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stuckinthebook 's review for:
City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert
At the start of 2021, I asked 12 of my favourite Bookstagrammers to recommend a book that they thought I would love. City of Girls was recommended to me by Jem at Words, Wine and Wit Book Club and to be honest, it was a book that had been circulating on Instagram for quite a while before I decided to pick it up.
Sitting on my bookshelf, City of Girls is one of my more glamorous books but the sheer size of it has always put me off. Being over 500 pages, I guess I was reluctant to pick it up because it would take me so long to read it. So during the summer, when the days were longer and the weather was warmer, I decided to finally tick this one off my 2021 TBR list whilst I could make the most of sitting in a sun lounger all day.
Although it’s daunting size did put me off to begin with, the story itself kept me glued to each and every page. I actually found myself slowing my reading pace down so I could take in every word. That’s how great this book is - you don’t want to miss a single moment of it.
City of Girls is the story of now ninety-five years old Vivian Morris. Beginning in 1940, Vivan recalls her story and how the events of those years altered the course of her life. Nineteen year old Vivian flees to New York to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in a professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.
What was really interesting to me was that although the book was set during the Second World War, for our characters it was like it didn’t exist and just a thing lurking in the background. Obviously America didn’t join the Allies until 1941, so it was interesting to read life continuing as normal for the characters in this book. It made it different from the usual war stories that you read and reminded me that even in uncertain times, you can celebrate and enjoy the smaller things in life.
The book explored a number of themes such as female contraception, the pressures of theatre life and the effect of shifting societal attitudes, however the main theme throughout which stood out to me was the exploration of sex, love and relationships. These three things form the backbone to the story and are explored through not just our narrator but through all the characters she becomes entwined with. It’s layered with all types of love; heterosexual, homosexual, friendship, forbidden, one true, parental…the list can go on. Yet Elizabeth Gilbert’s exploration into all these different types of love and the effect it had on the characters and their social status was what made the book so compelling. The fact that throughout her life, Vivian witnesses and experiences a wide range of feelings and relationships, but never actually marries or has her one true love.
I did personally feel like the book fell a little flat towards the end but all in all, I thought it was a fantastic novel that explored the story of a witty and compelling woman who defied all societal expectations of women at the time and instead, fully embraced living independently. I admire Vivian because she stuck to her wits and showcased her strength by not marrying someone just for the sake of marrying them so society would accept her and be kinder to her. Yet still understanding that as a woman, she had her female desires/needs and did what she could to fulfil them as a single woman throughout her life.
READ THIS IF:
Sitting on my bookshelf, City of Girls is one of my more glamorous books but the sheer size of it has always put me off. Being over 500 pages, I guess I was reluctant to pick it up because it would take me so long to read it. So during the summer, when the days were longer and the weather was warmer, I decided to finally tick this one off my 2021 TBR list whilst I could make the most of sitting in a sun lounger all day.
Although it’s daunting size did put me off to begin with, the story itself kept me glued to each and every page. I actually found myself slowing my reading pace down so I could take in every word. That’s how great this book is - you don’t want to miss a single moment of it.
City of Girls is the story of now ninety-five years old Vivian Morris. Beginning in 1940, Vivan recalls her story and how the events of those years altered the course of her life. Nineteen year old Vivian flees to New York to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in a professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.
What was really interesting to me was that although the book was set during the Second World War, for our characters it was like it didn’t exist and just a thing lurking in the background. Obviously America didn’t join the Allies until 1941, so it was interesting to read life continuing as normal for the characters in this book. It made it different from the usual war stories that you read and reminded me that even in uncertain times, you can celebrate and enjoy the smaller things in life.
The book explored a number of themes such as female contraception, the pressures of theatre life and the effect of shifting societal attitudes, however the main theme throughout which stood out to me was the exploration of sex, love and relationships. These three things form the backbone to the story and are explored through not just our narrator but through all the characters she becomes entwined with. It’s layered with all types of love; heterosexual, homosexual, friendship, forbidden, one true, parental…the list can go on. Yet Elizabeth Gilbert’s exploration into all these different types of love and the effect it had on the characters and their social status was what made the book so compelling. The fact that throughout her life, Vivian witnesses and experiences a wide range of feelings and relationships, but never actually marries or has her one true love.
I did personally feel like the book fell a little flat towards the end but all in all, I thought it was a fantastic novel that explored the story of a witty and compelling woman who defied all societal expectations of women at the time and instead, fully embraced living independently. I admire Vivian because she stuck to her wits and showcased her strength by not marrying someone just for the sake of marrying them so society would accept her and be kinder to her. Yet still understanding that as a woman, she had her female desires/needs and did what she could to fulfil them as a single woman throughout her life.
READ THIS IF: