Nothing But a Smile

Its 1944, and Wink Dutton, a former illustrator for Yank and Stars and Stripes, has arrived in Chicago after an injury to his drawing hand gets him an unwanted discharge from the service. Renting a room above the camera shop run by Sal Chesterton-the wife of Winks buddy, still stationed in the Philippines-Wink is surprised to learn how Sal is making ends meet: producing pinup photos for the soldiers favorite girlie magazines. In fact, shes using herself as a model. When Wink becomes a partner in her covert enterprise, its the beginning of a collaboration that is both wonderfully sexy and pure, one that blossoms into a subtle and unexpected romance. Their work leads to Winks reinvention as a photographer and, as the war ends and the business expands, to a shared understanding of the painful adjustments to be made in the rapidly changing postwar world.

Steve Amicks grasp of Wink and Sals generation is remarkable, as is his fresh take on the period. The triumph of the wars end is tempered by his deep understanding of its quiet undercurrents-the fear of not knowing what to do next, the loss of more carefree prewar selves, the sorrow of mourning soldiers recently dead when everyone else is parading in the streets. In the surprising story of Wink and Sal, Amick has created a beautifully understated love letter to an America of simpler choices that were nonetheless hard for the people who made them.

It’s 1944 and Wink Dutton, a former illustrator for Stars and Stripes, has returned to Chicago after an injury to his drawing hand gets him an unwanted discharge from the service. Renting a room in the back of the camera shop run by Sal Chesterton--the wife of one of Wink’s buddies still stationed in the Philippines--Wink is surprised to learn how Sal is making ends meet: producing pinup photos for the soldiers’ favorite girlie magazines. In fact, she’s using herself as a model. When Wink becomes a partner in her covert enterprise, it’s the beginning of an unspoken romance that manages to be both sexy and innocent--a romance that grows and deepens as the two discover in themselves and each other a kind of ingenious practicality that readies them, together, for a rapidly changing postwar world.

Wink and Sal are charmers, and Steve Amick has captured their time and generation with uncanny freshness and flair. In their unexpected journey he gives us a beautifully understated love letter to the America that helped shape them.