Here is my very first "Laurel's Little Book Review". I'm very excited Harper Perennial asked me to start reviewing new titles for them and happy this new historical fiction by Francine Prose was the first one. Here are my review and brand agnostic Cliff's Notes:
THE BOOK: The Vixen by Francine Prose. Published by Harper Perennial.
WHAT HAPPENS: We open on Coney Island, June 19, 1953, the night of the Rosenberg’s execution. For those who don't remember A.P. US History, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were charged and convicted of spying on the behalf of the Soviet Union, and became the first American citizens to be put to death in the McCarthy Witch Hunt-bonanza. Our protagonist, Simon Putnam, a young Jewish Harvard student, is watching this ghoulish activity with his parents, who happened to be neighbors with the couple. Also, I Love Lucy is on TV.
We cut to Simon on his first day at work. He’s a junior editor at fledgling publishing house Landry, Landry, and Bartlett, and his boss Warren (who hires women based on breast size) has hired him to replace a female editor he fired for getting pregnant. He may have gotten her pregnant, but still. How unsightly.
Warren asks Simon to edit his first big assignment: the story of the Rosenbergs told as a tawdry bodice-ripper, written by a femme fatale type who lives in a mental institution and likes to have sex on roller coasters. His conscience doesn’t like this, but his penis is intrigued…
WHAT I THOUGHT: There’s twists, there’s turns, there’s 5 martini lunches. I laughed out loud at some of the character descriptions and was chilled by some of the dark spots.
READ IF YOU LIKE: LA Confidential, The Paris Wife, and stories of conspiracy, the 50’s, and naughty CIA agents.
GOOD FOR: Reminding everyone you’re learned while reading fiction at the beach.
RATING: 🥓🥓🥓🥓