Monday 6 June 2016

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

"I can still remember how the vibrant hue of the dress contrasted crisply with her dark hair, it made her bob appear as slick and shiny as a pool of spilled ink."

There are sometimes when you read a novel and while you love the world, you feel a disconnect. There's a sense that something isn't quite up to scratch. Such was the case, for me, with The Other Typist.  

Roaring twenties prohibition shenanigans are of course appealing. Marry that with the contrast of a virginal woman reared in a convent and you can immediately see the appeal of this literary world. I wanted to be swept away, Gatsby style, in the excess and excitement. I recently watched Baby Face and Barbara Stanwyck's character in that reminded me somewhat of Odalie.

This tale benefits so much from the existing canon of literature of that sparkling, heady age and yet is prone to such repetition as to continually draw the reader back into the real world. The novel is an easy read that could have been rendered a great one with a little editing.

I note that Kiera Knightley is in development for the movie adaptation. I don't see that improving on the book. I don't think I could sit through another A Dangerous Mind  fiasco, that is however, just my opinion. The source material here has such possibility, with the right screenwriter and director and possibly another actress, it could make for an intriguing movie.

3 out of 5 great ideas sometimes need a little more work.

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