BOOK REVIEW – Uncommon Type, Some Stories
Uncommon Type, Some Stories Tom Hanks. New York, NY: Vintage Books A Division of Random House LLC, 2017. 405pp.
Klock klock klock klock klock.
Wait, nobody is at your door unannounced. Come back and sit down otherwise no one is going to read this. No, no, that’s the sound of an antique typewriter. Particularly it’s the sound of a typewriter featured in one of the short stories in Tom Hank’s Uncommon Type, A Month on Greene Street.
All the short stories in this book feature either in passing, or as a major plot point a typewriter. Some of the stories take place in the past, some in the future, and some could be happening right now today. Hanks tells the stories with his signature everyman charm and finding out how the typewriter fits in will become a fun seek and find for the reader. So much so that this book made me pull out my grandparent’s old machine to play around on. (I’ve made an appointment to have it serviced so hopefully it will be good as new soon.)
If you’ve ever scoured the streaming services late at night looking for some story to watch, something you’ve never seen, or haven’t heard of, a story or set of stories without capes, cowls, that isn’t a re-make or a sequel, this book might be for you. I almost added “and you like to read,” to that last sentence but it seems to me if you’ve made it this far that you already do.
My copy was a gift from my very own personal book dealer a pair of relatives who always seem to know what I would like more than me. If you want to pick this up I’d say go out into the world to your local bookshop. But if you can’t for whatever reason its available here.
I also recommend watching this clip from CBS Sunday Morning. If I haven’t convinced you this might:
Michael Fricker & Family 