Big Red

Listed in the Film category on Art In Fiction, Big Red (2022) by Jerome Charyn reimagines the lives of Rita Hayworth and her husband, Orson Welles. One of America’s most enduring icons is “Gilda” herself, Rita Hayworth, whose fiery red tresses and hypnotic dancing graced the silver screen over sixty times in her nearly forty-year caree. The quintessential movie star of the 1940s, Hayworth has long been objectified as a sex symbol, pin-up girl, and so-called Love Goddess. Charyn, channeling the ghosts of a buried past, lifts the veils that have long enshrouded Hayworth, evoking her emotional complexity—her passions, her pain, and her inner turmoil. 1943: In a roomette at the Hollywood Hotel, narrator Rusty Redburn—an impetuous, second-string gossip columnist from Kalamazoo, Michigan—bides her time between working as a gofer in the publicity offices of Columbia Pictures, volunteering at an indie movie house, and pursuing dalliances with young women on the Sunset Strip. Called upon by the manipulative Columbia movie mogul Harry “The Janitor” Cohn to spy on Hayworth—then, the Dream Factory’s most alluring “dame,” and Cohn’s biggest movie star—Rusty becomes Rita’s confidante, accompanying her on a series of madcap adventures with her indomitable husband, the “boy genius” Orson Welles. But Rusty, an outlaw who can see beyond the prejudices of Hollywood’s male-dominated hierarchy, quickly becomes disgusted with the way actresses, and particularly Rita, are exploited by men. As she struggles to balance the dangerous politics of Tinseltown with her desire to protect Rita from ruffians and journalists alike, Rusty has her own encounters—some sweet, some bruising—with characters real and imagined, from Julie Tanaka, an interned Japanese American friend, to superstars like Clark Gable and Tallulah Bankhead, as well as notorious Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Reanimating such classic films as Gilda  and The Lady from Shanghai , Big Red is a tender yet honest portrait of a time before blockbusters and film franchises—one that promises to consume both Hollywood cinephiles and neophytes alike. "No one writes historical fiction better than Jerome Charyn, and Big Re d is the hilarious and moving tale of a bygone Hollywood--its glamour, its stars, its moguls, its dreams, and its victims--all told with the tender wisdom of a good friend." -  Brenda Wineapple, author of The Impeachers Jerome Charyn has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and has received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Paris and New York. His novels include   Johnny One-Eye   and A Singular Beauty. Since he first appeared on the American literary scene, Jerome Charyn has dazzled readers with his “blunt, brilliantly crafted prose” ( Washington Post ). Yet Charyn, a beloved comedic novelist, also possesses an extraordinary knowledge of Golden Age Hollywood, having taught film history both in the United States and France.   Buy Now from Amazon Buy Now from Bookshop Find more novels by Jerome Charyn on Art In Fiction.