UNCOMMON TYPE

A hectic, funny sexual affair between two best friends. A WWII veteran dealing with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press junket. A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A woman adjusting to life in a new neighbourhood after her divorce. A teenage surfer stumbling into his father’s secret life. These are just some of the people and situations that Tom Hanks explores in 17 short stories, each of which features, somewhere, a typewriter.