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Don't be mislead by the above, darlings! For those who love Dawn Powell or Dorothy Parker, or want a more accessible introduction to them, this is the book for you. It called to mind, for me, a bit of Mary McCarthy's "The Group." Imagine following one member of the Vassar Class Of 1933, through several decades of being a New York City Career Woman and the changing landscape of New York.
Which is to say "Lillian Boxworth Takes A Walk" is no Candace Bushnell chick lit junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lillian Boxworth is an empowered Thirties career woman. And how I wanted to be a Thirties career woman, though I have to wonder about non-air conditioned offices and subways. Lillian's story switches effortlessly between her golden past, and the future that is closing in on her, on the last night of 1984. What the reader gets is a vivid picture of the city, its lifestyle and its pulse, during these two respective eras.
Along the way Lillian meets the kinds of characters one can only--and still meet--in New York. As well as having some potentially harrowing experiences that are common to us urban dwellers.
Kathleen Rooney's novel turns out to be a love song to the city, and those of us who desire to live in it, and maintain that desire, even when the youth that caused us to flee to it is gone. Once having experienced NYC, it is pretty hard to imagine anywhere else.
For readers sharing that last statement, this novel is a vindication. For those who may not, it is an examination and explanation that may very well win them over.
As a heroine, and an absorbing read, Lillian Boxworth won me over. I wonder how Kathleen Rooney will follow up on this??????????????????????
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