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A review by toni_nb
The Protégé by Charlotte Armstrong
2.0
Ugh. It's happening. Every once in a while I find a good old pulpy paperback novel. Every once in a while I'll pick one up at a used book store and hope that I've found a good one. They're usually very short, maybe 150-170 pages. No big deal to finish. There's a sinister looking cover: a young woman in distress, usually running or looking over her shoulder at that something sinister, long hair flowing in the wind. It has that wonderful, musty, old book smell. And every once in a while the story is pretty good; thin at some plot points but good enough that I'll finish it. A good, fast read. A Dorothy Eden, if I'm very lucky.
No such luck. What would normally take me two nights of bed reading has extended well beyond what it should. This review alone is longer than it should be. What's it about? An older woman, Mrs Moffat, befriends a young man with a red beard who once lived next door to her when he was a little boy. He was friends with her son years ago. He does work for her at her home in return for a place to stay. It's supposed to be temporary. At night, he writes short notes to "Smitty." I have no idea who Smitty is and it's getting a little annoying because he's supposed to mean something to the story. Mrs Moffat's granddaughter arrives to visit and suspects something amiss with the red beard. She's probably right.
I'm half way through the book and that's all that's happened. I just need to sit down for an hour and finish it already. I could have finished it by now if I wasn't writing about how bad it is.
No such luck. What would normally take me two nights of bed reading has extended well beyond what it should. This review alone is longer than it should be. What's it about? An older woman, Mrs Moffat, befriends a young man with a red beard who once lived next door to her when he was a little boy. He was friends with her son years ago. He does work for her at her home in return for a place to stay. It's supposed to be temporary. At night, he writes short notes to "Smitty." I have no idea who Smitty is and it's getting a little annoying because he's supposed to mean something to the story. Mrs Moffat's granddaughter arrives to visit and suspects something amiss with the red beard. She's probably right.
I'm half way through the book and that's all that's happened. I just need to sit down for an hour and finish it already. I could have finished it by now if I wasn't writing about how bad it is.