Rating: ★★★★★
This story was beautiful, and fun, and so interesting. What is it exactly? An old woman's biography, a war story told from the very periphery of the largest war ever fought, and a letter of love and contentment.
"That's how the theatre works too, Vivian. Just like a war."
The closest book I can think of that comes close to the marvel that is this story (in set-up, progression, and mood) is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which, not surprisingly, I also gave 5 stars. I love this kind of story: the slow walk through the entirety of a woman's life, the life of a woman who is far beyond the prime of her life and knows it. In fact, I made several internal comparison between this book and The Seven Husbands, and while the latter had more a twist, this book was more fully satisfying in a way.
"It's just the way things are, Frank. And it means nothing.
At first I thought that this book would reveal that Vivian had become some famous wedding dress designer, but after realizing that wasn't the case, I found I preferred it the way it was. I like that Vivian is an anonymous face in a sea of millions who lived in 1940's New York City; it makes her story even more meaningful than if she was someone famous and important. I also just loved the atmosphere of this story. Just from reading Vivian's account, of going from a stranger to the city to living there for 60 years, I feel like I know 20th century New York City better than I know my own neighborhood.
I adored the the second act of this book. I should lay out the five main acts of this book (don't read if you want to go into the book pretty blind): First, there's the exposition of Vivian's life in Clinton, and what led her to be sent away from her parents. The second act is after she arrives in New York, gets to know everyone at the theater, and is part of the City of Girls production. The third act recounts Vivian going back to her parents in Clinton. The fourth act is Vivian moving back to New York and what the city was like during wartime, and the fifth and final act is when Vivian meets and becomes special friends Frank in New York.
So as I mentioned, I loved the second act. The characters were so colorful and interesting, and there was not a dull moment. This is especially impressive considering how long the book is. I even understood that a lot of what I was reading was exposition, and not entirely essential to the main storyline. But I loved it. It was just so fun. Besides the second act, I also really loved the fifth act. I knew from the first chapter that the entire story was going to get around to some guy that was Angela's father, but the way Vivian and Frank interact was beautiful. The way Vivian describes were feelings for Frank, and how she interacted with him, was so wonderful. Frank wasn't even introduced (formally) until 85% through the book, but his and Vivian's relationship was so pure, I was tearing up by the end of it.
One of the greatest aspects of this book is that it doesn't try too hard. Nothing particularly remarkable happens to Vivian. Sure, she got plastered on the front page of a newspaper in a huge show-business scandal, and sure, she was far beyond her time in terms of feminism and sexual liberation. But honestly, her life didn't have crazy twists and turns. I didn't keep reading because I was intrigued to see how a crazy plot point turned out, I simply wanted to keep reading because I enjoyed it. The fact that the author was able to make some truly spectacular out of the mundane was thrilling to me.
One last thing I want to mention: the war aspect of this book was also fantastic to me. For once, here's a book set in America in the 1940's that is not completely about the war. I liked seeing how the war affected those mundane aspects of life and the everyday person, but I think the war was sparse enough in the story to not be off-putting to people who don't like WWII stories.
Overall, this book was thrilling, engaging, hilarious, and beautiful, and I think everyone should read it.
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