Susan Isaacs’ book, Shining Through, has a bad reputation, primarily because the movie version–by most accounts–sucked. Even though I kind of liked the movie, I can only watch it when I’m sick or other wise not in a critical mood. I’ve always been kind of curious about this book, especially after I read on Wikipedia that the movie omitted about three-quarters of the book. I spotted a copy of this book in my library’s book sale items, which are kept near my work area, and asked to borrow it.
Shining Through is the story of Linda Voss, a half-Jewish, half-German native of Queens New York. The first three-quarters of the book shows the love affair between Linda, a bilingual legal secretary, and her boss, John. The last quarter of the book (the move bit, essentially), is where most of the action is. Because of her accent and knowledge of German and Germany, Linda manages to become a spy for the OSS. It’s still over the top, but it’s a fun, mindless read.
I don’t have a whole lot to say about this book (because it’s fluff), but I will say that having read the first three-quarters of the book doesn’t really add the to the story I knew. It does, however, make me like Linda a lot more. In the movie, Linda’s a bit bland. She’s brave and quick, but in the novel she’s wonderfully snarky and full of personality.