Monthly Pick – June 2020: City of Girls

City of Girls
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Genre: Fiction
Page Count: 480
Published by: Riverhead Books
Date Published: June 4, 2019
You can find it here: Bookshop.org

In case you missed this gem last summer, I’m bringing it to light as my June book pick. By no means a fast paced novel, this is one to sink into, get lost into the past world of 1940 New York City theatre, crumbling playhouses, boisterous and unforgettable characters. While it is coming of age it also serves as a self-narrative, almost memoir. Vivian is a fascinating character and Elizabeth Gilbert has packed this story full of powerful, inspiring passages that fill you up with moxie.

Told as a letter written by our main character Vivian to Angela in answer to her question: what were you to my father?

What follows is Vivian recounting her life story beginning at age 19, a drop out of Vassar college and newly landed resident of New York City. She lives with her enigmatic aunt who runs a crumbling inner city playhouse and a whole cast of boisterous, loud, and eccentric characters that filter in and out of the playhouse. Vivian’s protected upbringing and world views are blown wide open as she discovers her sexuality, her talents, her failures, and the harsh consequences of her mistakes … sometimes there is no fixing it.

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