Actors Anonymous: A Novel is unsettling, funny, personal, and dark, a story told in many forms, from testimonials (in the style of Alcoholics Anonymous) and scripts to letters, diaries, and more. James Franco turns his “James Franco” persona inside out—sometimes humorously, often mercilessly. The book contains profound insights into the nature and purpose of acting, bawdy satires of the high life, and deeply moving portraits of aspiring actors who never quite made it. Franco’s seemingly inexhaustible celebrity currency makes this that rare work in which the writer’s fame matches his considerable literary ambition. Modeled loosely on Alcoholics Anonymous’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Actors Anonymous is an intense, wild ride that’s pure Franco.