What do readers think of The Typewriter's Tale by Michiel Heyns? Write your own review.

Frieda Wroth is the typewriter - forgive me, Michiel Heyns for having thought this might be an unusual POV of the machine.

I confess I am not a great fan of historical fiction involving a figure about whom a great deal is known. Nor do I buy that a young hope-to-be author would write in the very idiosyncratic style of James.

If these issues don't apply to you, you may find this book appealing.

Frieda Wroth is a compelling character -- a typist, a recreational cyclist, a would-be author, and an independent young woman for the period (1907-08) and the setting (Rye, England). Yet this novel did not appeal to me, as I imagine it will to more avid Henry James-ophiles. I am a very, very casual James reader. His style, to which Michiel Heyns does justice, sets up too many hurdles for my reading enjoyment.

Although I understand that this book was written in the style of Henry James with as many lengthy, cumbersome, arcane words in every sentence as possible, it seriously hampered its readability. The story gets lost in the swirl of vocabulary, commas and mind numbing chapters about nothing. The chapter where the assembled diners are all Fletcherising was as hard to read as I imagine it was to be present at the dinner.

The Typewriter's Tale started strong but could not keep that momentum going for the entire tale. Frieda Wroth, Henry James' typist, has a wry sense of humor and plays entertaining games to keep herself occupied while waiting for James to utter his next words for her to transcribe. I liked her attempts at speculating what James might say next (she is never even close), and the fact that she wants to be viewed as more than a human typewriter. I think I might have enjoyed it more had it been shorter. Thanks to BookBrowse, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this story intrigued me. Its execution almost undid me. Was it necessary to be so overwhelmingly long-winded in telling the story of Henry James' typist? A young woman of moderate means and a vague desire for more than she is offered by society, gains access to a world beyond her everyday reach. She moves in glittering literary circles with an unheard of access to the process behind the scenes of one of the key figures of 19th century literature. Yeah - sounds great! But her tale suffers from prose that is too dense and overwrought. The narrative was lost in a pedantic and archaic style. It would seem as I have grown older I find that, for me, less is often more - specifically in writing. I struggled to maintain interest in this book which, in the end, felt like a chore.

"The Typewriter's Tale" tells of a young woman who has been fortunate to become the person who types for Henry James as he dictates revisions of his works. Having read most of them as well as those of Edith Wharton, I looked forward to this novel. Unfortunately I found it tedious. The author's long sentences and longer paragraphs as well as the early 20th century vocabulary were my major stumbling blocks.

I encourage those who enjoy such prose to read the novel but discourage those who prefer a more contemporary writing style.

It was just too hard to really get the rhythm of this book. Run on sentences almost too hard to follow and characters not at all appealing. After about a week of seriously trying to make progress, it was just not worth the effort. Unless one is an absolute lover of the convoluted writing of the 19th century liberally sprinkled with polysyllabic words, this is not the book for you.

This book was a struggle to get through. I hated the writing style and really stopped caring about the story midway through. It just wasn't my style at all and I can't recommend it.