'Frankie Pratt' captures Jazz Age

THE SCRAPBOOK OF FRANKIE PRATT. By Caroline Preston. Ecco. 233 pages. $26.

Caroline Preston has taken a familiar story and told it in a very unusual manner using images of vintage postcards, typewritten notes and pictures.

Readers may get lost in the Jazz Age memorabilia that helps to illustrate the story of Frankie Pratt, who dreams of being a writer. She starts her story when she's given a scrapbook for her high school graduation.

The short text, written on an old Corona typewriter, is designed to look like it has been cut out and pasted on paper. The vintage illustrations, however, add depth to the storyline.

We follow Pratt throughout the 1920s as she falls in and out of love, goes to Vassar College, works in Greenwich Village, moves to Paris and returns home. Throughout her experiences, she meets intellectuals and writers, including Edna St. Vincent Millay, James Joyce and ex-patriots haunting Parisian cafes and bars.

The first thing readers may note about the relatively thin book is how heavy it is. That's because every page is full color printed on heavy paper. The artistry of the pages helps flesh out the story and adds a great deal to the overall sense of place and time.