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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
A beautiful diorama not only encapsulates the complete present but also holds the traces of moments prior and leaves you all the room to imagine what is yet to come.
semi interesting but mostly dull take on being help versus the helped in nyc. bonus star for having my girlfriends name. but still mostly dull.
A single day in the life of a New York building superintendent and his daughter has a lot to say about social class and economic diversity. This quirky but substantive book is a thought-provoking and delightful read.
Note:I received a copy of this book from Penguin Press (in print and via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest thoughts.
The Party Upstairs takes place in a single day, and alternates perspectives between Martin, an Upper West Side building super, and his 24-year old daughter, Ruby. Ruby has recently lost her job and her boyfriend and has had to move back into her parent’s basement apartment. Tension is running high between the two as they repeatedly try and fail to really connect. I also liked that Conell explored the differences between classes within the building, especially with Martin who always had to worry about keeping the wealthy tenants. But, other parts of Martin became annoying: his obsessions with meditation and birds and his frequent “advice” from a favorite deceased resident. Ruby, too I both liked and didn’t. I sympathized with her sort of “stuck” position, but she also did some really crazy things! Overall, The Party Upstairs was just okay for me.
The Party Upstairs takes place in a single day, and alternates perspectives between Martin, an Upper West Side building super, and his 24-year old daughter, Ruby. Ruby has recently lost her job and her boyfriend and has had to move back into her parent’s basement apartment. Tension is running high between the two as they repeatedly try and fail to really connect. I also liked that Conell explored the differences between classes within the building, especially with Martin who always had to worry about keeping the wealthy tenants. But, other parts of Martin became annoying: his obsessions with meditation and birds and his frequent “advice” from a favorite deceased resident. Ruby, too I both liked and didn’t. I sympathized with her sort of “stuck” position, but she also did some really crazy things! Overall, The Party Upstairs was just okay for me.
This was a quick book to read, but I didn’t like it. It is a story about a superintendent and his family who lives in the basement of an Upper West Side NYC apartment building and their relationships and interactions with the tenants of the building. Martin, the super, hears the voice in his head of a dead tenant. His daughter, Ruby, is friends with Caroline, the penthouse owner. The social and financial differences of the tenants and the super’s family is stark and ever-widening.
#ThePartyUpstairs #LeeConell
#ThePartyUpstairs #LeeConell
Ruby grew up between worlds. Her father is the super for a Manhattan apartment building, one that started out full of rent-controlled apartments lived in by middle class tenants, but over time the building has become the residence of the wealthy and privileged. She and her parents have always lived in the basement apartment, but her best friend lives in the penthouse. Growing up with Caroline has meant art lessons and now an expensive degree she may never pay off. Her dream is to work on the dioramas in the Natural History Museum and her best friend has gotten her an interview. Caroline is also throwing a party that night in her father's penthouse.
Taking place over a single day, the novel follows Ruby and her father as they go through a day that will change everything. Lee Conell examines the often uncomfortable interchanges that take place between people when there's a significant financial disparity and in the spaces between employee/boss and friend. There's lots to be uncomfortable and sometimes angry about and Conell is willing to take the characters into awkward situations where no one emerges without fault.
Taking place over a single day, the novel follows Ruby and her father as they go through a day that will change everything. Lee Conell examines the often uncomfortable interchanges that take place between people when there's a significant financial disparity and in the spaces between employee/boss and friend. There's lots to be uncomfortable and sometimes angry about and Conell is willing to take the characters into awkward situations where no one emerges without fault.
This book made me cringe at the actions of some of the characters, but it also was frustrating watching the inequities between the upper class and the middle class, shown between the friendship of two girls growing up in the same building, one in the penthouse and one in the basement super's apartment.
3.5 stars. I didn’t love this book, but didn’t hate it. I enjoyed it as I was reading it, but felt it was lacking something I can’t quite place. With all the details in the book, I still felt I didn’t connect enough with the characters. I’m glad I read this, but wouldn’t personally recommend.