Based on the review I just read in Salon, it is highly unlikely that I will read  “The Best of Friends: Me and Martha”, the new tell-all story of Martha Stewart written by her former best friend, Mariana Pasternak.  Salon describes the book as full of old material lacking in any new and startling revelations about Martha Stewart, her empire, or anything surrounding either of the two.

Salon’s view of the author Mariana Pasternak is even worse- she comes across like a spoilt child who enjoyed the privileges that came with knowing an A-lister like Martha Stewart, but couldn’t decide on her own whether the friendship was valuable enough to continue.

In “The Best of Friends”, Pasternak focuses on Martha Stewart as insensitive and a tad insecure.  She details quite a few grievances  against Martha Stewart, including the time Martha announced to a room full of guests that Mariana’s marriage was in financial ruin and “tales of Martha’s cheapness”.

It sounds to me that either Mariana Pasternak has either taken more than enough shit from her former friend or that she is trying to capitalize on Martha’s fame and glory by either fabricating or embellishing stories to paint her in an unflattering light. Call it a wild guess, but I am going for the latter.

Of course, given the fact that Martha Stewart is now a convicted felon as a result of her insider trading scandal, I doubt that Pasternak’s book will damage Martha Stewart’s reputation all that much. Those who worship and revere Martha Stewart are unlikely to stop doing so based on the tell-all book of a single friend, and those who can’t stand the food and decorating queen are unlikely to change their opinions either.

If I read “The Best of Friends” at all, it will be because it is on the discount rack next to all of the other books that I avoid reading in public places and not because I am longing to hear the inside scoop of Martha’s uppitiness before dinner parties.

This is not the first book about Martha Stewart to be written and it probably won’t be the last, but it does beg the question: is it permissible for writer friends of the rich and famous to use their inside knowledge to tell their personal stories ? When do private information and personal grudges become the topic of public domain?