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laurazdavidson's review against another edition
5.0
While the flapper slang at the beginning of the book made it difficult to get into the rhythm of things, I ended up really enjoying this book, and the language got easier too. As you get to know more and more about "Nobody" Alice James and her upbringing in (Italian) Harlem, the more her language and actions make sense. The novel twisted and turned in ways I didn't expect. A hotel full of misfits, a missing mulatto boy, love and longing, and the KKK... What a fascinating look at prejudice and discrimination in 1920s Oregon!
nabenn67's review against another edition
4.0
I randomly picked this book up off my public library's display, and boy am I glad I did. I had never heard of this author but I will be sure to find her other novels. I enjoy Historical Fiction and I enjoy Mysteries, but I actually feel this book would have been better without the mystery because it felt like a distraction. I am not a writer, but I feel the talent of this author would have been able to remove that piece and pull off a fantastic story.
nevclue's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating historical fiction/mystery set in the early 1900s. Dual timelines: part gangster/mafia story (the flashbacks) and part rise of the KKK in Portland, Oregon (the present). Alice "Nobody" James is on the run from the NYC mafia after being shot. She arrives by train in Portland, near death, and is rescued by a black porter named Max who brings her to the Paragon Hotel, the only all-black hotel in Portland.
Diverse characters, a critical look at race relations in Oregon (not just on a personal level, but on a structural level, such as Oregon's origin as an all-white utopia in the 1840s and its clause in the state constitution that it was "white only"), LGBT rep.
I found Alice a really interesting main character. She unapologetically wants to belong. She wants to fight on someone's behalf. She lies and cheats and is comfortable with a certain degree of violence, but unlike many female characters with those traits, she is upfront about craving connections (family, friends, etc). And I adored her friendship with Blossom Fontaine.
Diverse characters, a critical look at race relations in Oregon (not just on a personal level, but on a structural level, such as Oregon's origin as an all-white utopia in the 1840s and its clause in the state constitution that it was "white only"), LGBT rep.
I found Alice a really interesting main character. She unapologetically wants to belong. She wants to fight on someone's behalf. She lies and cheats and is comfortable with a certain degree of violence, but unlike many female characters with those traits, she is upfront about craving connections (family, friends, etc). And I adored her friendship with Blossom Fontaine.
chazzerguy's review against another edition
2.0
Abandoning about a third of the way thru. Contrived writing style and I can already tell this is setting up to be a white savior trope. First couple of chapters were interesting but it spirals down from there. Really quite dull by the time I called it quits and no particularly compelling characters. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind for it, but I find nothing particularly meritorious in this novel. Lots of four and five star reviews though. Go figure.
twalt96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
winstonandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Mrs. Snider clucks, reaching for my hand. “You poor dear. Now, I don’t pretend to know everything about politics either, but I do keep abreast through Fred, thinking it my civic duty now women have the vote, and you needn’t worry over the KKK in this city. America first, they say, and. Well, who can argue with that?”
This is a hard book to review. I was very drawn in by the setting of 1920s Portland OR, since I am a history teacher and have lived my entire life in Portland. This state has such a racist past that is not well known or discussed, so I jumped on the chance to read a book exploring it. And I have always been captivated by 1920s America.
The book is certainly encapsulating and you feel like you are transported back in time. I love the narrator’s voice and the author’s writing style. The primary source quotations at the beginning of each chapter were powerful and haunting, especially within today’s political and social climate. But I can’t help feel like something was missing from the story, something the author could have explored or covered more. I can't exactly put my finger on it.
Maybe I had too high expectations going into the book. It could also be because the book shifts from “then” and “now,” with “then” covering the main character’s time in New York, which goes back to the early 1900s-1920s, to the present day 1920s in Portland. The “then” chapters are definitely weaker than the “now” ones. There are also a lot of characters to keep track of, that are not as developed as the main ones, but who play an important role in the story, which can lessen the emotional investment and bring about slight confusion (“this is an important moment and plot reveal! but wait, who is this character again?”) I love the setting of the book and the writing style and the story (which is why it’s at 4 stars), but I walk away from the book feeling like something was missing (which, if I wasn’t as interested in the history or enchanted by the writing, would probably make this book 3 stars).
This is a hard book to review. I was very drawn in by the setting of 1920s Portland OR, since I am a history teacher and have lived my entire life in Portland. This state has such a racist past that is not well known or discussed, so I jumped on the chance to read a book exploring it. And I have always been captivated by 1920s America.
The book is certainly encapsulating and you feel like you are transported back in time. I love the narrator’s voice and the author’s writing style. The primary source quotations at the beginning of each chapter were powerful and haunting, especially within today’s political and social climate. But I can’t help feel like something was missing from the story, something the author could have explored or covered more. I can't exactly put my finger on it.
Maybe I had too high expectations going into the book. It could also be because the book shifts from “then” and “now,” with “then” covering the main character’s time in New York, which goes back to the early 1900s-1920s, to the present day 1920s in Portland. The “then” chapters are definitely weaker than the “now” ones. There are also a lot of characters to keep track of, that are not as developed as the main ones, but who play an important role in the story, which can lessen the emotional investment and bring about slight confusion (“this is an important moment and plot reveal! but wait, who is this character again?”) I love the setting of the book and the writing style and the story (which is why it’s at 4 stars), but I walk away from the book feeling like something was missing (which, if I wasn’t as interested in the history or enchanted by the writing, would probably make this book 3 stars).
sarah_reading_party's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a bit to read this book... parts are slow and all the period dialogue is a bit overdone, but overall it was a good historical mystery/thriller. Well written and compelling to think about race relations, the mafia, and women in the 1920s.
jreid00's review against another edition
4.0
When I saw promotion for this book in my library late last year, I was intrigued by the synopsis and told myself I would get my hand son it as soon as I saw it. Fast forward to today and I was not disappointed. Faye gave me a story I didn't want to put down. She presented to us a side of 1920s America that we don't normally see in books and showed that racism was in no way limited to the South. And she hit me with a few plot twists that I neverrrrrrrr saw coming. It was wonderful. However, I knocked off a star because of a few gripes:
1) Davy's disappearance, which is what intrigued me in the first place, sort have fell to the wayside midway through and was resolved in an odd, semi-neatly tied bow
2) Nobody and Max's brief little "romance" that was thrown in there was awkward and could have been left out
3) Faye was really heavy handed with the 1920s lingo, which I suppose wouldn't be a problem for somebody that knows that time period well. However, I found myself coming out of the story every now and then to try to decipher what the heck the characters were saying
4) This was the biggie for me. Her interuse of names and nicknames also irked me. If you're going to give a character a nickname, be consistent with using that nickname. With Nobody it was fine, but there were multiple points where she would call a character by both their government name and their nickname within two paragraphs and I'd have to to backtrack and remind myself that it was the same person.
Did I enjoy this book? Immensely. Would I read it again? Probably. Would I go buy it for my personal bookshelf? That one is still out for deliberation.
1) Davy's disappearance, which is what intrigued me in the first place, sort have fell to the wayside midway through and was resolved in an odd, semi-neatly tied bow
2) Nobody and Max's brief little "romance" that was thrown in there was awkward and could have been left out
3) Faye was really heavy handed with the 1920s lingo, which I suppose wouldn't be a problem for somebody that knows that time period well. However, I found myself coming out of the story every now and then to try to decipher what the heck the characters were saying
4) This was the biggie for me. Her interuse of names and nicknames also irked me. If you're going to give a character a nickname, be consistent with using that nickname. With Nobody it was fine, but there were multiple points where she would call a character by both their government name and their nickname within two paragraphs and I'd have to to backtrack and remind myself that it was the same person.
Did I enjoy this book? Immensely. Would I read it again? Probably. Would I go buy it for my personal bookshelf? That one is still out for deliberation.
sandlerpage's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. I loved the voice, the subject, the details, but there were so many characters and I got confused and it just felt a bit slow sometimes.
karnaconverse's review
5.0
Mixes equal parts of history, mystery, and prejudice with love and friendship to create an intricate and intriguing story set in 1921
Alice "Nobody" James is no stranger to crime—born and raised in a Raines law hotel controlled by the New York mafia—but is taken aback by the racist lawlessness she encounters in Portland, Oregon. This city is her new home only because it was the farthest she could get from the life of corruption she was destined to be part of in NYC. She comes to the Paragon Hotel in need of help but the skills she learned on the streets help her become an integral player in figuring out how—and why--a young mulatto boy has gone missing. She, a Welsh Italian; her new family at the Paragon Hotel, black.
Every word, phrase, and dialogue exchange Faye writes is poignant and smart. She describes prohibition, the mafia, the Ku Klux Klan, and the culture of the early 1900s through multiple eyes—white, black, man, woman, child, mobster, war veteran, immigrant, business owner, public servant, socialite. The story of Alice's life emerges in seamless fashion in chapters marked Now and Then, each opening with quoted text from a newspaper or book that sets the tone and gives context to the times.
For me, the Historical Note at the end of the book was an added bonus to the story. Here, she puts racist and social issues on a timeline that goes back as far as the early Oregon settlers of 1844 and explains how the story's characters came to be. I especially appreciated learning about her writing process in this blog post from her website. In response to a reader who asked about her research process, she wrote:
Faye's novel has encouraged me to learn more about the social issues of this time period and to consider how they affected—and continue to affect--the culture we live in today.
The Paragon Hotel was chosen for me by my local bookseller as part of a mystery bag purchase. She chose well!
Alice "Nobody" James is no stranger to crime—born and raised in a Raines law hotel controlled by the New York mafia—but is taken aback by the racist lawlessness she encounters in Portland, Oregon. This city is her new home only because it was the farthest she could get from the life of corruption she was destined to be part of in NYC. She comes to the Paragon Hotel in need of help but the skills she learned on the streets help her become an integral player in figuring out how—and why--a young mulatto boy has gone missing. She, a Welsh Italian; her new family at the Paragon Hotel, black.
Every word, phrase, and dialogue exchange Faye writes is poignant and smart. She describes prohibition, the mafia, the Ku Klux Klan, and the culture of the early 1900s through multiple eyes—white, black, man, woman, child, mobster, war veteran, immigrant, business owner, public servant, socialite. The story of Alice's life emerges in seamless fashion in chapters marked Now and Then, each opening with quoted text from a newspaper or book that sets the tone and gives context to the times.
For me, the Historical Note at the end of the book was an added bonus to the story. Here, she puts racist and social issues on a timeline that goes back as far as the early Oregon settlers of 1844 and explains how the story's characters came to be. I especially appreciated learning about her writing process in this blog post from her website. In response to a reader who asked about her research process, she wrote:
"I like to get a wider map in my hands before exploring the streets and poking under the dirty crates, if that makes sense? Get a good handle on the religion, politics, social shifts, mores, etc. Once you have read multiple works regarding the same time period that focus on different social perspectives, you'll start to have a much better handle on what people thought and felt and where the divisions lay. . . . After that, I do microscopic research, and that's the fun part. . . . Additionally, I always return to my macroscopic research materials and plunder their indexes: where did they get all this very authentic and academically documented information? . . . The important thing to remember about not going down the research rabbit hole is that the only information that TRULY matters at the end of the day is what evokes feelings in your protagonist."
Faye's novel has encouraged me to learn more about the social issues of this time period and to consider how they affected—and continue to affect--the culture we live in today.
The Paragon Hotel was chosen for me by my local bookseller as part of a mystery bag purchase. She chose well!