I recently picked the perfect vacation read! It was: City of Girls: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert.
What makes the perfect vacation read? For me, it is a book that passes the time during travel but still tempts me to pick it up when I could just as easily sit and watch the waves roll in. Also, I need some substance; my perfect “beach reads” are not mindless.
This new book by the author of Eat, Pray, Love is set during 1940s New York, in the theatre district. This was especially fun for me since I just read another book with similar setting.
Vivian is 19 and has recently been kicked out of college. Not knowing what to do, her affluent parents send her to New York to stay with her aunt who runs a midtown theater. Vivian quickly gets another kind of education.
Having a blast exploring New York and cavorting with all the theater types, she eventually makes a life-changing mistake. The story is written from Vivian’s perspective as an 89 year old as she looks back and makes peace with it all. It is in the form of a letter, and it isn’t until the end you understand to whom the letter is being written.
I highly recommend this captivating book from my summer reading list.