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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Probably 3.5 stars. Easy to read and entertaining, though nothing new or surprising. Just a nice comforting book.
THE DOLLHOUSE by Fiona Davis
This is the second novel by Fiona Davis I’ve read/listened to (via @LibbyApp) and once again I was whisked away to 1950s (and 2016) New York City.
Darby McLaughlin is the quintessential sheltered young woman from a small town trying to make it in a big city. Even though she’s naive, Darby quickly (unrealistically) adjusts to the strict rules of the Barbizon Hotel, befriends the glamorous women tenants and thrives in the fast pace of NYC.
Journalist Rose Lewin is living at the now modernized and converted Barbizon building. By chance, she meets one of the original tenants (who now live in one of the rent controlled apartments - nice!). The woman is a disfigured recluse and Rose’s curiosity is piqued. Thus begins her deep dive into the woman’s life history.
Despite Rose’s questionable research tactics (this is fiction after all so I’ll let it slide), the story she uncovers is an interesting one. I also enjoyed learning about the history of the Barbizon. I found a great March 2021 article online from The New Yorker if you’re curious to know more about the place.
Overall, another solid choice if you love historical mysteries. This one has a bit of everything; big city living, love and crime, food and music.
Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️
This is the second novel by Fiona Davis I’ve read/listened to (via @LibbyApp) and once again I was whisked away to 1950s (and 2016) New York City.
Darby McLaughlin is the quintessential sheltered young woman from a small town trying to make it in a big city. Even though she’s naive, Darby quickly (unrealistically) adjusts to the strict rules of the Barbizon Hotel, befriends the glamorous women tenants and thrives in the fast pace of NYC.
Journalist Rose Lewin is living at the now modernized and converted Barbizon building. By chance, she meets one of the original tenants (who now live in one of the rent controlled apartments - nice!). The woman is a disfigured recluse and Rose’s curiosity is piqued. Thus begins her deep dive into the woman’s life history.
Despite Rose’s questionable research tactics (this is fiction after all so I’ll let it slide), the story she uncovers is an interesting one. I also enjoyed learning about the history of the Barbizon. I found a great March 2021 article online from The New Yorker if you’re curious to know more about the place.
Overall, another solid choice if you love historical mysteries. This one has a bit of everything; big city living, love and crime, food and music.
Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Violence
This is the second book I have read from Fiona Davis, and she does a great job of weaving together stories from two time periods without making it confusing. She focuses on the historical parts of the novel, and I always learn something from her books.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An enjoyable read; I found the alternating perspectives between 1950s Darby and 2016 Rose quite intriguing, both detailing the difference of the city’s eras as well as hinting parallels between the characters’ lives. The story from Rose’s point of view did get boring and tedious at some points, but at least all leads up to developing her character pretty well in the end as well as cementing her importance in unraveling the story’s big mysteries.
I found most of the story pretty comfortably paced while keeping the mystery tense, balancing with well-fitting reflective and emotional moments for the characters.
I found most of the story pretty comfortably paced while keeping the mystery tense, balancing with well-fitting reflective and emotional moments for the characters.
it's a cute book, but a little cheesy. however, I'm not allowed partial stars in my rating, so it got a bit better score...
informative
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
MEDIUM: eBook
MY RATING: 3/5
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published August 23, 2016 by Dutton
While living in her married boyfriend’s condo in the old Barbizon Hotel, Rose Lewin hears some gossip regarding a tenant who still lives on the 4th floor, Darby McLaughlin. Darby has lived in the Barbizon since the 1950s when it was a haven for women who were preparing to enter society life, either by learning a job skill (secretarial) or by meeting a man to marry. Rose learns that Darby was somehow responsible for the death of a hotel maid named Esme, and during that event Darby’s face was brutally cut, leaving a horrible scar that she covers with a veil at all times.
The book flips back and forth between 2016 and the 1950s. Most of the time, this format works out well and adds a nice layer of interest to a story. In this particular book, though, it all seems so disjointed and unnecessary. Actually, the present day storyline is rather arbitrary, bordering on uninteresting. I enjoyed the 1950s thread more, but even it was tenuous and strained at times. The two threads just didn’t flow together very well, in my opinion. I’m not sure in the real world that Rose would have cared enough about this story to devote so much time and effort to investigate it, especially when her editor wasn’t thrilled about the story, expressing it wasn’t interesting enough to publish. Which is pretty much exactly what I think about this whole story – somewhat interesting, but just not enough to make a whole book about it.
Another reason I had a tough time with this book is because I could not connect with any of the characters. Rose was not especially well rounded or absorbing enough to really truly care whether she succeeded in her quest for answers or not. Young Darby was mildly entertaining but needed to get a backbone and start thinking for herself – though maybe this was an intentional character trait to highlight the mindset of most young women in the 1950s, leaving most of the “thinking” to men… I just don’t know. Esme was the most interesting person in the novel, yet even she was a rather flat, predictable character.
What I did find quite interesting was the history of the hotel. The Barbizon was a real hotel, and the building still exists with most of the rooms having been converted into condos. The Ford modeling agency really did house its girls there, as did Katherine Gibbs College. In fact, many famous women lived there throughout the hotel’s heyday: Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Cybill Shepard, Liza Minelli, Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, Joan Didion, Rita Hayworth, Sylvia Plath, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, and Cloris Leachman!
Long story short, this wasn’t a winner in my opinion. It didn’t hold my interest, and as a result, I can’t really recommend it with much confidence.
This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
More historical fiction books:
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
MY RATING: 3/5
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published August 23, 2016 by Dutton
While living in her married boyfriend’s condo in the old Barbizon Hotel, Rose Lewin hears some gossip regarding a tenant who still lives on the 4th floor, Darby McLaughlin. Darby has lived in the Barbizon since the 1950s when it was a haven for women who were preparing to enter society life, either by learning a job skill (secretarial) or by meeting a man to marry. Rose learns that Darby was somehow responsible for the death of a hotel maid named Esme, and during that event Darby’s face was brutally cut, leaving a horrible scar that she covers with a veil at all times.
The book flips back and forth between 2016 and the 1950s. Most of the time, this format works out well and adds a nice layer of interest to a story. In this particular book, though, it all seems so disjointed and unnecessary. Actually, the present day storyline is rather arbitrary, bordering on uninteresting. I enjoyed the 1950s thread more, but even it was tenuous and strained at times. The two threads just didn’t flow together very well, in my opinion. I’m not sure in the real world that Rose would have cared enough about this story to devote so much time and effort to investigate it, especially when her editor wasn’t thrilled about the story, expressing it wasn’t interesting enough to publish. Which is pretty much exactly what I think about this whole story – somewhat interesting, but just not enough to make a whole book about it.
Another reason I had a tough time with this book is because I could not connect with any of the characters. Rose was not especially well rounded or absorbing enough to really truly care whether she succeeded in her quest for answers or not. Young Darby was mildly entertaining but needed to get a backbone and start thinking for herself – though maybe this was an intentional character trait to highlight the mindset of most young women in the 1950s, leaving most of the “thinking” to men… I just don’t know. Esme was the most interesting person in the novel, yet even she was a rather flat, predictable character.
What I did find quite interesting was the history of the hotel. The Barbizon was a real hotel, and the building still exists with most of the rooms having been converted into condos. The Ford modeling agency really did house its girls there, as did Katherine Gibbs College. In fact, many famous women lived there throughout the hotel’s heyday: Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Cybill Shepard, Liza Minelli, Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale, Joan Didion, Rita Hayworth, Sylvia Plath, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, and Cloris Leachman!
Long story short, this wasn’t a winner in my opinion. It didn’t hold my interest, and as a result, I can’t really recommend it with much confidence.
This book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
More historical fiction books:
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
