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Gwyn's Reviews > City of Girls
City of Girls
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This book was a mishmash of 2 different stories thrown together. Three quarters of the book was Vivian experiencing New York in her late teens and early twenties pre and during WW2. The rest of the book jumped ahead 15 to 20 years where someone she had only met once re-enters her life. Then the tone and story of the book totally changed and doesn’t match the writing style in the first part of the book. The final chapter then jumps about 25 years to try to pull it all together.
The character of Vivian was a dumb woman who didn’t seem to think for herself. For her privileged up-bringing that is touted heavily, Vivian never once questions morality of what she’s doing. I expect characters in Historical Fiction to be far more interesting. I would have preferred the story of Edna or Peg over Vivian.
Oftentimes it felt like it was a bore to read the book but I was given an advanced copy and knew I needed to finish it to write a review. Parts of the book were over done and I hope the final version is edited to be more concise.
The character of Vivian was a dumb woman who didn’t seem to think for herself. For her privileged up-bringing that is touted heavily, Vivian never once questions morality of what she’s doing. I expect characters in Historical Fiction to be far more interesting. I would have preferred the story of Edna or Peg over Vivian.
Oftentimes it felt like it was a bore to read the book but I was given an advanced copy and knew I needed to finish it to write a review. Parts of the book were over done and I hope the final version is edited to be more concise.
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Robyn
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rated it 3 stars
Jun 24, 2019 12:57PM
I agree 100% - such an oddly structured story. And the entire premise of it being a letter to Angela is unbelievable. Why would Angela have cared at all about most of what Vivian has written about?
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I'm with you! This tone changed, and I was hoping we would get back to the point...Only to learn the first 400 pages apparently had no relevance to the question asked on page 2. Bizarre!
I agree- wanted to toss this book! Awful
Agree - such a disappointment!
Yes! I am about 85% done with the book and you are right on point! It's really an awful book. I was just to invested in it to put it down. Sorry :(
I wholeheartedly agree with all of the above.
Agreed. Dull.
Although I rated the book higher than your two stars, I do completely agree that the book feels like two books smooshed together. The first half goes into such great, great detail about her first year in NYC; conversations, smells, drinks, specific quotes, seasons, and so on. The last third feels like a rushed overview where small insignificant characters took the foreground, while some of our favorite characters fell completely out of the story (although that is how life sometimes is, isn't it?) Why did Vivianne go into such detail about her first year in NYC when she is answering a very specific question about who Angela's father was to her?
Anyway, I still loved the story and the friendships - I am no prude but didn't really NEED to circle back on the theme of Vivianne's promiscuity so much. We agree! The number of sexual partners you've had doesn't matter! We can move on - go forth and bang to your heart's content!
Just finished it. I almost quit two or three times. I wish I would have. Most of this book made no sense. I get that the point is that we all are different and we need to live our lives, but I was expecting more.
I agree The secomd half of the book did not match the first half. i was disappointed in the reconnection with a man who had had sucha negative affect on her life only to become a best friend. it didnt make sense.to me. liked thefirst half though. wish Vivian could have found a more inspiring end to her story.
