Not this Typist, The Other Typist

I picked up with book because I ran into someone I used to work with at the library and she told me this was the best book her book club had read in the past year. So, feeling obligated, I took down the title and checked it out. I learned something important from this: Beware of unsolicited book recommendations.

This book has been compared to both The Great Gatsby, which I enjoyed, and Gone Girl, which I hated. I find that comparison to be apt. It takes place in New York City during prohibition and features, you guessed it, a typist, as well as, well, other typists. The place of employment for these typists is a police precinct that is chosen to be an example of enforcing prohibition and shutting down speakeasies throughout New York.

This young woman, Rose Baker, is plain, observant, and isolated. When she meets Odalie, the "other typist" her life changes and she is given (and takes) the opportunity to change her style, or maybe to live her life through Odalie. As the book progresses a pivotal event occurs at which someone recognizes Odalie and tries to piece together the truth from a suspicious death years earlier on Rhode Island.

The entire book is told from the perspective of Rose and as things progress you get the distinct impression that her perspective is not entirely accurate. There are also several repeated hints that something tragic has occurred and the reader will be told all about it all in good time. At the end of the book there is a "reveal" which throws much of the rest of the book into question. However, so much is left unresolved at the end that reinterpreting the entire book in light of the ending is a tricky and maybe even impossible task. For this reason I am only recommending this book to people who enjoyed Gone Girl and who promise to tell me what they think really was going on once they finish it.

On a side note, I found the setting of a police precinct during prohibition to be really fascinating. And look at this awesome picture I found:

Apparently Keira Knightly (who I always confuse with Natalie Portman) bought the rights to The Other Typist and is allegedly making a movie out of it. So says the Internet, at any rate. I hope a movie is made because I want to know how this book will be interpreted by whoever writes and directs it.