#8 Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by
Kathleen Rooney
Lillian
Boxfish would make such a cool Grandmother! She is a feisty, octogenarian
living in New York and the novel follows her on a walk about her neighborhood
on New Year’s Eve 1984. As she stops
along the way, Lillian recounts for us her life as an intrepid adventurer arriving
in New York City as a young woman in the late 1920’s to take a job with R.
H. Macy’s and how she becomes the
highest paid woman in advertising in America by 1931. We learn about New York
during the jazz age as she shares snippets of her life as a single woman doing
all the things good girls aren’t supposed to do: smoking, drinking, dating and
having sex. A self-proclaimed single
woman with no interest in marrying she does eventually tie the knot which
dramatically alters her career and life.
As her journey around her neighborhood unfolds, Lillian encounters
various characters that help illuminate the city she loves, her “big, rotten
apple”; how it’s changed over the years and how it remains the same.
I enjoyed
this novel for many reasons. It is a
quick read, easy to get into and uses poetry to not only build Lillian’s
character but to highlight life from a another era. Lillian is a charming character who makes
this novel very entertaining. It is also
poignant as we travel with Lillian through the years as she ages; reflecting on
her experiences of love and loss and the changes in the city she calls home. Until next time…have you read a book today?
Julie
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