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3.5
An interesting read about young women who lived in the Barbizon Hotel in NYC in the 1950s. The characters are interesting and would have sustained their stories about trying to make it in the big city. A twist happens about 2/3 of the way in the book (the how) but then book veers off on a tangent before we find the why of the twist. The sequence of these events in the storytelling I felt weakened it.
I really liked the characters. Darby and Esme are both interesting in their own ways. I would ...more
An interesting read about young women who lived in the Barbizon Hotel in NYC in the 1950s. The characters are interesting and would have sustained their stories about trying to make it in the big city. A twist happens about 2/3 of the way in the book (the how) but then book veers off on a tangent before we find the why of the twist. The sequence of these events in the storytelling I felt weakened it.
I really liked the characters. Darby and Esme are both interesting in their own ways. I would ...more
This book tells the stories of two women, Darby McLaughlin in 1952 and Rose Lewin in 2016. Darby has arrived in New York to attend secretarial school and she is staying at the Barbizon Hotel. Darby soon becomes friendly with a maid at the hotel, Esme, who introduces her to jazz clubs. Rose is a journalist living at the Barbizon, which has now been converted to condos, who wants to write a story about the women from the hotels past who are now living in rent controlled apartments, including Darby
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(A guilty pleasure.)
What an era. 1952 New York City. Jazz, drugs, social standing, the role of women, their expectations...
Do look up photographs of this old building.
(view spoiler) ...more
What an era. 1952 New York City. Jazz, drugs, social standing, the role of women, their expectations...
Do look up photographs of this old building.
(view spoiler) ...more
Picked this up at the airport before a vacation, as I traditionally do before... just in case. Well my just in case was great read. I sometimes find stories that swap time periods a little overdone or confusing, but this one kept me intrigued in both story lines. Loved the characters, didn't predict the end and looking forward to the next Fiona Davis novel!
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thoughts coming shortly
3,5 stars.
I love some aspects of this book - obscure New York historical fiction (I didn't really know about Barbizon hotel before reading this book), and the dual timeline worked quite well. But I guess I expected something more juicy, more glamorous based on the description and cover of the book. I would love to read more of Fiona Davis' books, though! ...more
I love some aspects of this book - obscure New York historical fiction (I didn't really know about Barbizon hotel before reading this book), and the dual timeline worked quite well. But I guess I expected something more juicy, more glamorous based on the description and cover of the book. I would love to read more of Fiona Davis' books, though! ...more
Jun 24, 2016
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