The Marzipan Pigeon

by Alyssa Donati

In her debut novel, Alyssa Donati vividly captures Manhattan's ultra posh uptown and super chic downtown art scenes as she takes readers inside the twentysomething post-brat-packer world of Generation X. Viewed through the not-yet-jaded eyes of beautiful Salty Spencer, a tough-talking, sarcastic twenty-three-year-old, The Marzipan Pigeon is a funny, moving, and contemporary story about love - and loss, and coming of age in the "lost generation." For Salty there has always been one central, all-encompassing love: the boy next door. Literally. She met him on the day her parents died when she was brought to live in the next-door apartment with her godparents and their blond-haired, angel-faced child, Minty, who stole her heart and never let it go. They grew up together as best friends and soul mates with Minty never suspecting Salty's true feelings...until now. Finally, like a dream come true, Minty suddenly sees Salty for the woman she has become and the two become lovers. Yet the dream quickly shatters when the man she'd known all her life is no longer the man she had always imagined. Forced to confront childhood dreams and timeless fantasies, Salty embarks on an emotional odyssey of self-discovery and learns the hardest lesson of all - letting go.

Hardcover

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Shantay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, but I was 19 and can't remember why...

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should come with a trigger warning (although it was written in 1994 and so trigger warnings weren't a thing, so take this as the warning: sexual violence, emotional abuse). It was a really gripping book and definitely speaks into a lot of the issues of the time, especially sexism in the media.

[Sherry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, and it did get me interested, but at times it felt too much like Catcher in the Rye which really turned me off. It was really sad to watch the deterioration of one of the main characters. I also prefer happier endings, so overall, I was disappointed in this book.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny first person tale about a young actress in love with a self absorbed artist in Manhattan. Loved the main character who drags you into her mind and her heart until long after the novel ends.