City of Girls: A Novel

It’s a good story for sure , but took me more than half of the book to get hooked ….. sometimes to slow

Loved the characters! This was a look at NYC after the war. One of the points I took away was that even in the 30,40 & 50's there were women that didn't all want the same things. A book of individuals choosing different paths - due to choice or life's circumstances.

thenextgoodbook.com
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
466 pages

What’s it about?
This novel is set up as a letter to from Vivian (towards the end of her life) to a mystery woman named Angela. In the letter Vivian recounts the story of her life. She begins in 1941 as she arrives home to her parents after flunking out of Vassar college. It is soon decided that she will go to New York City and visit her Aunt Peg (a woman rarely seen by young Vivian). Thus her real education begins. Vivian recounts the ups and downs of her unusual life.

What did it make me think about?
What an interesting time period to be alive. So much has changed for women in the last 75 years that it is almost hard to contemplate.

Should I read it?
Not sure how to proceed with this one, as I may be one of the only people I know that did not like "​Eat, Pray, Love"- by the same author. This book was also an easy read- I would put it in the category of light, beach books. Sometimes I felt like it had a forced, breezy tone that got old for me. And Vivian was just not all that likable for a good portion of the book- which for me personally is hard to overcome. It takes an exceptional author to make me like a book when I do not like the main character. I thought the first 350 pages were okay, but I really liked the last 100 pages (surprise, surprise this coincides with me finding Vivian more compelling). So...that is a lot to read to get to a good 100 pages.

Quote-
"The reason I don't remember any particular details about Bernadette is because I didn't pay much attention to maids back then. I was so very accustomed to them, you see. They were nearly invisible to me. I just expected to be served. And why was that? Why was I so presumptuous and callow?
​Because I was rich."

If you liked this try-
​The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye
​The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
​Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
​​White Houses by Amy Bloom

City of Girls was a gas! 😂✨ Elizabeth Gilbert basically handed me a ticket to old-school New York, threw me into the glitterati, added champagne, theater, questionable decisions, fabulous outfits, and said, “Good luck, darling.” And honestly? I was ready to time travel. Vivian is exactly the kind of main character you can’t help but root for—even when you’re thinking, Girl… what are you doing? She’s young, curious, a little reckless, and completely swept up in the magic of New York City. The first half of this book is pure glitz, glam, and New Yorking, the kind where the city makes you feel like anything is possible and every night could become a story you’ll still be telling 20 years later. And THAT is where I really connected with this book. As a New Yorker, I know that feeling of being young, going out, partying, and thinking, "These are the best days of my life". College was that for me—the freedom, the friendships, the late nights, the ridiculous adventures, and that wonderful feeling that you have your whole life ahead of you. There’s something about New York that makes you believe you are the life of the party. Then… something happens and just like that, the glitter gets a little less shiny. Life changes. You grow up. You learn that one chapter can completely change the direction of the next. Sometimes life doesn’t ask permission before it changes you. The second half of the book shifts from “Look at this fabulous life!” to something much more meaningful: Who are the people who stay with you when the party is over? Thank goodness for amazing friends, because when all is said and done, I think that may be your proudest accomplishment in life—finding people who know you, love you, forgive you, laugh with you, and walk through the messy chapters alongside you. So yes, I came for the glitter, the glamour, and the New York chaos. I stayed for the friendships, the growing up, and the reminder that a life can have many chapters—and they don't all have to look alike to be beautiful. Thank you, Vivian, for sharing your life with me. And thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for reminding me that sometimes the wildest nights make the best stories, but the people we collect along the way make the best life.🥂🗽✨ Review by Melissa Arington

An enticing tale