The Met Gala & Tales of Saints and Seekers

Wagner (I’m Losing You) shines with “The Met Gala,” a devilish and dizzying novella about a wealthy Hollywood family, but stumbles in “Tales of Saints and Seekers,” a curious gathering of pseudo-philosophical allegories, making for a mismatched bundle. The first entry stars the glamorous and fractured Coldstream family: divorced “chic billionairess” Corinne; her snarky queer ex-husband Dax; their older daughter Candida, 21, a struggling and suicidal actor; and their “darkly funny” trans daughter Charlie, 16, whom they named after the Revlon perfume. Charlie is obsessed with sought-after fashion designer Rick Owens, who’s creating dazzling outfits for the family’s annual Met Gala appearance, while Candida joins her friend Talula in the “Houseless Hook-Up Challenge,” in which they each have sex with a random person who’s living on the street. When Corinne accidentally hits and kills two children while driving her Rolls-Royce, the “family fixer” rushes into action. The volume’s second section is a collection of brisk Southern California–based spiritual parables adapted from Aesop, Greek Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn, and Sufi wisdom, among other sources. In them, screenwriters, actors, therapists, and other Los Angelenos are caught in wry mishaps where their inexperience, arrogance, prejudices, or spiritual deficiencies lead to opportunities for enlightenment. These vignettes, however soulful they may be, pale in comparison to the masterly satire of “The Met Gala.” It’s a mixed bag. (June)