Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Other Typist
    Unavailable
    The Other Typist
    Unavailable
    The Other Typist
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Other Typist

    Written by Suzanne Rindell

    Narrated by Gretchen Mol

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A haunting debut novel set against the background of New York City in the 1920s…

    Confessions are Rose Baker's job. A typist for the New York City Police Department, she sits in judgment like a high priestess. Criminals come before her to admit their transgressions, and, with a few strokes of the keys before her, she seals their fate. But while she may hear about shootings, knifings, and crimes of passion, as soon as she leaves the room, she reverts to a dignified and proper lady. Until Odalie joins the typing pool.

    As Rose quickly falls under the stylish, coquettish Odalie's spell, she is lured into a sparkling underworld of speakeasies and jazz. And what starts as simple fascination turns into an obsession from which she may never recover.


    From the Trade Paperback edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 7, 2013
    ISBN9781101620878
    Unavailable
    The Other Typist
    Author

    Suzanne Rindell

    Suzanne Rindell's The Other Typist has been translated into 15 languages and Keira Knightly is producing and starring in the film adaption. Allison & Busby published Suzanne's second novel, Three-Martini Lunch, to great commercial and critical acclaim. She now divides her time between California and New York.

    Related to The Other Typist

    Related audiobooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Her Own Private Spy

      Nov 6, 2022

      Her Own Private Spy
      2 min read

    • Article

      Brilliant Reads

      Aug 4, 2023

      By JO NESBO Harvill Secker Harry Hole, the brilliant maverick Norwegian detective, has fled to California. He’s grieving the loss of his wife, Rakel, and blames himself for her death. Down and out, living in a cheap hotel and drinking himself into a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Empire Of Dishonour

      Oct 23, 2022

      Empire Of Dishonour
      2 min read

    • Article

      What To Read?

      Apr 23, 2021

      William Boyd is in sparkling form in this novel set in 1968 in the seaside town of Brighton in the UK where a Swinging Sixties movie is in full production. The trio in question are Talbot Kydd, an ageing movie producer, Elfrida Wing, a successful wri

      2 min read

    • Article

      Sensory Overload: The Millions Interviews Liska Jacobs

      Jul 22, 2022

      "When you’re in the thick of writing a novel, nothing else matters." The post Sensory Overload: The Millions Interviews Liska Jacobs appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Hostile Territory

      May 14, 2023

      Hostile Territory
      2 min read

    • Article

      Chasing Nostalgia In New York City

      May 14, 2022

      Chasing Nostalgia In New York City
      3 min read

    • Article

      Books Of The Month

      Jan 21, 2022

      by Nikki May “Wahala” means, loosely, trouble, and there’s plenty of it in this entertaining debut. Friends since university, where they bonded over their mixed Nigerian and British heritage, Ronke, Boo and Simi live in London, where they pivot betwe

      2 min read

    • Article

      Hot Right Now!

      Sep 7, 2023

      Hot Right Now!
      2 min read

    • Article

      Modern MURDER

      Apr 4, 2021

      Just when thrillers were starting to seem a bit samey, along comes Harper Brown, the heroine of The Paris Affair. It feels like Harper really belongs in a chick-lit novel. Dumped by her cheating boyfriend, she’s sworn off love and her only involvemen

      1 min read

    • Article

      Reading CORNER

      Dec 4, 2022

      For six years, a town has been hiding big secrets This novel starts out like a murder mystery, but very quickly becomes so much more than that. A heartfelt tale set in the suburbs of an Australian country town in the early ’90s, it’s about friendshi

      3 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Jan 25, 2023

      by Kia Abdullah (£14.99, HB, HarperCollins) Salma Khatun, her husband and son have just moved into a new suburban development. When Salma’s son’s anti-racist poster gets pulled down by their neighbour, Salma lets it go. But when she puts it in her w

      2 min read

    • Article

      Flipping The Script

      May 14, 2023

      Curtis Sittenfeld’s seventh novel opens with Sally Milz doing the thing she knows she shouldn’t upon waking: checking her phone for “news”. Which is how she learns that Danny Horst, her twenty-something schlub of a colleague, is dating a world-famous

      2 min read

    • Article

      You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

      Jan 25, 2024

      GOOD NOVELS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN heavily buffeted in the marketplace of ideas. “Many books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered,” said W.H. Auden, who had clearly never heard of Wuthering Heights. So it’s natural — essential — for

      5 min read

    • Article

      Parisian Phantoms

      Jun 26, 2022

      Parisian Phantoms
      2 min read

    Reviews for The Other Typist

    3.5/5

    346 ratings58 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Can watching a train wreck be a good thing? The author skillfully lets you know that something is badly amiss early in the novel, but the fun is in watching the way Rindell selectively parcels out the information a tidbit at a time. The historical details of Prohibition provide a great setting for this spiral into crime, and I haven't enjoyed an "unreliable narrator" novel this much since I read The Lace Reader!
    • 1/5
      Real dud. Boring. Slow.
    • 4/5
      This novel is set in NYC in the 1920's prohibition era when speakeasies and flappers abounded. It is narrated by Rose, a drab, self-righteous typist in a police precinct when the "other typist," Odalie, is hired. Initially Rose is wary of Odalie with her confident, charming flamboyance. Gradually, Odalie wins Rose's friendship, and Rose leaves her shabby boarding house to move into Odalie's exclusive apartment where she begins to enjoy Odalie's lifestyle of extravagance and excess. Seen only through Rose's perspective, this beautifully written book unfolds slowly and is intriguing because nothing is as it seems as the plot progresses.
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed it as a look back at the prohibition era with added insight from feminist perceptions.
      Not that the heroine and narrator expresses feminism. It’s rather that she would be better able to see behind the men and women around her if she had the feminist’s scepticism.
      The final revelation that she’s had her identity stolen by her best girlfriend comes as no surprise, but is psychologically interesting to the end.
    • 5/5
      A dangerously unreliable narrator? Check. Historical fiction? Check. Subtle exploration of gender roles and sexuality via the eyes of said unreliable narrator? Check and check. This book pretty much hit all the high points for me.
    • 2/5
      rather ho hum with characters that left me ambivalent.
    • 3/5
      A well-crafted story that gave me the creeps! For much of the book, you wanted to shake Rose, the narrator, to get the hell away from Odalie. I finished the book because I wanted to find out how the story ended, but I can't say I liked this book.
    • 4/5
      Wonderfully written. Atmospheric, riveting period piece/ psychological thriller. I am still mulling over that ending. May add a fourth star if I figure it out. This a great debut novel, looking forward to more from Ms. Rindell.

      EDIT: three years later, and my response to finding out Ms. Rindell is about to drop another novel was of great enthusiasm and excitement. Therefore I must have liked it better than 3 stars. My memory of it is at least a 4 star book.
    • 4/5
      A clever and entertaining novel. Very good on the background and atmosphere of 1920s New York. A very skilful narrative voice and two very strong main characters. My only problem with it is that it relies too heavily on what seems to be coming a staple of a lot of recent fiction - the twist at the end coupled with the unreliable narrator. This one does creak a little although it doesn't detract too much.
    • 3/5
      OK, WTF was that?

      It took quite a while for this book to grab me, and then when it's all said and done I still don't quite understand what happened in the end.

      Great unlikeable and vivid characters. Super atmosphere (even though the author made a few oopses in the historic details: nylon stockings in the 1920s). And a mystery that has me unable to sleep. Somebody read this thing and explain it all to me!!

    • 4/5
      It took awhile to get into this book, which I was reading for a bookclub. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the meeting at which it was discussed. However, in discussing it with a friend, she raised a number of questions which had nor occurred to me -- the principal one being was there another typist or were the two main characters really the same person?
    • 5/5
      The story drew me in from the opening with gorgeous writing and a steady undercurrent of unease that lingered to the very end. I loved the mind-twist and, after an initial knee-jerk of frustration, the uncertain ending. The only thing I didn't like was the too-frequent telegraphing of what was to come -- a little goes a long way.

      I love unreliable narrators, and having two in the same story was highly enjoyable. I was caught up by Rose's passions, petty to those around her, but of supreme concern in her view of the world. Odalie often made herself as annoying to the reader as she was to Rose, and the conflict was stirred by Rose's constant excusing of Odalie's self-centered ways.

      The scenes were so perfectly drawn, every image was a vivid as if a film truly was playing inside my head.

      All in all, the book created a mood of quiet suspense that held me with a death-grip.
    • 4/5
      An interesting read, I kept wondering where the story was going, because it is obvious that the narration happens after an important development. But it kept me guessing all the way. A good read!
    • 1/5
      I am SO disappointed in this book. I had been saving it until I felt like I needed to read something I knew for sure I'd like. Color me surprised when I could hardly finish reading it!

      First of all, I had read in a review that Suzanne Rindell is a big fan of F. Scot Fitzgerald. That is great and all, but DO NOT try to write the next Great Gatsby. It will never happen. There were so many cheap rip-offs in this book, which kind of made me embarrassed for the author. The whole situation with Rose not being a reliable narrator is a direct reflection of Nick in Gatsby. I just found it incredibly annoying.

      Secondly, there was literally NO PLOT until a least halfway through the novel. The over-the-top usage of adjectives to describe scenes and people made the pacing so sluggish I found myself skimming in most parts just to TRY and find some semblance of a story.

      And the end. I just can't even. After fumbling through the entire book, to have that kind of ending just made me want to throw it out my window. To make matters worse, I looked online for explanations to see if I was the only one who felt like it didn't make any sense, and found that I was definitely not alone. I read the quote from Rindell that said she won't speak on her theory of who was who (trying not to spoil anything, promise!) which just irritated me more. It's pretty obvious that no one really gets what the heck happened after the last sentence in the book that ruins any and all theories the reader had up to that point, I think an explanation is in order for those of us who finished this book. Don't get me wrong, I am all about endings that leave things up for debate (I'm the biggest LOST fan), but when your ending literally doesn't make sense, I just can't get excited about your book!

      Cannot wait to start a new book, this one was a waste of life.
    • 4/5
      I'd like to thank Penguin for the copy of The Other Typist that I received in return for a review.I think this book is a good descriptor of prohibition and all that it entailed. This novel is week written with great attention to detail and likeable characters. It really held my interest, apart from around a hundred pages in the middle where I found my thoughts straying somewhat.Something I couldn't have predicted was the brilliant and unforseen ending. 4/5 star
    • 4/5
      The backstory: The Other Typist is one of my book club's March picks (we meet every other month and read two books.)The basics: Rose Baker is an orphan who works as a typist at a Lower East Side police precinct in the 1920's. When Odalie joins the precinct as the titular other typist, she and Rose develop a friendship, but their lives seem fraught with peril and obsession.Warning: this review contains some vague spoilers.My thoughts: Rose narrates from the future, and it's clear from the beginning that she isn't always telling the reader everything. Her narration is concerned with what to tell and when. I don't think it's a stretch to say there are many clues she is not the most reliable narrator. I'm a huge fan of unreliable narrators, and as I read I savored the clues Rose doles out. I wouldn't go so far as to say the novel reads like a thriller, but I expected a big reveal of some sort for the reader to finally piece together the validity of Rose's story. Instead, the end of the novel raises many more questions than it answers.As a reader, I don't need every element of a story tied up in a neat little package for me at the end of the novel. After all, life is rarely so neat, and I like some ambiguity. The Other Typist reminds me that there is definitely such a thing as too much ambiguity. I was enchanted with this book as I read. I thoroughly enjoyed my suspicions of Rose throughout the novel. I'm drawn to characters who are interesting, regardless of whether or not they're likeable (and Rose is definitely not always likeable.) She is, however, interesting and usually understandable.When I turned the last page, I had one of those moments where I had to ask "that's it?" Initially, I hoped that although the ending wasn't what I expected, I could come to understand it. I didn't. I'm of two minds about this novel. I had a delightful reading experience with this novel, but I really disliked the ending. Does the ending taint my enjoyment of the novel? No. It does, however, tinge the reading experience with some sadness for the unfulfilled promise of this novel. I'm very much looking forward to our discussion of this novel tonight!Favorite passage: "The typewriter is indeed my passport into a world otherwise barred to me and my kind."The verdict: While I loved the experience of reading The Other Typist and trying to figure out Rose and her story, the ending was too ambiguous to be satisfying.
    • 4/5
      If The Great Gatsby and speakeasies speak to you here is a book for you. As a debut novel by Suzanne Rindell I hope there will be more to read by her in the future. It's New York City in the 1920's, we first we learn about Rose who is plain and mousy. Dull clothes and a lackluster personality her life centers around her job at the precinct as a stenographer/typist. A new typist Odalie walks in and Rose's drab world is instantly filled with color. Odalie is charismatic, beautiful and alluring, in other words, everything that Rose is not. She is quickly drawn to Odalie's charm and beauty and before you know it they are fast friends. Rose confides to her of an unfortunate incident at her boardinghouse and Odalie asks her to be her roommate and share the rent at her luxurious hotel or "just pay me what you pay now." Rose can't believe her luck. Never having a friend like Odalie nor the exciting life that Odalie so generously shares, Rose's preoccupation with her becomes an obsession and things that should have been obvious with her friend go unnoticed for a time, until she is surrounded by mystery and lies. Some underlying themes of The Great Gatsby are subtley present. A good read and a light mystery of historical fiction that I would recommend. How I acquired this book: Half Price Books, Concord, CaliforniaShelf life: 9 months
    • 5/5
      "The Other Typist" by Suzanne Rindell is a very well-written psychological thriller set in the early 1920s in New York City. Narrator Rose is a straight-laced typist at a police precinct and becomes obsessed with the other typist, wanton flapper and bootlegger, Odalie. The creepy thrill for the reader is recognizing that Rose is an unreliable narrator, the suspense of knowing this can't end well, and finally, interpreting the ending, which is ambiguous.
    • 3/5
      I recognized something was happening the very second she walked in the door for her interview. On that particular day, she entered very calmly and quietly, but I knew: It was like the eye of a hurricane. She was the dark epicenter of something we didn't quite understand yet, the place where hot and cold mixed dangerously, and around her everything would change.There are some books that when you read them you have to be patient and this is one of them. Unfortunately, the older I become the less patient I am becoming and I really found it hard to sit through a lot of story building to get to the explosions at the end. I had been wanting to read this book for over a year and this has taught me a lesson not to get my hopes up too much about a book.It is hard to know what to believe and who to trust when reading this book. Neither of the two main female characters, Rose Baker and Odalie Lazare, are reliable. Rose narrates the story and you can tell throughout the book that she may not be telling the truth. Odalie tells so many lies throughout the book that you never seem to know the truth about her.Rose narrates the story of her and Odalie's friendship and describes the events that lead up to the big event at the end that leads to her being in the institution that she is currently in. At times I was a bit bored with the stories that she was telling about her and Odalie. I was also annoyed that she continued to follow Odalie around like a little puppy and basically became obsessed with Odalie. She could be really creepy about her obsession. Sometimes I was just tired of hearing about Odalie.I have to say that I did enjoy the events at the end that were like an explosion that twists everything you thought you knew about the story. Ultimately though I had been so tired of hearing about the events that lead up to the explosion that while it was interesting, it just wasn't interesting enough to completely save the book for me. One last note before I end this review, I think that the writing was superb in this book and I could completely envision the events and people in my mind. I would be interested in reading more of Suzanne Rindell's work because of that.
    • 4/5
      Author Suzanne Rindell has written her novel around the experiences of Rose Baker, a typist in a NYC police dept. precinct. She hears confessions, hearing every detail about shootings, knifings, murders and rape. The time period, 1923, plays into the plot with details of the dress, behaviors and women's rights of that era. A fascinating novel, which quickly moves from a non-descriptive job as a typist to a tale of obsession when Odalie joins the typing pool. "Peer pressure" has a new meaning with Odalie's subtle control over Rose.Eerie and chilling, this twisting tale drives you to wonder what's real and what isn't. Don't expect this novel to be about nice young women and their menial jobs. If you want a surprising plot, well written and descriptive, told by Rose, an unreliable narrator, this book will fulfill your every desire. I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a novel that grabs and keeps their attention to the last page.
    • 3/5
      With plenty of film noir visions, this is the story of Odalie and Rose...or is it Rose and Odalie? The story is told from Rose's point of view with Rose being our "unreliable narrator." Rose is a typist at the local police precinct. She becomes obsessed with Odalie, the new typist who is a young, mysterious,and enticing -- in other words she seems to be everything Rose is not. There are trips through speakeasies, vacations to Gatsby-esque places, and lots of excitement for Rose wherever she follows Odalie. The only problem is it's not always happy excitement. A very tricky ending -- room for much discussion. My book group read The Other Typist for this month's meeting and the discussion was quite animated.
    • 5/5
      What a delicious puzzle! You're just never quite sure what is going on as Rose describes her life as she sees it from where she happens to be---and even that "where" in time is not clear. It's a very clever book, all the way up to the end---definitely a "page turner," even in the audio version I listened to with reader Gretchen Mol. And I like the name of the "Other" in the book----Odalie.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed The Other Typist, it lived up to the positive reviews. IT takes place in NYC during the Prohibition. Rose is one of the typists than work in police stations, typing up suspects' statements and confessions. No matter how bad, Rose prides herself on her composure. She grew up an orphan in a convent, she has no friends and doesn't like frivolity. This changes when Odalie comes to be the new typist at the station. Rose disapproves of her yet becomes fascinated. Odalie is glamorous and when she invites Rose to move out of her rooming house and into Odalie's luxury apartment, Rose becomes even more entranced. Odalie brings her into speakeasies, where Rose becomes even more confused about Odalie's life and money. Rose is the narrator of this story and while not reliable, she isn't as unreliable as I thought from other reviews. We know that something big happens at the end of the story as Rose drops hints about her current situation. We just don't really know exactly what happens and honestly I'm not sure what did happen. But I think that's what makes this book so good. Definitely recommend if you enjoy suspense and mystery!
    • 4/5
      1923. Rose Baker is a typist for the New York City Police Department. Although she spends her days hearing about horrific crimes, she is still part of the supposedly ''weaker'' sex. Rose has always been a traditional girl, but when the modern Odalie joins the typing pool, Rose falls under her spell. As the women bond in the typing pool by day and in speakeasies at night, Rose finds her fascination with Odalie deepening into an obsession which may consume her forever. Summary HPLDebut novel of darkly intriguing fiction that Hitchcock might have cooked up. Jesuit-educated Hitchcock knew that a suspense story is, like God, "in the details". Ms Rindell has crafted a psychological mystery/drama in prohibition-dominated New York city, chock full of period details and flavor that seduce the reader into Rose's life and mind. As the author indicates in her acknowledgments, homage is paid to her favourite novel THE GREAT GATSBY.Fascinating, even without the--for me anyway--twist (whaaat?) at the end. A must-film piece; in black and white hopefully. 8 out of 10 Highly recommended to readers of mystery and American historical fiction.
    • 2/5
      I liked this piece of historical fiction, but pretty much the whole time I was reading it, I was thinking it could be better. Set in the Roaring Twenties in New York City, the main character, Rose, spends her days as a typist in a hilariously sexist police precinct, wearing timid skirts and blouses while she records criminal confessions. Her nights are spent at the speakeasy, dressing like a flapper with her coworker and best friend, the mysterious and charismatic Odalie. The story is colorful enough to draw the reader in immediately. However, the psychologically thrilling aspect of the novel is a bit vague, and although I understand the ending is meant to be unclear, it's not written in a satisfying way. From the moment Rose lays eyes on Odalie, she is drawn to her, and given that Rose is the narrator, it's difficult to tell how close her interest is to actual obsession. Odalie invites Rose to live with her in her luxurious hotel suite; the bill for which is paid either by Odalie's father (according to Odalie herself), an elderly Belgian benefactor who sexually abused Odalie when she was a child and he discovered her at the brothel where her mother worked (according to Odalie's sometime-boyfriend, Gib), or Odalie herself with the profits she makes from the speakeasy -- which she actually owns (according to Rose's own deductions). As you can see, Odalie is more than a bit enigmatic, and being her best friend opens up a whole new world of excitement to Rose. Ultimately, it seems Odalie's dark past comes back to haunt her, and when a young man falls from the hotel balcony while Rose is out getting cigarettes for her roommate, Rose is blamed while Odalie never even comes under suspicion. At the end it is revealed Rose is recounting the events from the mental institution where she was sent after her police interrogation, under suspicion of not one but two murders. From her perspective, she was manipulated by Odalie and is now paying for her crimes. From almost everyone else's perspective, she's criminally insane. Odalie herself disappears. I suppose Rose could just be a random mix of crazy, and Odalie took advantage of her. Or she's completely sane and Odalie is a criminal mastermind who orchestrated everything and left Rose to take the fall. Or Rose is totally nuts -- but for me this would only make sense if the story had ended like Fight Club, with Odalie being an alternate personality that manifests as a real person to Rose but is ultimately dominant and controlling her. But Odalie's existence is confirmed by other characters, so any permutation of Dissociative Identity Disorder is out of the question. On the other hand, The Other Typist is a quick, engaging read, especially if you have any interest in the time period. It's not the greatest, but it's worth picking up if you have the time.
    • 1/5
      Rose is a typist in the local police precinct. It is 1923, and Rose records testimonies that no women should have to hear. With Rose's background as a orphan, being raised by nuns, and having to work hard for everything she has, she takes nothing for granted and follows all the rules of society. That is until Odalie, the new typist at the precinct walks into her life. Odalie lives in a fancy hotel, has men falling at her feet, and gets everything she wants with a wink of her eye. Rose immediately falls under Odalie's spell and their friendship turns Rose into someone she no longer recognizes.Now, I have to stop here, after my brief synopsis of the book and tell you that I did not finish the book. I tried. I gave it several hours and days. I got to Chapter 9 and page 130 and I just couldn't go any farther. This doesn't happen to me very often because I really feel like I am a pretty good judge of "book character". But, this one just didn't do it for me. I was bored and felt like I was forced to read. I have a "rule" that if I'm not enjoying my reading, I need to quit the book because I have too many other books to read.So, with that in mind, I can only offer you that hundreds of other people have LOVED this book. There are rave reviews for THE OTHER TYPIST. There are also several others who have felt the same way I did. But, as a book blogger, I am not going to lie or tell you that I liked something when I didn't. It just didn't work for me.Some things I did like though were the author's character descriptions. I had no trouble imagining Rose or Odalie, the Sergeant or the Lieutenant Detective, or Dotty and Helen from the boarding house where Rose lived. Rindell's details of the 1920's, the expectations of women, and descriptions of those trying to break out of those expectations depicted an era that showed how difficult it was for Rose to find a way to fit in. Even though I couldn't find a way to be interested in the story, I found several quotes from the book that I enjoyed.If it were not for the fact that they need so much typing done and cannot do it themselves, there would be no women employed at all. The typewriter is indeed my passport into a world otherwise barred to me and my kind. Page 3 So it's strange to me that with Odalie, I suddenly found myself breaking the rules I had once held in such precious regard....The thing about rules is that when you break one, it is only a matter of time before you break more, and the severe architecture that once protected you is destined to come crashing down about your ears. Pages 119-120THE OTHER TYPIST has also been optioned for film produced by and starring Keira Knightley. I would actually be interested in seeing the movie.
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars It is the 1920s in New York City. Rose is a typist at a police precinct. When a new typist, Odalie, is hired, Rose becomes a bit obsessed with Odalie. They do become friends and Rose moves in with Odalie, at which point she finds out more about her new friend. Something is going on with Odalie and Rose is being more and more drawn into it. It's not a fast-paced book. Rose is looking back as she tells the story of what happened, so there are clues here and there that something is going to go terribly wrong. I've not read The Great Gatsby, but I have seen the movie and this book did remind me of it. There is a twist at the end, and I'm still not sure I understand completely what happened. It's one that might make you want to go back and reread it, knowing the ending.
    • 4/5
      Rose Baker is a typist in a police precinct in 1923 New York City. A prim, self-assured lady, she was raised in an orphanage, sent to stenographers' college, and now lives in a shared room in the house of a young widow. Rose has a high opinion of herself, but an even higher opinion of the Sergeant that she works for. She is moral, upstanding, and quick to look down on those lesser than herself. Then one day, Odalie Lazare comes to work in the typing pool. Odalie is beautiful and elegant, and although Rose claims to disdain her, she finds herself more and more intrigued, until eventually, she agrees to share Odalie's hotel apartment.This is a compelling book about 1920's New York, Prohibition and speakeasies, and the ways in which people can influence others, even when the others are insisting there is no influence.
    • 3/5
      Nice writing style, but the pace and story development were too slow for my taste. Half-way through, I just gave up from sheer fatigue.
    • 5/5
      My book club chose The Other Typist for our first meeting, and I cannot think of a better book to kick things off. This book, from its opening line of "They said the typewriter would unsex us," to the twists and turns at the end of the tale kept me completely wound up and unable to put the book down. Combine that with a throwback feel that made me classify this book as the woman's response to The Great Gatsby, and a story that embodied almost everything I love about the Prohibition-era of the United States, and you can guess it - this one gets top marks from me.The rest of this review may be read at The Lost Entwife on July 29, 2013.