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Big Red
Set amidst the noir glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Big Red reenvisions the life of one of America’s most enduring icons: Gilda herself, Rita Hayworth, whose fiery red hair and hypnotic dancing helped make her the quintessential movie star of the 1940s.
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.
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.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2022
34 people are currently reading
2072 people want to read
About the author
Jerome Charyn
221 books228 followersJerome Charyn is an award-winning American author. With more than 50 published works, Charyn has earned a long-standing reputation as an inventive and prolific chronicler of real and imagined American life.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon calls him "one of the most important writers in American literature." New York Newsday hailed Charyn as "a contemporary American Balzac," and the Los Angeles Times described him as "absolutely unique among American writers."
Since the 1964 release of Charyn's first novel, Once Upon a Droshky, he has published thirty novels, three memoirs, eight graphic novels, two books about film, short stories, plays, and works of non-fiction. Two of his memoirs were named New York Times Book of the Year.
Charyn has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was named Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. Charyn is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the American University of Paris.
In addition to writing and teaching, Charyn is a tournament table tennis player, once ranked in the top ten percent of players in France. Noted novelist Don DeLillo called Charyn's book on table tennis, Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins, "The Sun Also Rises of ping-pong."
Charyn's most recent novel, Jerzy, was described by The New Yorker as a "fictional fantasia" about the life of Jerzy Kosinski, the controversial author of The Painted Bird. In 2010, Charyn wrote The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, an imagined autobiography of the renowned poet, a book characterized by Joyce Carol Oates as a "fever-dream picaresque."
Charyn lives in New York City. He's currently working with artists Asaf and Tomer Hanuka on an animated television series based on his Isaac Sidel crime novels.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Michael Chabon calls him "one of the most important writers in American literature." New York Newsday hailed Charyn as "a contemporary American Balzac," and the Los Angeles Times described him as "absolutely unique among American writers."
Since the 1964 release of Charyn's first novel, Once Upon a Droshky, he has published thirty novels, three memoirs, eight graphic novels, two books about film, short stories, plays, and works of non-fiction. Two of his memoirs were named New York Times Book of the Year.
Charyn has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was named Commander of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. Charyn is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at the American University of Paris.
In addition to writing and teaching, Charyn is a tournament table tennis player, once ranked in the top ten percent of players in France. Noted novelist Don DeLillo called Charyn's book on table tennis, Sizzling Chops & Devilish Spins, "The Sun Also Rises of ping-pong."
Charyn's most recent novel, Jerzy, was described by The New Yorker as a "fictional fantasia" about the life of Jerzy Kosinski, the controversial author of The Painted Bird. In 2010, Charyn wrote The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, an imagined autobiography of the renowned poet, a book characterized by Joyce Carol Oates as a "fever-dream picaresque."
Charyn lives in New York City. He's currently working with artists Asaf and Tomer Hanuka on an animated television series based on his Isaac Sidel crime novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
November 11, 2022
This book is a fictionalized story of the relationship of Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles. I have no idea how much of the book is true, and I don’t really care because I’m generally not interested in the biographies of movie stars. At times it reads like a filmography and at times it reads like tales from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Those parts of the book were more interesting to me than the Hayworth/Welles soap opera. Hayworth was obviously gorgeous, but also shy, insecure and drunk a lot of the time. She was sort of pitiful in this book, with no control over her life or career and not much personality. Welles was certainly the more creative of the two, but he wasn’t a fully fleshed out character either. I guess I wanted either more old Hollywood glamour and pizzazz or more of the creative process of Welles.
I received a free copies of the ebook and audiobook from the publisher.
I received a free copies of the ebook and audiobook from the publisher.
July 7, 2022
I’ve read dozens of books about Orson Welles/Rita Hayworth/Harry Cohn but not a novel involving those three Hollywood icons. And the novel was great. With depth and intelligence concerning the movie business , stardom, and how people live, this is a fantastic book. Charyn brings his estimable writerly skills to this topic in a way that is funny, profane , informative and touching. If you have any interest in this kind of material get this book.
March 23, 2022
I was an actress who couldn’t act, a dancer who couldn’t dance, a singer who couldn’t sing. So I went straight to Hollywood after my sophomore year at college in Kalamazoo.
Rusty Redburn in Big Red by Jerome Charyn
I read those opening lines and fell in love with Rusty Redburn, narrator of Big Red. As a girl she was caught in the alluring web and fantasy of the movies, idolizing Orson Wells’ artistry.
In Hollywood, Rusty was a cubical worker toiling in the shadows of Columbia’s Publicity Department when preditory Columbia boss Harry Cohn calls her to his office. ‘Big Red’ Rita Hayworth is Cohn’s top star and he doesn’t care for her burgeoning relationship with box office failure Orson Wells, previously known as the Boy Wonder. Ensured by Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons that Rusty is ‘reliable’, he hires her to spy on Rita and Orson, posing as Rita’s personal secretary.
Jerome Charyn wisely invents Rusty to tell his story. Her first person, close up observations take us into the boudoir and the cutting room. And, talking about movies, she can channel Charyn’s knowledge and insights, and reflect his own love of the cinema.
Charyn describes Hayworth’s graceful beauty, her feline physicality of movement. I had to see it for myself. First, I saw The Lady From Shanghai, a movie that figures prominently in the novel. Their marriage floundering by Wells’ philandering, he remade Hayworth, turning the redhead ‘Love Queen’ into a cool ‘topaz blonde’ seductress and murderess.
Then, I watched You Were Never Lovelier in which she dances with Fred Astaire, playing a cool virgin waiting for her Prince Lochinvar. Its little wonder that Astaire admitted she was his most worthy dance partner! She is stunning to watch, and there is true joy and happiness in her face as they dance. Last, I watched Gilda, the noir movie that capitalized on Hayworth’s sex appeal; she is both preditory and vulnerable.
I saw with clarity the shocking transformation of Hayworth in Lady in which she doesn’t dance or sing; there is no joy on her face, but tears in her eyes and a gun in her hand.
Hayworth’s skill as a dancer came at a cost. Her father was a dancer and when she was a pre-teen, he removed her from school and made her his dance partner, preying on her sexually. Her first husband made her career, changing her appearance and pimping her out. She was nothing more than a ‘meal ticket’ for these men.
Hayworth was in a relationship when Wells pursued and won her. But he could not be faithful.
In Charyn’s novel, we see Hayworth’s great need to be loved, the pain of losing Orson’s love driving her to drink. Big Red dreams of a home and a family, and most of all, a man who loves and cherishes her, but it all eluded her.
Although she knows the heartbreak Wells brought Hayworth, Rusty can’t help but be mesmerized by Wells’ stunningly original vision. Citizen Kane was a flop, and the studios placed draconian limits on Wells artistry. We see glimpses in his later films that were radically edited by Violet Lawrence, who appears in Charyn’s novel.
Rusty’s relationship with Hayworth is tender and maternal, but her disapproval of a grifter who inveigles his way into Rita’s heart and bedroom causes a rift. Rusty uses her severance pay to buy an art theater. Hayworth later married wealthy royal playboy Aly Khan, another womanizer who breaks her heart but gave her a daughter.
The novel ends with the death of studio head Harry Cohn, the end of an era. Hayworth has already disappeared, her last film Pal Joey revealing the ravages of drink and heartbreak, but Rusty is still bewitched by the actress.
I have loved classic movies since girlhood. Big Red is a devastating story, peeling back the façade of Hollywood glamour to reveal the abuse and misuse in the industry. We are left wondering what Wells could have done had the demand for box office profit had not limited his creativity. We are angry at Hayworth’s abusive father who broke her self-worth and left her vulnerable to men who could not cherish her. And yet…there is the magical power of those movies, watching Hayworth’s dazzling beauty and the inventiveness of Wells best scenes. Like Rusty Reburn, we can know the brutal truth and yet be mesmerized by the fantasy.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Rusty Redburn in Big Red by Jerome Charyn
I read those opening lines and fell in love with Rusty Redburn, narrator of Big Red. As a girl she was caught in the alluring web and fantasy of the movies, idolizing Orson Wells’ artistry.
In Hollywood, Rusty was a cubical worker toiling in the shadows of Columbia’s Publicity Department when preditory Columbia boss Harry Cohn calls her to his office. ‘Big Red’ Rita Hayworth is Cohn’s top star and he doesn’t care for her burgeoning relationship with box office failure Orson Wells, previously known as the Boy Wonder. Ensured by Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons that Rusty is ‘reliable’, he hires her to spy on Rita and Orson, posing as Rita’s personal secretary.
Jerome Charyn wisely invents Rusty to tell his story. Her first person, close up observations take us into the boudoir and the cutting room. And, talking about movies, she can channel Charyn’s knowledge and insights, and reflect his own love of the cinema.
Charyn describes Hayworth’s graceful beauty, her feline physicality of movement. I had to see it for myself. First, I saw The Lady From Shanghai, a movie that figures prominently in the novel. Their marriage floundering by Wells’ philandering, he remade Hayworth, turning the redhead ‘Love Queen’ into a cool ‘topaz blonde’ seductress and murderess.
Then, I watched You Were Never Lovelier in which she dances with Fred Astaire, playing a cool virgin waiting for her Prince Lochinvar. Its little wonder that Astaire admitted she was his most worthy dance partner! She is stunning to watch, and there is true joy and happiness in her face as they dance. Last, I watched Gilda, the noir movie that capitalized on Hayworth’s sex appeal; she is both preditory and vulnerable.
I saw with clarity the shocking transformation of Hayworth in Lady in which she doesn’t dance or sing; there is no joy on her face, but tears in her eyes and a gun in her hand.
Hayworth’s skill as a dancer came at a cost. Her father was a dancer and when she was a pre-teen, he removed her from school and made her his dance partner, preying on her sexually. Her first husband made her career, changing her appearance and pimping her out. She was nothing more than a ‘meal ticket’ for these men.
Hayworth was in a relationship when Wells pursued and won her. But he could not be faithful.
In Charyn’s novel, we see Hayworth’s great need to be loved, the pain of losing Orson’s love driving her to drink. Big Red dreams of a home and a family, and most of all, a man who loves and cherishes her, but it all eluded her.
Although she knows the heartbreak Wells brought Hayworth, Rusty can’t help but be mesmerized by Wells’ stunningly original vision. Citizen Kane was a flop, and the studios placed draconian limits on Wells artistry. We see glimpses in his later films that were radically edited by Violet Lawrence, who appears in Charyn’s novel.
Rusty’s relationship with Hayworth is tender and maternal, but her disapproval of a grifter who inveigles his way into Rita’s heart and bedroom causes a rift. Rusty uses her severance pay to buy an art theater. Hayworth later married wealthy royal playboy Aly Khan, another womanizer who breaks her heart but gave her a daughter.
The novel ends with the death of studio head Harry Cohn, the end of an era. Hayworth has already disappeared, her last film Pal Joey revealing the ravages of drink and heartbreak, but Rusty is still bewitched by the actress.
I have loved classic movies since girlhood. Big Red is a devastating story, peeling back the façade of Hollywood glamour to reveal the abuse and misuse in the industry. We are left wondering what Wells could have done had the demand for box office profit had not limited his creativity. We are angry at Hayworth’s abusive father who broke her self-worth and left her vulnerable to men who could not cherish her. And yet…there is the magical power of those movies, watching Hayworth’s dazzling beauty and the inventiveness of Wells best scenes. Like Rusty Reburn, we can know the brutal truth and yet be mesmerized by the fantasy.
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Want to read
September 29, 2024my TRUE problematic faves 😭 (not rita, she was a real-life angel, more so their relationship and orson's treatment of her...)
September 14, 2022
Scandalous, nostalgic, and entertaining!
Big Red is the intriguing, dramatic tale of two of the most famous actors of the 20th century, Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles and their on-again, off-again relationship with each other and Hollywood, told from the perspective of Rusty Redburn, a young woman working in Columbia Pictures’ publicity department who is hired by top executive Harry Cohn to take on the role of Rita’s PA in order to spy on the couple and let him know what goes on behind closed doors.
The writing is informative and light. The characters are talented, driven, and unique. And the novel is a compelling tale of one couple’s personal and professional successes and heartaches both on and off the screen, including a past littered with childhood abuse and a tumultuous marriage grounded in love but consistently strained by infidelity, differing visions, and crippling insecurities.
Overall, Big Red is a captivating, descriptive, fascinating tale by Charyn that highlights his considerable knowledge and impressive research into these renowned historical figures whose lives and work have had a tremendous impact on the motion picture industry.
Thank you to OTRPR and Liveright Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Big Red is the intriguing, dramatic tale of two of the most famous actors of the 20th century, Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles and their on-again, off-again relationship with each other and Hollywood, told from the perspective of Rusty Redburn, a young woman working in Columbia Pictures’ publicity department who is hired by top executive Harry Cohn to take on the role of Rita’s PA in order to spy on the couple and let him know what goes on behind closed doors.
The writing is informative and light. The characters are talented, driven, and unique. And the novel is a compelling tale of one couple’s personal and professional successes and heartaches both on and off the screen, including a past littered with childhood abuse and a tumultuous marriage grounded in love but consistently strained by infidelity, differing visions, and crippling insecurities.
Overall, Big Red is a captivating, descriptive, fascinating tale by Charyn that highlights his considerable knowledge and impressive research into these renowned historical figures whose lives and work have had a tremendous impact on the motion picture industry.
Thank you to OTRPR and Liveright Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 11, 2022
Big Red is a perfectly fine novel for fans of old Hollywood, but it reads it large part like a recitation of facts that plenty of film buffs already know about Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles. I had more fun learning the stuff I heard here from Karina Longworth's "You Must Remember This" podcast just because the point of that podcast is more intentionally informational rather than blurring lines between reality and fiction.
I think this book feels a bit more like a love letter to Welles's craft than to Hayworth, which isn't really a problem, but doesn't fit with the title or advertised focus of the story. I also had a hard time figuring out Rusty as a protagonist—she never felt like a real person to me, which maybe also says something about the difficulties of inventing characters while also writing about real people.
On a separate note, I read this on audio and didn't much enjoy it in that format, particularly because it seemed that the narrator didn't have the background in the field necessary for the text. A narrator who doesn't know the correct pronunciation of Marlene Dietrich's name in a book about Old Hollywood is a real bummer.
I think this book feels a bit more like a love letter to Welles's craft than to Hayworth, which isn't really a problem, but doesn't fit with the title or advertised focus of the story. I also had a hard time figuring out Rusty as a protagonist—she never felt like a real person to me, which maybe also says something about the difficulties of inventing characters while also writing about real people.
On a separate note, I read this on audio and didn't much enjoy it in that format, particularly because it seemed that the narrator didn't have the background in the field necessary for the text. A narrator who doesn't know the correct pronunciation of Marlene Dietrich's name in a book about Old Hollywood is a real bummer.
Read
September 20, 2022Unfortunately a DNF for me.
November 3, 2022
Jerome Charyn's
Big Red
is a compelling, fascinating novel about Old Hollywood.
I was so excited to be part of the virtual tour for this book, and I’m grateful to Over The River PR, Jerome Charyn, and Liveright Publishing for the signed first edition!
“I was an actress who couldn’t act, a dancer who couldn’t dance, a singer who couldn’t sing. So I went straight to Hollywood after my sophomore year of college.”
With those words we are introduced to Rusty Redburn, the book’s feisty narrator. It’s 1943. She is in love with the movies and the movie business, and works at Columbia Pictures.
The legendary Rita Hayworth is Columbia’s biggest movie star to date. But studio mogul Harry Cohn is worried about Hayworth, because she’s with troubled filmmaker Orson Welles. So Cohn does what any other studio head would do—he hires Rusty to spy on Hayworth. She becomes her private secretary and confidante, but things don’t quite unfold the way Cohn hopes.
I found this book so fascinating. It’s a look behind the curtain at the rise and fall of a Hollywood legend, but at the same time it’s commentary on how actresses were treated by the studio system. It’s also an interesting look at what life was like for a lesbian in the 1940s.
Whether or not you’re a fan of classic movies and Old Hollywood stories, this is a great read.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.
I was so excited to be part of the virtual tour for this book, and I’m grateful to Over The River PR, Jerome Charyn, and Liveright Publishing for the signed first edition!
“I was an actress who couldn’t act, a dancer who couldn’t dance, a singer who couldn’t sing. So I went straight to Hollywood after my sophomore year of college.”
With those words we are introduced to Rusty Redburn, the book’s feisty narrator. It’s 1943. She is in love with the movies and the movie business, and works at Columbia Pictures.
The legendary Rita Hayworth is Columbia’s biggest movie star to date. But studio mogul Harry Cohn is worried about Hayworth, because she’s with troubled filmmaker Orson Welles. So Cohn does what any other studio head would do—he hires Rusty to spy on Hayworth. She becomes her private secretary and confidante, but things don’t quite unfold the way Cohn hopes.
I found this book so fascinating. It’s a look behind the curtain at the rise and fall of a Hollywood legend, but at the same time it’s commentary on how actresses were treated by the studio system. It’s also an interesting look at what life was like for a lesbian in the 1940s.
Whether or not you’re a fan of classic movies and Old Hollywood stories, this is a great read.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/getbookedwithlarry/.
October 13, 2022
This book is certainly fiction, but it’s not really a novel. It’s basically a fictionalized retelling of Rita Hayworth’s life in movies and in particular with Orson Welles. It’s written in a snappily entertaining way, but I realized about 2/3 of the way through that it wasn’t really a story. More just a recitation of the course of a person’s life. There’s no cohesive story here. And yet it’s too fictional to be valuable as a biography. It defies genre, and in this case that’s not really a good thing as it’s not satisfying as either novel or biography.
September 12, 2022
It was just as if Jerome Charyn wrote this one for me…
I’ve been reading Charyn since 2008’s Johnny One-Eye, most of what’s followed and a good chunk of what preceded it, and I have read a lot of great material from him, but seldom what flowed so effortlessly through my thoughts. I’m an Orson Welles guy. The post-Citizen Kane struggles are what I know best, but in Charyn’s prose it opens beautifully.
Charyn has his own peculiar language, as any master does, that you will find again and again, both in the words and images. In that sense Big Red, with its mirror redheads, is all but the perfect Charyn tale. Rita Hayworth emerges as a thoroughly modern tragedy, with narrator Rusty Redburn visible enough in the edges to reflect (if you know any of this material you will appreciate the phrasing here) what Welles leaves in his wake.
As with many of his recent books Charyn has returned to the stage of WWII, that generation just before his own, Welles barred from serving and wasting time shooting footage that would one day have a counterpoint in Lady from Shanghai, Rita ascending, even a glimpse of the evil only recent years have been brave enough to shatter, the internment of Japanese Americans.
As he envisions Welles and Hayworth, they were the Hollywood royalty at the end of the Golden Age, and as such (the ending is really one of his best, poetry worthy of the subject matter) an elegy, much as Tarantino sketched his rebuke of the town’s fall from innocence in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
A book of this achievement bridges much of Charyn’s interests over the years, and as such must be understood to be a career statement. Because it is one. And perhaps Hollywood might even finally come calling, a fitting late chapter for Charyn, Welles, and Hayworth.
I’ve been reading Charyn since 2008’s Johnny One-Eye, most of what’s followed and a good chunk of what preceded it, and I have read a lot of great material from him, but seldom what flowed so effortlessly through my thoughts. I’m an Orson Welles guy. The post-Citizen Kane struggles are what I know best, but in Charyn’s prose it opens beautifully.
Charyn has his own peculiar language, as any master does, that you will find again and again, both in the words and images. In that sense Big Red, with its mirror redheads, is all but the perfect Charyn tale. Rita Hayworth emerges as a thoroughly modern tragedy, with narrator Rusty Redburn visible enough in the edges to reflect (if you know any of this material you will appreciate the phrasing here) what Welles leaves in his wake.
As with many of his recent books Charyn has returned to the stage of WWII, that generation just before his own, Welles barred from serving and wasting time shooting footage that would one day have a counterpoint in Lady from Shanghai, Rita ascending, even a glimpse of the evil only recent years have been brave enough to shatter, the internment of Japanese Americans.
As he envisions Welles and Hayworth, they were the Hollywood royalty at the end of the Golden Age, and as such (the ending is really one of his best, poetry worthy of the subject matter) an elegy, much as Tarantino sketched his rebuke of the town’s fall from innocence in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
A book of this achievement bridges much of Charyn’s interests over the years, and as such must be understood to be a career statement. Because it is one. And perhaps Hollywood might even finally come calling, a fitting late chapter for Charyn, Welles, and Hayworth.
September 22, 2022
BIG RED: A Novel Staring Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles by Jerome Charyn just wasn’t for me. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Natalie Duke and it was fun to hear the slang of that time and learn more about Rita and Orson but I found it weird the way Rusty was telling their life stories. Maybe if you’re a big fan of Old Hollywood and these two stars then you’d enjoy this book more.
.
Thank you to HighBridge Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!
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Thank you to HighBridge Audio via NetGalley for my ALC!
December 29, 2022
2.5 rounded up. Well-written but still wondering what the plot was supposed to be.
October 13, 2024
Similar to the Evelyn Hugo book, but better.
September 6, 2022
This book goes off on tangents, making the limited story difficult to follow. Characters are introduced and described in detail, but they have nothing to do with the story. Unfortunate word choices take away from the flow of reading and anecdotes repeat, reminding one of a comic who continues to repeat a joke hoping to get someone to laugh.
June 27, 2022
First things first: I LOVE classic Hollywood – everything about it. The movies themselves, the histories of the actors and actresses, the whole vibe that it represents. As such, I was thrilled to be granted early access to Big Red. Fortunately for me, the book did not disappoint.
Somehow, Jerome Charyn has managed to write a book that reads exactly like a vintage Hollywood film. It's a touch breathless and vaudevillian in structure, with events and bits of dialogue rushing at you in that perfect in-your-face style. I just loved it. Rita, as in life, is flawless despite her flaws. Orson is damaged in that evil genius way of his. And our fictitious narrator, Rusty, is so perfect that I found myself wishing she really had existed.
I think the ending was perfect, and I'm glad that Charyn didn't follow our characters any further in time. Again, it gave the perfect amount of closure, like a scene from a classic Hollywood film. I do believe that readers of this book would greatly benefit from having watched Rita/Orson films, or just a general knowledge of the histories and names of the time period, but I don't think it is necessary to the understanding or enjoyment of the story.
A lovely read! Thank you to Jerome Charyn, WW Norton & Company, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Somehow, Jerome Charyn has managed to write a book that reads exactly like a vintage Hollywood film. It's a touch breathless and vaudevillian in structure, with events and bits of dialogue rushing at you in that perfect in-your-face style. I just loved it. Rita, as in life, is flawless despite her flaws. Orson is damaged in that evil genius way of his. And our fictitious narrator, Rusty, is so perfect that I found myself wishing she really had existed.
I think the ending was perfect, and I'm glad that Charyn didn't follow our characters any further in time. Again, it gave the perfect amount of closure, like a scene from a classic Hollywood film. I do believe that readers of this book would greatly benefit from having watched Rita/Orson films, or just a general knowledge of the histories and names of the time period, but I don't think it is necessary to the understanding or enjoyment of the story.
A lovely read! Thank you to Jerome Charyn, WW Norton & Company, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!
August 24, 2022
3.5 stars, RTC!
July 11, 2022
Historical Fiction, Not Biography
I got this book expecting a biography of Rita Hayworth, What I read was historical fiction about Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. The official description is 're-imagined biography'. I am a history nut and hate seeing fiction parade as history. These are two fascinating people whose lives intersected during a valuable period in their lives. But what is truth and what is fiction? We have a 'sexually fluid' cinephile who narrates the book and is a major character, but she is fiction. How many other characters are? Certain scenes seem contrived to show one thing or another, but did it really happen? There is no research, no footnoting, no reality. Most of the scenes that feature well-known Hollywood big-wigs seem to be something out of gossip magazines rather than a first-person account. It is one thing to take artistic license through an historical fiction media about persons who died centuries ago. It is entirely different to try this with persons who lived within the memory of the readers. A good portion of those who read this book, and I am one of them, are going to remember the real people, movies, and occurrences that are 're-imagined' in this book and heartily disagree with how they are presented. Even after I was resigned to reading this book as the fiction it is, I just didn't like the book. The entire book is segmented into eras, but there is no continuity, especially in the later years. The book will jump over many years with no accounting for time. The daughter born to Orson and Rita is very important for a page or two then is not mentioned again until she and a younger sister are visiting European relatives for a while many years later and then only as an afterthought. I actually Googled some events because they were so poorly portrayed. Meh, it could have been so much better.
I got this book expecting a biography of Rita Hayworth, What I read was historical fiction about Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. The official description is 're-imagined biography'. I am a history nut and hate seeing fiction parade as history. These are two fascinating people whose lives intersected during a valuable period in their lives. But what is truth and what is fiction? We have a 'sexually fluid' cinephile who narrates the book and is a major character, but she is fiction. How many other characters are? Certain scenes seem contrived to show one thing or another, but did it really happen? There is no research, no footnoting, no reality. Most of the scenes that feature well-known Hollywood big-wigs seem to be something out of gossip magazines rather than a first-person account. It is one thing to take artistic license through an historical fiction media about persons who died centuries ago. It is entirely different to try this with persons who lived within the memory of the readers. A good portion of those who read this book, and I am one of them, are going to remember the real people, movies, and occurrences that are 're-imagined' in this book and heartily disagree with how they are presented. Even after I was resigned to reading this book as the fiction it is, I just didn't like the book. The entire book is segmented into eras, but there is no continuity, especially in the later years. The book will jump over many years with no accounting for time. The daughter born to Orson and Rita is very important for a page or two then is not mentioned again until she and a younger sister are visiting European relatives for a while many years later and then only as an afterthought. I actually Googled some events because they were so poorly portrayed. Meh, it could have been so much better.
May 11, 2022
Orson Welles, one of my favorite directors. Rita Hayworth, immortalized in her role as Gilda. Hollywood’s “Golden. Age”. All these elements are brought together into one of my favorite novels of the year, Big Red, by Jerome Charyn.
Rusty Redburn is our guide to the world of Hollywood in the 40s and 50s. We first meet her working in Harry Cohn’s studio as a digger, someone hired to dig up dirt on other studios, directors and stars. She’s so good at her job that she’s hired by Cohn to become Rita Hayworth’s personal secretary so as to “spy” on her. At the time, Hayworth was living with Orson Welles and was soon to become his second wife. Through Rusty’s eyes, and Charyn’s superb narration, we live the story of Welles’ and Hayworth’s relationship, the creation of her memorable films, and witness her rise and the eventual decline of America’s “love goddess”. There’s so much information about both Hayworth and Welles packed into the narrative, especially Hayworth’s childhood and that she was abused by her father. Yet this information is presented so incredibly well in the story that it’s never a distraction.
Another part of the story is the way the studio system of the time functioned. It’s not presented in a good light at all. The studio moguls are misogynistic, and truly despicable. They couldn’t understand Welles’ unorthodox style of moviemaking.
Rusty, our heroine, if you will, is quite memorable. Charyn really brings her to life. Even though she’s a completely fictional character, she’s so seamlessly placed in the novel that I had to keep remembering she’s a fictional character.
I just loved Big Red. I couldn’t put it down, and I highly recommend the book.
My thanks to W. W. Norton and Comapny, and to Netgalley, for an ARC of Big Red.
Rusty Redburn is our guide to the world of Hollywood in the 40s and 50s. We first meet her working in Harry Cohn’s studio as a digger, someone hired to dig up dirt on other studios, directors and stars. She’s so good at her job that she’s hired by Cohn to become Rita Hayworth’s personal secretary so as to “spy” on her. At the time, Hayworth was living with Orson Welles and was soon to become his second wife. Through Rusty’s eyes, and Charyn’s superb narration, we live the story of Welles’ and Hayworth’s relationship, the creation of her memorable films, and witness her rise and the eventual decline of America’s “love goddess”. There’s so much information about both Hayworth and Welles packed into the narrative, especially Hayworth’s childhood and that she was abused by her father. Yet this information is presented so incredibly well in the story that it’s never a distraction.
Another part of the story is the way the studio system of the time functioned. It’s not presented in a good light at all. The studio moguls are misogynistic, and truly despicable. They couldn’t understand Welles’ unorthodox style of moviemaking.
Rusty, our heroine, if you will, is quite memorable. Charyn really brings her to life. Even though she’s a completely fictional character, she’s so seamlessly placed in the novel that I had to keep remembering she’s a fictional character.
I just loved Big Red. I couldn’t put it down, and I highly recommend the book.
My thanks to W. W. Norton and Comapny, and to Netgalley, for an ARC of Big Red.
December 16, 2022
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.
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.
July 24, 2023
Big Red is a fascinating retelling of the tragic love story between actress Rita Hayworth and movie director Orson Welles. The book does a nice job of bringing to life show business in the 1940s with all of its glamour and nastiness. The dark underbelly of the movie industry is highlighted in stories of male movie executives sleeping with young, up-and-coming female actresses. In tandem these powerful men hire female cutters, secretaries and spies to make or break these actresses’ careers based on their sexual favors. The women’s lack of decision making and control over their careers is appropriately covered in addition to the extreme ways they fight for relevance in this patriarchal society.
The main character Rusty is hired by one such movie executive to spy on Rita Hayworth. Author Jerome Charyn portrays an accurate overview of Rita’s childhood and rise to fame which included molestation, betrayal and physical abuse by almost every man she trusted. Charyn covers what the relationship between Welles and Rita Hayworth might have entailed following the true events of their marriage. The chapters are short and jam packed with activity and the book moves sequentially with the rise and seemingly fall of Hollywood. The author’s only flaw is his narrator who came across as impersonal and insensitive and at times a non-trustworthy resource. As a reader who immensely enjoys learning about this time period, I loved jumping headfirst into the lifestyle of these stars and watching their ups and downs from a front row seat.
The main character Rusty is hired by one such movie executive to spy on Rita Hayworth. Author Jerome Charyn portrays an accurate overview of Rita’s childhood and rise to fame which included molestation, betrayal and physical abuse by almost every man she trusted. Charyn covers what the relationship between Welles and Rita Hayworth might have entailed following the true events of their marriage. The chapters are short and jam packed with activity and the book moves sequentially with the rise and seemingly fall of Hollywood. The author’s only flaw is his narrator who came across as impersonal and insensitive and at times a non-trustworthy resource. As a reader who immensely enjoys learning about this time period, I loved jumping headfirst into the lifestyle of these stars and watching their ups and downs from a front row seat.
August 25, 2022
Big Red by Jerome Charyn is a fantastic novel that brings the Golden Age of Hollywood to life! You will fall under the spell of narrator Rusty Redburn, a hip (secret) film scholar-ish character who becomes deeply entwined in the brief, tumultuous marriage of Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles.
For film aficionados, Charyn fills Big Red with great nuggets of wisdom, but never detracting from the story. This is historical fiction at its most powerful.
Speaking of Hollywood, Big Red would be a star vehicle for a cast of actors hoping to make their career turns. I see Academy Award Winning film here...it is that stellar! (Who wouldn't want to play Rita or Orson?)
What I enjoy about historical fiction most (as a historian) is when the story is so riveting and powerful that the lines blur between reality and illusion. Charyn is a master across genres, but I find his historical fiction dazzling. He brings the reader deep into the minds, inner lives, and worlds of these characters in a way that makes them even more interesting.
I could go on and on about Big Red and Charyn's gifts, but let's leave it at this -- Jerome Charyn is a master of contemporary American literature. Big Red is a wonderful gift to his readers!
For film aficionados, Charyn fills Big Red with great nuggets of wisdom, but never detracting from the story. This is historical fiction at its most powerful.
Speaking of Hollywood, Big Red would be a star vehicle for a cast of actors hoping to make their career turns. I see Academy Award Winning film here...it is that stellar! (Who wouldn't want to play Rita or Orson?)
What I enjoy about historical fiction most (as a historian) is when the story is so riveting and powerful that the lines blur between reality and illusion. Charyn is a master across genres, but I find his historical fiction dazzling. He brings the reader deep into the minds, inner lives, and worlds of these characters in a way that makes them even more interesting.
I could go on and on about Big Red and Charyn's gifts, but let's leave it at this -- Jerome Charyn is a master of contemporary American literature. Big Red is a wonderful gift to his readers!
September 19, 2022
Rusty is a starry-eyed lesbian who grew up on a farm. She doesn't have the talent for Hollywood, but she loves reading and films and has a knack for language, so she heads to Hollywood and ends up working in the basement of the Writer's Building at Columbia where she comes to the attention of Harry "The Janitor" Cohn.
Cohn, who is in love with Hayworth, hires Rusty to spy on Welles and her. Rusty's life now revolves around a woman whose shyness belied the sexual prowess she displayed with her dancing, and a man with a genius eye for the camera whose tumultuous life was marked with tragedy and missed opportunities.
As the reader follows Rusty's story, they are treated to a glimpse into the Golden Age of Hollywood. They are granted a backstage pass to a woman's life plagued by the memories of a young girl violated by her father and whose shyness made her more comfortable in the company of hairstylists and makeup girls than the political players Welles stumped for on a regular basis.
Charyn's writing captivates the reader, drawing them into his characters' world and never letting go even after that last page is turned. Big Red is a fabulous novel. I highly recommend it if you like historical fiction, Hollywood stories, or a creative story with unique characters.
Cohn, who is in love with Hayworth, hires Rusty to spy on Welles and her. Rusty's life now revolves around a woman whose shyness belied the sexual prowess she displayed with her dancing, and a man with a genius eye for the camera whose tumultuous life was marked with tragedy and missed opportunities.
As the reader follows Rusty's story, they are treated to a glimpse into the Golden Age of Hollywood. They are granted a backstage pass to a woman's life plagued by the memories of a young girl violated by her father and whose shyness made her more comfortable in the company of hairstylists and makeup girls than the political players Welles stumped for on a regular basis.
Charyn's writing captivates the reader, drawing them into his characters' world and never letting go even after that last page is turned. Big Red is a fabulous novel. I highly recommend it if you like historical fiction, Hollywood stories, or a creative story with unique characters.
November 8, 2022
I liked this one. It brought the 1940s studio system to life, with its flaws. Rita Hayworth isn't remembered as much as she should have been, IMO, though I have to disagree with the author on "The Stranger" vs "The Lady from Shanghai".
Orson Welles was definitely a genius who was beaten by the studios as they took his creative control away and recut his movies. He was a magician who performed in outlandishly expensive and disorganized shows when he couldn't work at a studio. We also get to see his physical decline as Charyn describes him eating several chickens and bottles of wine at one meal.
We meet several real-life characters; my favorite incident was Rusty's getting around Louella Parsons...no more without a spoiler.
I don't know which characters were fictional aside from Rusty, but I enjoyed reading about Shortie and Vi.
But Rita is the star of this book. Hayworth loved her "Orsie" and it was mutual for a while. We see the fictional Rusty, sent by Columbia to spy on Rita, who ends up being part of her "family" for a few years. There's not as much immediacy to her life after Welles, though we do encounter some of her other husbands and her father-in-law the Aga Khan. We also learn about her brutal youth and less brutal though still awful treatment by Columbia's Harry Cohn. I wish there was more about Rita after Welles, but I still really enjoyed the book.
Orson Welles was definitely a genius who was beaten by the studios as they took his creative control away and recut his movies. He was a magician who performed in outlandishly expensive and disorganized shows when he couldn't work at a studio. We also get to see his physical decline as Charyn describes him eating several chickens and bottles of wine at one meal.
We meet several real-life characters; my favorite incident was Rusty's getting around Louella Parsons...no more without a spoiler.
I don't know which characters were fictional aside from Rusty, but I enjoyed reading about Shortie and Vi.
But Rita is the star of this book. Hayworth loved her "Orsie" and it was mutual for a while. We see the fictional Rusty, sent by Columbia to spy on Rita, who ends up being part of her "family" for a few years. There's not as much immediacy to her life after Welles, though we do encounter some of her other husbands and her father-in-law the Aga Khan. We also learn about her brutal youth and less brutal though still awful treatment by Columbia's Harry Cohn. I wish there was more about Rita after Welles, but I still really enjoyed the book.
June 9, 2023
Author injects woke Mary Sue into the lives of Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles. Woke Mary Sue (Rusty Redburn) can do no wrong - a lowly Columbia Studio secretary challenges studio head on civil rights issues, saves local Japanese grocer from internment camp, and shames Hayworth's dying mother for not protecting her daughter from her father's sexual abuse. (She's also billed as a lesbian from the very first pages but then bizarrely carries on a lengthy romance with an effeminate man - effeminate because he's skinny and sometimes wears lipstick.) Half the novel focuses on Redburn stroking herself for being the lone person in Hollywood who recognizes Welles' genius and then subsequently opposes every studio employee who won't indulge the "boy genius" in every single one of his artistic whims, regardless of the exorbitant price tag. Sorry for the nasty review but I paid full price for this at Barnes and Noble and regret paying $27 for it. There's been a few novels focusing on Old Hollywood lately and it's basically revisionists who want to pretend that they would somehow have the moral fortitude back then to challenge the cultural norms. It's eye roll inducing.
July 13, 2022
Rusty Redburn is summoned up to Harry Cohns office, head of Columbia pictures to act as Big Reds personal secretary while spying on them for Harry. Big Red is Rita Hayworth who was Columbia pictures biggest star and married to Orson Welles. Orson was tolerated as long as he was married to Rita, some thought he was genius and others a madman. Shorty Chivallo is Orsies “valet” who can get or fix whatever needs taken care of. After Orson and Rita separate he tries to claw his way back up with not much luck, he goes to Europe where they appreciate him to make films his way. They each marry again, Rita more than once and many ups and downs for them both. There is a lot of facts interwoven with the fiction, things I didn’t know and sent me googling Big Red, she was a very interesting lady who was made to grow up to fast, she never had a childhood and was exploited by her parents. I give this book my honest review that is 10 out of 10 stars. #bigred#wwnortonand company
July 15, 2022
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and surprised myself by burning through it in two days. It's parts literary historical novel and dual biography of two Hollywood legends, Orson Wells and Rita Hayworth. The story is told from the perspective of Rusty, a tomboyish bi woman writer who gets thrust into the dual roles of secretary to Hayworth and spy on her for movie exec Harry Cohn. The book takes a compelling and fascinating look at the nature of Hollywood, stardom, and how one experiences a film (or movie, depending on what the screen holds). It tells this story from a distinctly modern point of view, through Rusty, whose perspective is more Gen-Z than what was the norm in the 1940s and 50s. This will undoubtedly turn off some readers, but it completely works. It's a fun and enlightening read. I was unfamiliar with Jemore Charyn when I won this book, but I'll definitely check out some of his other novels. This one's a winner.
September 14, 2022
Big Red by Jerome Charyn is a "Big" novel about Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles. The narrator is Rusty Redburn tells the story of Rita and Orson, their beginnings, and follow-up lives. Rusty is fictitious but the book is full of real people from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
We see the good and the bad in these people, their problems, foibles and their intimate lives. Rusty worked in a cubicle in the basement of Columbia’s Publicity Department. Harry Cohn, head of Columbia wants her to "spy" on Rita and Orson. Big Red, Rita Hayworth is an up-and-coming actress and Harry is not happy with her relationship with Orson who he feels is a loser. Rita loves Orson and they eventually marry.
Rita was a 12-year-old girl when she started dancing with her father, we later find that he had been molesting her. She started out as Rita Cansino. She then becomes the top star in the 40's. Top pinup girl to the GI's during the war. She was most popular for her role in Gilda. She had 5 marriages, Orson and Aly Khan among them. She had two daughters. Her skill as a dancer was exceptional.
Orson was a producer, actor, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in film, radio, and stage. He is known as one of the most influential filmmakers ever. He was married three times and had two partners, including Rita. He is best known for Citizen Kane. He was also a goodwill ambassador during the war and a campaigner for F.D.R. His life was fraught with ups and downs, successes and flops.
Rusty Redburn, is the narrator of the story. Her relationships with Harry Cohn, Rita Hayworth, and Orson Welles were bittersweet relationships. I enjoyed that she was the teller of the tale of these people, famous for their work during the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond. We often think that famous people have a golden life but they do not. Money can not buy happiness.
I had a bit of a time getting into the book but once I did I did not want to put it down. It made me go and do some research on the people in the book. Not Rusty though as she was fiction. The author did an exceptional job telling the story of Big Red.
I give the book 5 stars.
I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.
We see the good and the bad in these people, their problems, foibles and their intimate lives. Rusty worked in a cubicle in the basement of Columbia’s Publicity Department. Harry Cohn, head of Columbia wants her to "spy" on Rita and Orson. Big Red, Rita Hayworth is an up-and-coming actress and Harry is not happy with her relationship with Orson who he feels is a loser. Rita loves Orson and they eventually marry.
Rita was a 12-year-old girl when she started dancing with her father, we later find that he had been molesting her. She started out as Rita Cansino. She then becomes the top star in the 40's. Top pinup girl to the GI's during the war. She was most popular for her role in Gilda. She had 5 marriages, Orson and Aly Khan among them. She had two daughters. Her skill as a dancer was exceptional.
Orson was a producer, actor, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in film, radio, and stage. He is known as one of the most influential filmmakers ever. He was married three times and had two partners, including Rita. He is best known for Citizen Kane. He was also a goodwill ambassador during the war and a campaigner for F.D.R. His life was fraught with ups and downs, successes and flops.
Rusty Redburn, is the narrator of the story. Her relationships with Harry Cohn, Rita Hayworth, and Orson Welles were bittersweet relationships. I enjoyed that she was the teller of the tale of these people, famous for their work during the Golden Age of Hollywood and beyond. We often think that famous people have a golden life but they do not. Money can not buy happiness.
I had a bit of a time getting into the book but once I did I did not want to put it down. It made me go and do some research on the people in the book. Not Rusty though as she was fiction. The author did an exceptional job telling the story of Big Red.
I give the book 5 stars.
I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.
September 15, 2022
This is my first book by Jerome Charyn, and I was wildly entertained by this wicked gem of a novel. As a long time Los Angeles resident, I was excited to read about the gilded age of American Hollywood Royalty – Big Red certainly had me intrigued. It’s a fictional tale about Rita Hayworth and her marriage to Orson Welles.
Charyn begins this story set in the early 1940’s, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, with a larger than life character, then adds a bold narrator - a gossip columnist and a lesbian, Rusty Redburn from Kalamazoo, who becomes Rita’s confidant and a BFF of sorts.
There are so many characters that you will love and hate in this rambunctious ride of the Hollywood past before the #metoo era. Charyn’s inventive imagination tells a vivid tale that is heartwarming, heartbreaking, and full of historical tidbits about Tinseltown.
This was a fantastic ride of a novel, and cinephiles will find this historical tale a joy to read.
Charyn begins this story set in the early 1940’s, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, with a larger than life character, then adds a bold narrator - a gossip columnist and a lesbian, Rusty Redburn from Kalamazoo, who becomes Rita’s confidant and a BFF of sorts.
There are so many characters that you will love and hate in this rambunctious ride of the Hollywood past before the #metoo era. Charyn’s inventive imagination tells a vivid tale that is heartwarming, heartbreaking, and full of historical tidbits about Tinseltown.
This was a fantastic ride of a novel, and cinephiles will find this historical tale a joy to read.
July 3, 2022
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. Staring with the beautiful cover art and the photo inside of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, Charyn creates a highly entertaining story with a loveable narrator who gives us backstage access to the studio system and Harry Cohn as well as the personal lives of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. Having read biographies on these two stars as well as on the history of Hollywood, Charyn brilliantly weaves in facts as he recreates imagined dialogue and scenes. He is able to capture the essence and personalities of all the characters and this was a book I could not put down. This is a book I plan to keep to read again. I also am going to read other books by Charyn since I enjoyed this one so much. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to Netgalley and Liveright (W.W. Norton & Company) for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and Liveright (W.W. Norton & Company) for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
June 4, 2023
This book is a fictional imagining of boy wonder Orson Welles and his wife, “The Love Goodess”, Rita Hayworth. When the two marry, Columbia head Harry Cohn hires Rusty Redburn, an underling in the publicity department, to become Rita’s secretary in order to spy on the two. Along the way Rusty grows to love the couple, and their frailties. I really liked this book but I was disappointed in the author’s end notes. Up front the book says it is a work of fiction but I felt this could have been touched upon again. I’d hate for people to take this as truth. I also looked forward to learning about his research and sources, but there wasn’t any. But to the book’s credit, it kept my attention and there was even some beautiful writing in it. If you’re a fan of Welles and Hayworth or even of the Golden Age of Hollywood, I would recommend this book.
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