“ City of Girls” by Elizabeth Gilbert

I love that people are now suggesting books for me to read. I arrived at work one day to find this beautiful book sitting on my desk with a post-it note suggesting I might enjoy it. I felt like I had won the lottery, because this book has been in my library queue for a while, with some-odd 75 people in line ahead of me. “City of Girls” is the latest novel from Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote the 2006 best-selling memoir “Eat, Pray, Love.” This fascinating novel is the story of Vivian Morris, as she reflects upon her rich life in New York City during the 1940s. I couldn’t help but think of my own grandmother while reading this book, as she was a tap dancer and later a children’s theatre producer in the Bronx during that same time. Like Vivian, my grandmother Marjorie was a woman ahead of her time in terms of striving for professional goals when it was not fashionable for women to be ambitious. It’s interesting to note that both women also liked to wear slacks, which was frowned up on at the time, too. The novel starts when 19-year-old Vivian gets kicked out of Vassar, after a low performing freshman year. Her affluent parents send her to New York City to live with her flamboyant aunt Peg who runs the Lily Playhouse. Vivian’s life truly begins to take off when she is embraced by not only the theatre company, but also the wild cast of characters who parade through it. When she gets involved in a high publicity scandal with some of the actors in the company, Vivian must re-invent herself. She takes her knack for sewing and turns it into a career as wedding dress designer. Set against the back-drop of World War II and beyond, Vivian reflects on the choices she made, both good and bad. In the end she also finds love, but rather than a traditional partner she chooses a companion who allows her to maintain her independence at the same time. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.