Weekly Reader: In A Town Called Paradox by Miriam Murcutt and Richard Starks; Feel Good Romance and Family Drama Reads Like A Hollywood Film

 

Weekly Reader: In A Town Called Paradox by Miriam Murcutt and Richard Starks; Feel Good Romance and Family Drama Reads Like A Hollywood Film

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Miriam Murcutt and Richard Starks's novel In A Town Called Paradox seems like a Hollywood film. That might be intentional since we are told that the town of Paradox, Utah is the location for shooting several films.  The townspeople of Paradox get a taste of Hollywood glamor as people like Rock Hudson and Marilyn Monroe work and congregate in this town during filming. It is an interesting experience but a short lived one as most of the time, the residents of Paradox go about their daily lives. 

One of those residents is Corin Dunbar. Her first taste of the magic of filmmaking came when Marilyn Monroe shared her favorite lipstick with her. For Corin, this connection helped give her a bit of glamor and escapism from her troubled past. Her mother died and her father abandoned her so she moved from her New York home to live with her Aunt Jessie in this strange Utah town. It takes some time, but Corin begins to adjust to living in this town. She enjoys riding horses,running the ranch, and hanging out with her friend, Dorothy who gains a loose reputation as she grows. Corin grows to love Paradox and its residents including her tough and tender hearted Aunt Jessie, Carter Williams, the showboat mayor and his star struck wife who was responsible for bringing the film industry to Paradox, and Cal Parker, the latest in a long line of law enforcement officers in his family.

There is a nice mixture of the fantasy provided by Hollywood and the reality of living in a town like Paradox. Many of the townspeople are thrilled to be extras and walk-ons in various film projects. Some like Dorothy are star struck and want to eventually break out into movies. Some like Corin just hold it in stride while going about their daily business. Some people are drawn to Paradox because of the allure and fantasy like Noah "Ark" Stevenson, a British astronomy student and movie fan who moves to Paradox where his favorite Western films are made. He moves to Paradox partly because of the setting but also the view so he can go stargazing. Eventually, he and Corin fall in love.

Ark and Corin's romance is even played like something in a dramatic film with romantic comedy elements. Ark is more philosophical and esoteric. Corin is earthier and more of a realist. They are an attraction of opposites that are drawn to each other despite a local who is also in love with Corin but doesn't have a chance. Corin and Ark's romance is played out under the desert landscape and panoramic view of the stars.

Sometimes the Hollywood elements of the book veer towards cheese. A prison escapee arrives to make things complicated for the characters. A family secret appears at the end almost too late to make any real impact on the plot so the book could have done without it. There are also the typical tear jerking moments when one of the pair is at the point of death as though to remind us that some of the most memorable love stories are often the saddest.

In A Town Called Paradox is the type of book that puts illusion and reality side by side and shows that both can tell an interesting tale.