Working Girl is the story of a girl that lives in the suburbs. She would like not to have to undress to be loved and to have a career. When a supposed job interview develops into an attempted rape, she escapes from the car in her high heels and tights. ***
The subject of this book, my second read for the Roman de Rochefort 2023, is well researched and of particular interest, concerning a mother who’s name is “little girl”, her daughter and her grand-daughter, three well known Hollywood actresses whose lives are echos of the grandmother. All three disappear from the screen at the height of their fame, Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith and Dakota Johnson.
This is not an easy read, the style is wilfully fragmented with sometimes seven or eight paragraphs per page which, at least for me, distracted from the subject matter and diluted the message.
In the amazing backwards and forwards of facts presented, here are a few; Hitchcock’s abusive control of Tippi, leading to an event from her memoirs where she escapes from him in a manner echoed by the opening quote concerning her daughter in Working Girl, or the fact that Melanie was the name of the woman attacked by the birds that Tippi played whilst being controlled by Hitchcock. And then there is Dakota and the Fifty Shades of Grey, which under the saccharine cover of SM is yet again a woman in an abusive relationship.
My second paragraph explains why this will not be my choice, but once again the subject matter is rich.
First published in French by Actes Sud in 2023 as ‘Trois Femmes Disparaissent’
*** my translation
The quotes as read in French before translation
Working Girl est l’histoire d’une banlieusarde qui a froid. Elle aimerait bien ne pas devoir se déshabiller pour être aimée et faire carrière. Quand un prétendu entretien d’embauche se transforme en tentative de viol, elle s’échappe de la limousine, en escarpins et collants voile.
South of Paris books 