishment, and secure his family's future—or walk away and lose everything. Eddie refuses, choosing instead to reclaim his autonomy, even if it means obscurity and poverty. He gives away his possessions, seeks solace in anonymity, and waits for a sign that he can return to Susan. The machinery of fame moves on without him, but Eddie's act of resistance is both a defeat and a small victory.
The Birth of the Hartleys
In a final, orchestrated spectacle, Susan gives birth to triplets, and Eddie fights his way back to her side. The cameras are rolling, the world is watching, and the line between reality and performance is gone. Yet in the midst of the chaos, Eddie and Susan find a moment of genuine connection, holding their daughters and each other. Their reunion is both a triumph and a surrender, as they accept their roles in the ongoing story. The price of fame has been paid, and the show goes on.
Characters
Eddie Hartley
Eddie is the novel's protagonist, a man defined by missed opportunities and gnawing regret. Once "Handsome Eddie," he is now a drama teacher, haunted by the success of his ex-girlfriend Martha and the collapse of his own ambitions. His marriage to Susan is strained by infertility and financial hardship, and his sense of self-worth is eroded by comparison and failure. Eddie's psychological journey is one of self-deception, rationalization, and ultimately, a desperate bid for redemption. His decision to sell a private sex tape is both a moral failing and an act of love, and his subsequent descent into scandal, reality TV, and public humiliation exposes the emptiness of fame and the hunger for authenticity. Eddie's relationships—with Susan, Martha, Blakeman, and Melissa—reveal his longing for connection and his fear of being ordinary. By the end, he is both a cautionary tale and a symbol of the human need to be seen and loved.
Susan Hartley
Susan is Eddie's wife, a woman of quiet strength and deep longing. Her desire for a child is the axis around which her life—and her marriage—turns. Susan's faith, intelligence, and resilience are tested by infertility, Eddie's betrayals, and the relentless scrutiny of the public. When thrust into the spotlight by scandal, she becomes a media darling, celebrated for her "relatability" and poise. Yet Susan's journey is also one of self-discovery: she finds purpose and confidence in her work, her pregnancy, and eventually, her own reality show. Her relationship with Eddie is complex—marked by love, disappointment, forgiveness, and the shared hope for a family. Susan's arc is one of transformation, as she moves from victim to protagonist in her own story.
Martha Martin
Martha is the beautiful, talented actress who becomes TV's Dr. Drake and a national obsession. For Eddie, she represents both the pinnacle of what he once desired and the source of his deepest insecurities. Martha's rise to fame is depicted as both a triumph and a loss—she is admired, envied, and objectified, but also isolated and commodified. Her relationship with Eddie is passionate but ultimately doomed by ambition and the demands of the industry. Martha's reaction to the sex tape scandal is pragmatic; she is both victim and survivor, using the exposure to further her career. Psychologically, Martha is both heartless and vulnerable, a symbol of the costs and contradictions of fame.
Blakeman
Blakeman is Eddie's oldest friend, a writer and editor who straddles the worlds of art and commerce. He is both confidant and provocateur, offering Eddie opportunities and advice that are often double-edged. Blakeman's own success is modest but secure, and he serves as a mirror for Eddie's anxieties about status and meaning. Psychologically, Blakeman is both loyal and self-interested, a man who enjoys the drama of others' lives while keeping his own at a safe distance. His role in connecting Eddie to Morgan and the sex tape scheme is pivotal, and his presence underscores the novel's themes of complicity and the blurred lines between friendship and exploitation.
Morgan Bench
Morgan is the catalyst for Eddie's downfall, offering to broker the sale of the Martha Martin sex tape. He is a creature of the internet age, thriving on the commodification of private moments and the creation of viral content. Morgan's amorality is both chilling and darkly comic; he is motivated by profit and notoriety, indifferent to the consequences for others. His relationship with Eddie is transactional, and his role in the story highlights the corrosive effects of a culture that values spectacle over substance.
Melissa Westlake
Melissa is a beautiful, ambitious nineteen-year-old who becomes Eddie's staged girlfriend on reality TV. She is both a willing participant and a victim of the system, using her relationship with Eddie to gain attention and status. Melissa's psychological makeup is a blend of naivete and cunning; she understands the rules of the fame game better than Eddie, but is ultimately disposable. Her arc is one of self-invention and self-destruction, as she navigates the shifting demands of the audience and the producers.
Brian Moody
Moody is the architect of the reality show that consumes Eddie and Susan's lives. He is a philosophical cynic, believing that there is no truth, only what the audience wants. Moody's psychological profile is that of a high-functioning sociopath: charming, ruthless, and utterly convinced of his own vision. He orchestrates every twist and turn of the story, blurring the line between reality and fiction. Moody's relationship to the other characters is that of puppet master, and his presence embodies the novel's critique of media, celebrity, and the commodification of the self.
Justin Price
Justin is a classmate of Eddie's from St. Albert's, now a wealthy financier and philanthropist. He represents the world of privilege and achievement that Eddie feels excluded from. Justin's role is largely symbolic, highlighting the class dynamics and the sense of being left behind that haunt Eddie. Psychologically, Justin is both generous and distant, a reminder of what might have been.
Patrick Hendricks
Patrick is Eddie's favorite student, a genuinely gifted actor who looks up to Eddie as a mentor. His involvement in the Melissa plotline and the subsequent media circus exposes the collateral damage of adult failures and the predatory nature of fame. Patrick's innocence and sincerity are contrasted with the cynicism of the adult world, and his arc is one of disillusionment and loss.
Susan's Parents
Susan's parents are minor but significant figures, representing the older generation's values and their inability to help in the face of modern problems. Their religious objections to IVF and their lack of financial resources underscore the isolation and desperation of Eddie and Susan. Psychologically, they are both loving and limited, unable to bridge the gap between their beliefs and their daughter's needs.
Plot Devices
The Sex Tape as Catalyst
The sex tape is the novel's central plot device, transforming a private act of desperation into a public scandal. It serves as a symbol of the commodification of intimacy and the porous boundaries between the personal and the performative. The tape's release triggers a cascade of consequences—job loss, marital collapse, media frenzy—that drive the narrative forward and expose the characters' vulnerabilities.
Reality TV Structure
The novel adopts the conventions of reality television, with its emphasis on confessionals, manufactured drama, and the blurring of fact and fiction. The characters become performers in their own lives, their actions shaped by the demands of producers and the expectations of the audience. This structure allows for meta-commentary on storytelling, authenticity, and the hunger for attention.
Foreshadowing and Irony
The narrative is laced with foreshadowing—Eddie's early sense of being watched, the references to fame's dangers, the warnings from friends—that build a sense of tragic inevitability. Irony pervades the story: Eddie's quest for meaning leads to meaninglessness; his sacrifice for family destroys it; the pursuit of authenticity results in total fabrication.
Doubling and Mirrors
The novel uses doubling—Eddie and Martha, Susan and Melissa, Eddie and Patrick—to explore themes of envy, aspiration, and the cyclical nature of desire. Each character serves as a mirror for another, highlighting the ways in which identity is constructed and deconstructed by relationships and social forces.
The Audience as God
The audience, both literal and metaphorical, is a constant presence, shaping the characters' actions and self-perceptions. The novel draws explicit parallels between the audience and the divine, suggesting that in a secular, media-saturated world, the need to be seen and approved of replaces traditional forms of meaning and morality.
Narrative Unreliability
The story is told through Eddie's perspective, but his self-justifications, rationalizations, and shifting sense of reality make him an unreliable narrator. The editing of the reality show within the novel further complicates the question of what is real, inviting readers to question the nature of truth and the possibility of genuine connection.
Analysis
Arts & Entertainments is a razor-sharp satire and a poignant meditation on the costs of living in a culture obsessed with fame, image, and spectacle. Christopher Beha's novel dissects the ways in which private lives are transformed into public commodities, and how the hunger for validation—whether through art, love, or celebrity—can lead to self-destruction. At its core, the book is about the search for meaning in a world where meaning is manufactured, sold, and consumed. Eddie's journey from failed actor to reality TV antihero is both a cautionary tale and a darkly comic exploration of the human need to be seen, loved, and forgiven. The novel interrogates the boundaries between authenticity and performance, exposing the emptiness at the heart of modern celebrity and the dangers of confusing attention with affection. Ultimately, Arts & Entertainments asks whether it is possible to reclaim one's self in a world that insists on turning every story into entertainment—and whether, in the end, the audience's gaze is all that remains.
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