City of Girls: A Novel

Normally, when I read a book, I post a picture and a review on my Instagram account. But sometimes, sometimes, I read a book that is so good, I need to make a longer post. This is one of those times.

The book- City of Girls: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is the third book of hers I've read, and the first novel of hers. The other two books Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic were more personal memoirs.

I am just going to say it out right now- I loved this book. I love the main character, Vivian Morris. She is brash and loud, and in your face in such a way that you can't ignore. She enters the room with her arms spread wide, and says, "Hello world! I know you've been waiting for me! Here I am!" 

The story starts off bright and bold, just like the our heroine. She is young and she is on her way to New York City. The world is her oyster. 

Now, a bit about me. My favourite Jane Austen novel is Emma. Of all of her heroines, Emma Woodhouse is probably the least likeable. At least at first. But I loved Emma, and I love Vivian. The fact that Ms. Austen herself said she was writing a novel with a main character most won't like should tell you something about my love for City of Girls. It may sound like a back handed compliment, but I assure you it is anything but. It is a compliment of the highest regard from me. The characters in this book aren't always very likeable. But there is just something else about them that pulls me in. As I read this book, I kept thinking, "Who would I recommend this to?"  I'm afraid anyone I told would not love Vivian like I do, would not understand what I love about her, and about her story. You know that fear- when you talk up a book so much that you're afraid others won't understand and won't love the book as much as you do?

On the surface, it's a story of a young woman who moves to New York City in the 1940s, and how she grows and matures as a seamstress/costume designer and a person. It's about her life from being teenaged to her elderly years. But, underneath it is so much more. Gilbert drops small hints here an there, reminding us what life was like for women in this "Golden Age". How we had no rights beyond what our father's, brothers, and husbands offered us. And if we had no man to protect us? Gilbert reminds us about what happened to women then, too. We know it wasn't pretty.

When I was reading this book, I was in the process of helping my own mother move into her own, smaller, place after my father's passing, the Tokyo Olympics were in full swing. As I write this review, Afghanistan has fallen and the Taliban are back in control. I am surrounded by the calls and the cries of women; from my own ancestors, to the young women who have benefited from Title IX in the US (giving them equal access to sport), the young women who bravely spoke out about sexual abuse, to the women half the world away who are losing what newfound rights they had. City of Girls is a novel, yes, but it's a feminist cry that says, "We are here an we are tired of being shunted aside." Men are fine, but we can do just as well without them, thank you very much. And Vivian does.

Vivian learns a lot of tough life lessons through this book. She is a self proclaimed Libertine. She takes all of the experiences that life gives her, and embraces them all. She makes some big mistakes, but in the end, she uses the lessons to change her life. Are all of her relationships healed in the end? No. Sometimes that isn't possible. But she is healed in the end, and that makes all the difference.

Reading through the reviews, it seems people either loved or hated this book, and I can see why. These aren't the most likeable characters, but oh! They have something about them that I can't describe. And I love them for that. I love the boldness that describes them, the willingness to take chances, even when you know it will not end up for the best, because at least they tried! There is character growth, as well as reader growth through this book. What seems so obvious to the read in the beginning of the book is a bit less cut and dry towards the end. 

Wonderful is the author that can make you fall in love with a sometimes unlikeable character, and then, as you read through the book, you see not only the evolution of the character, but your own as a reader. Elizabeth Gilbert, in this book, has hit on the Magic she speaks about in her writing memoir Big Magic (see my previous blog post about that!). She has allowed the idea to not only sit with her, but grow and develop into this fine book, this book I tell anyone I know that I love.

When I finish a book, sometimes I am able to leave that character where they are, and move on. It doesn't mean I didn't like the book or that character, it's just that they live in that time and space. Rare is the book where the character jumps out and lives with me. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) has a special place in my life, Lucy and Josh do as well (The Hating Game). I often wonder how Count Alexander Rostov from A Gentleman in Moscow is doing. And now, I wonder about Vivian. I hope they are well and living their best lives.

If you feel inclined, go find City of Girls: A Novel (Gilbert, 2019), find a cozy corner, and get lost in New York City in the 1940s.