City of Girls

The author who penned the #1 New York Times bestseller Eat Pray Love returned to the literary spotlight this summer with the release of City of Girls, a sweeping historical fiction tale set around World War II. Despite the time period in which it’s set, Gilbert manages to make this story sparkle without skimming over the difficulties of death, war, and loss. City of Girls is up there with Daisy Jones & The Six as the best historical fiction I’ve read this year.

At 95 years old, Vivian Morris, the novel’s narrator, looks back on her life starting at the age of 19 with wonder, pride, and a touch of regret. After dropping out of Vassar, young Vivian’s parents send her to New York City to spend some time with her aunt, who — like Vivian — never quite fit the mold of a proper young woman.

Aunt Peg, her secretary, Olive, and her eclectic band of showgirls, actors, and theater staff entrance Vivian immediately, and she soon embarks on a summer of freedom, independence, and debauchery.

Vivian takes a liking to showgirl Celia, and Celia shows Vivian the hidden pleasures of being a woman, from sex and drinking to taking advantage of men to get the best of both. She, along with Edna Parker Watson, a displaced British actress, provide Vivian with an education in real life, and she, in return, dresses them in the most beautiful handmade gowns for their roles in City of Girls, a play premiering at Aunt Peg’s theater.

As time progresses, Vivian tells of the outrageous success of City of Girls, her choices (some good and some bad), the influence of the war, and the ways in which she grows into a woman amid the lights and glamour of New York City.

Gilbert’s characters are memorable and wonderful, and each plays an important role in Vivian’s life. The various aspects of the story are captivating and well-detailed, and I ached for Vivian in her moments of ignorance and distress. While a world away from Eat, Pray, Love, Gilbert shines on the fiction stage, and City of Girls is well worth a read. Five stars.

CITY OF GIRLS opens in upstate New York in the early 1940s. To her parents’ horror, Vivian Morris has flunked out of Vassar. Less as a punishment than simply to get her out of their hair, they send her to stay with her flamboyant, free-thinking Aunt Peg in New York City. Here, Vivian’s life truly begins.

I wasn’t wild about Eat, Pray, Love, the book that put Elizabeth Gilbert on the charts. I felt that the heroine of this memoir was self-indulgent and self-absorbed. I felt the same at the start of City of Girls, which is definitely a novel. Here, though, there is growth. Here, there are signs of a talented writer.

For one thing, Ms. Gilbert’s rendition of the life of party girls in the Big Apple in the 1940s is filled with detail and flavor.

For another, her cast of characters is well-conceived, each one fleshed-out and believable.

For a third, the trajectory she gives her protagonist is satisfying. But. Only…at the end of the book. This is the one problem I had.

The book is written as a letter to a woman who plays a role in the protagonist’s life that is unknown to us for 400 of the 450 pages of the book. It isn’t until those last 50 pages that we understand who she is. It isn’t until these last fifty pages that the whole book takes on meaning and life.

In that sense, these last 50 pages are redemptive. I just wish we hadn’t had to wait so long. On one hand, I understand – and agree – that those 50 pages have meaning only because of the story preceding it. On the other, that story might have easily been shortened without a loss.

That said, this is an easy read. There are elements for a book club to discuss. If you’re going on vacation, take it with my blessing.

I read this book with my book club and to be honest I’m conflicted in my feelings for this book.

What I liked:
– The writing style was smooth and easy to read.
– The characters were well developed and vivid.
– The structure of the story as a letter from Vivian to a man’s daughter was effective.
– The setting of NYC from 1940 – modern times was interesting.
– The themes of love and friendship and family were strong and encouraging.
– The portrayal of strong women was important to the story.

What I didn’t like as much:
– The focus on the main character’s obsession with sex was a bit much and got tedious at times.
– There were times that the story dragged with too much detail.
– The first half of the book was stronger to me because it was more focused on a smaller section of time and events. The second half covered a longer timeline and it was not always obvious how much time had passed.
– All the male characters had major issues.

So, for me while this book had many good things about it, there were things that distracted me from really enjoying the story as much as I wanted to.

I might have given this more stars – I ADORE Liz Gilbert – but the last third just sort of…fell flat for me. Once we get to the part that is basically “The next twenty years of my life,” it felt as if I were being told the story rather than being part of it, like I was during the years at the theater. That being said, the author voice here is spectacular, and the characters are vivid and outrageous.

Wow. This book is one of those rare ones that will stay with me forever. The story weaves an intricate and in-depth portrait of a woman who learns through life’s lessons of joy and pain to accept and love herself despite the ever-changing cultural expectations. Following Vivian on her journey, the author throws the spotlight on many existential and humanitarian issues. At the crux is the question about right and wrong, and how we construct the answer. The story redefines love as we know it in a tender and thought-provoking way.

The story telling is powerful. I felt like I was sitting by this aged yet stylish woman in the entire book. Even though she thought she was feisty as a young woman, she found her vulnerability. Her adventurous stories in her life are entertaining, scandalous, and even envious. Her honesty and authenticity made her grow and build genuine trust in her relationships.

We all have a creative genius inside us. It’s an odd way to begin a book review, right?

Elizabeth Gilbert is a brilliant author, but she’s also one of the most genuine creative souls I’ve never crossed paths with in real life. And I’m sort of okay with that, only because she has a way of conveying such deep emotion, that reading and listening to her is like being in the same room, sharing a cup of coffee while discussing thoughts on life.

Back to that creative genius comment. As an author myself, I struggle mightily at times, digging deep to find that mythical well of inspiration and offering wishes to the equally fabled genie for just one more good idea. Elizabeth’s TED talk, “Your Elusive Creative Genius” is timeless and all-encompassing. Watch it. You will treasure those twenty minutes of your life for years to come. In that talk, Ms. Gilbert talks about fear, about how doubt can creep into your mind and convince you that your best work or accomplishments in life might be behind you. That was over a decade ago, and I’m here to confirm through “City of Girls” that Elizabeth Gilbert’s best work is front and center.

I lean on a quote from one of my favorite essayists, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

Vivian Morris, the lead character in “City of Girls”, epitomizes this quote inside her honest and eloquently shared story. I have read so many books that span decades, but this is the first one in a long time that stitches each individual piece together such that it weaves a complete tapestry. Each cloth fragment is a story on its own, but the big picture seen when the work of art is complete carries with it an entirely new and necessary perspective.

It doesn’t matter whether you are an author, an artist, a dancer, an engineer, a veteran, or any other identifier you can place on a human being. The fact of the matter is, you are you. Embrace it. Celebrate it. Share it. Believe that you can make a difference being exactly who you are and not what others want you to be, because you already have. Every single character in this book embodies these thoughts in one way or another, and the way it’s reaffirmed through so many different lenses makes this a story that has staying power in my mind, heart, and soul.

I realize that I haven’t necessarily shared a lot about the actual story, per se, but perhaps that says something important. When a book gets you thinking and feeling about everything “outside” the book, well maybe that’s when the influence of a story is most powerful.

In the end, this story shared with me a most important fact about life. It’s never too late to be who you are meant to be. And it’s also never too late to connect with others who have that same passion to do so. I’m a quirky observer of details at times, and I couldn’t help but notice that the acronym for the title of this book, “City of Girls” is cog.

And like the individual tooth on the rim of a wheel or gear, we can’t function effectively on our own unless we connect with those surrounding us. It’s an age-old dichotomy: stand up and out to always be yourself, and connect with others who do the same. Therein lies a beautifully complex and serendipitous message that is as relevant and timeless as this book.

This is a well written book. I personally was in a place where I didn’t appreciate the story as much as I may have when in a different frame of mind.

I loved this book. I loved the characters. I loved the description of the clothes and New York City in through the years.

Beach read material.