Big Red
With narrator Rusty Redburn—a feisty second-string gossip columnist from Kalamazoo tasked with spying on Hayworth by Columbia movie mogul Harry “The Janitor” Cohn—as our guide, we follow the meteoric rise and heartrending demise of the actress, encountering her exploitative father, Eduardo; her controlling husband, “boy genius” Orson Welles; and notorious journalist Louella Parsons, among many others. Mixing his trademark screwball comedy and unerring tragedy, Jerome Charyn, with his “polymorphous imagination” (Jonathan Lethem) reanimates film classics such as Cover Girl, Gilda, and The Lady from Shanghai. An insightful, tender portrait of a seemingly halcyon age before blockbusters and film franchises, Big Red promises to consume both Hollywood cinephiles and neophytes alike.
My Thoughts: Ok, in my opinion if you are going to write a book about a woman who was once labelled "the most beautiful woman in the world" you have GOT to provide better cover art! The cartoon style cover was used on every edition of this book except for one. The Kindle edition was given a makeover and utilized, in my opinion, a more elegant, vintage Hollywood style cover.
I'm not sure if the author's intent was to marginalize Rita Hayworth's life or to exalt it. This was unlike any biographical fiction I have ever read. It was a love letter to old cinema. Rusty Redburn provided more of a narrative on how both Rita and Orson were influenced by and influencers of Hollywood. The author used his narrator to not only provide insight into its biggest stars but to critic their films and how they impacted cinematography. Readers are taken behind the scenes to witness the scheming, plotting, cajoling, and subjugation of some of Hollywood's biggest stars to produce a picture that would take them to the top and keep them there.
At times the character of Rusty seemed forced. She wasn't a relatable character but yet always seemed to give the reader just what they didn't know they wanted. I do applaud the author for giving readers a new perspective into the lives of some of Hollywood's greats. If you go into this book without any expectations you might be surprised by your opinions of it. I can't say I would have picked up this book had a friend not brought the cover art to my attention. It was however entertaining and I did learn about the lives of both Orson and Rita.
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