Valentino deserves better
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The story of silent movie star Rudolph Valentino is, in many senses, extraordinary. But this latest biography fails to live up to its subject. However much time author David Bret spent on the book, it reads as if it was a somewhat hurried enterprise. To give him his due, Bret charts the story of the Italian from his days as a young schoolboy rebel to his arrival in America and his dramatic impact on the movies. We learn why he was nicknamed the world's greatest lover, are told of his disastrous marriages and his passion for other men. We follow the last months of his short life and painful death. But the book fails to engage. One is left feeling curiously detached from its subject. And it's the fault of the book, not Valentino. Bret delivers sometimes heavy going text and overlong and confusing sentences. There is a dearth of direct quotes and a love of the exclamation mark which is, ultimately, infuriating. It's a shame for there's a great story - and a good book - fighting to get out.
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