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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
3.75
I do love a story that digs into the history of a building - what happened there, who the people were. The story taking place at the Barbizon Hotel for Women in the 1950's was definitely the stronger story in this case. This is where all of the interesting characters were, and unraveling Darby's story was a lot of fun.
I wasn't a fan of Rose's weak relationship in the modern-day story. Ugh, it was immediately obvious that she just wasn't the wife he wanted for his career in politics - how did she not realize this when they went from "I've been asked to run for office" and then "I'm going to have to leave you because of problems with my daughter" in the same conversation?? And the fact that he expected her to move out with no notice after she'd given up her home and her job? Yeah, not happening. So that part of the story was completely frustrating to me.
Great narration by Tavia Gilbert!
I do love a story that digs into the history of a building - what happened there, who the people were. The story taking place at the Barbizon Hotel for Women in the 1950's was definitely the stronger story in this case. This is where all of the interesting characters were, and unraveling Darby's story was a lot of fun.
I wasn't a fan of Rose's weak relationship in the modern-day story. Ugh, it was immediately obvious that she just wasn't the wife he wanted for his career in politics - how did she not realize this when they went from "I've been asked to run for office" and then "I'm going to have to leave you because of problems with my daughter" in the same conversation?? And the fact that he expected her to move out with no notice after she'd given up her home and her job? Yeah, not happening. So that part of the story was completely frustrating to me.
Great narration by Tavia Gilbert!
This is one of those lopsided dual timeline novels where one storyline is much stronger than the other. I enjoyed the story of Darby, a secretarial student at the Barbizon Hotel in the 1950s who gets caught up in the jazz scene and ends up in a dangerous situation. I was not so keen on modern-day Rose with her married boyfriend and her prying into Darby’s past with an excuse of “journalism” which was really just nosiness.
A dual timeline and POV story. In the 1950s, Darby McLaughlin leaves her small town for NYC after the death of her father to attend secretarial school while living at the Barbizon, a hotel exclusively for women. Nicknamed The Dollhouse for the aspiring models that also live there, Darby feels alone until she strikes up a friendship with Esme, who works at the Barbizon. Esme introduces Darby to New York night life via a jazz club where she works.
In the present, journalist Rose Lewan is living at the Barbizon, which now gutted, refurbished, and coed. Former tenants from Darby’s era still maintain residence through rent-control on the fourth floor and it’s not long till Rose meets the mysterious Darby is looking into her past. Dealing with relationship issues, an ill father, and trouble at work, Rose escapes her present issues by obsessing over Darby’s past.
I found this an interesting and compelling piece of historical fiction. After finishing, I read a bit about the actual Barbizon and was amazed at the list of former tenants.
In the present, journalist Rose Lewan is living at the Barbizon, which now gutted, refurbished, and coed. Former tenants from Darby’s era still maintain residence through rent-control on the fourth floor and it’s not long till Rose meets the mysterious Darby is looking into her past. Dealing with relationship issues, an ill father, and trouble at work, Rose escapes her present issues by obsessing over Darby’s past.
I found this an interesting and compelling piece of historical fiction. After finishing, I read a bit about the actual Barbizon and was amazed at the list of former tenants.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
I was expecting so much more of a mystery. What a let down
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This dual timeline treat is perfect for any City of Girls fans like myself. NYC in the 50s is absolutely up there as one of my favourite story settings.
This delicious tale is set in New Yorks Barbizon hotel, which in the 40s & 50s was a female only well reputed residential Hotel housing many young ladies (including Sylvia Plath and Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall, John Crawford and Rita Hayworth) and was indeed referred to as The Dollhouse.... This modern day fictional storyline also set in the Barbizon entwines the two storylines beautifully with some great twists and characters toboot.
This delicious tale is set in New Yorks Barbizon hotel, which in the 40s & 50s was a female only well reputed residential Hotel housing many young ladies (including Sylvia Plath and Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall, John Crawford and Rita Hayworth) and was indeed referred to as The Dollhouse.... This modern day fictional storyline also set in the Barbizon entwines the two storylines beautifully with some great twists and characters toboot.
The Dollhouse, Fiona Davis' love letter to New York's Barbizon Hotel and the 1950s, takes place in both the New York of today and the New York of the 1950s, with chapters offering the alternating perspectives of television news anchor cum web journalist Rose, and small-town girl turned secretarial student Darby. Rose lives in the Barbizon, freshly condo'd, with her politician boyfriend, Griff. There, she becomes fascinated with the women of the fourth floor, long-term residents who all moved in in the fifties and sixties and never left, grandfathered in through the renovations in rent-controlled apartments. Darby is one of those women, albeit the most mysterious with her constant hat and veil, seemingly the product of a terrible accident in 1952 that left a maid dead. In a bizarre turn of events, Rose ends up looking after Darby's dog, and moves herself into her apartment where she proceeds to use what she finds there to begin piecing together the story. As Rose finds supporting evidence, the story unfolds for the reader in 1952, filling in the finer points, and providing some of the better portions of the novel. Rose is relatively unlikeable, as is her "supporting cast", while Darby, although frequently frustrating, lives a much more exciting storyline and has a much more appealing arc - at least at first. The tragedy, madcap hi-jinks, questionable ethics, and extremely questionable commentary that Davis seems to be making about women in both 1952 and 2016, make for a frustrating read, and one that felt mostly unbelievable, and not in a breath-taking, engrossing sort of way. While there were high points, including an (initially) strong representation of female friendship, altogether I found this extremely lacklustre, a skeleton of a good idea propped up by melodrama, dippy women, forced romance, and forced growth. Rose is entirely too old to be making some of the mistakes she makes, no matter the difficult situations she endured, and I had a hard time believing her as a woman in her mid-thirties, never mind mid-twenties.
mysterious
medium-paced
Being up so high above the city made her troubles seem less dramatic.
This book is a historical fiction told in two voices, Darby in the year 1952, and Rose in present day, and focuses on finding out the truth of a tragic event that happened at the Barbizon Hotel in 1952.
The author takes us back to the mid-century glam of 1952 New York City and the Barbizon Hotel for women, with a glimpse into the way of life for unmarried, career women in New York City at this time. Feeling alone, homesick and out of place amidst her Ford model neighbors, Darby meets Esme, a smart, scrappy maid / coatcheck girl, and is introduced to a whole new side of New York City, and the dawning realization that maybe, just maybe, she could make a home for herself there after all.
Then we meet Rose, a down on her luck journalist who is working at a company she hates for a boss she doesn’t respect, and to top it all off, she gets dumped and told to move out of the condo she shared with her ex after he convinced her to sell her rent-controlled studio apartment months beforehand. Intrigued by her downstairs neighbor, one of the original residents of the Barbizon before it went condo, Rose sets out to get the scoop on Darby and the other original residents, hoping to make a name for herself and maybe find some meaning in her own troubles to help her get through them.
I found Darby’s story relatable, inspiring and even if she was a bit naive (which a sheltered girl from the midwest at this time was more than likely to be), she rose to meet the odds stacked against her with the help of her friend. I really liked Esme’s character, and how her inner drive and grit rubbed off so favorably onto Darby. And I liked that even when Darby grew up and grew more independent with the help and encouragement of Stella, Esme, and Sam, she held fast to her morals, her ideals, and her sense of right and wrong.
Underneath the rough voice and confidence, Esme was scared as well. Not scared of change, like Darby was, but scared of staying put, staying unchanged.
There’s a lot of substance in this book highlighting some of the sexist ideals of the past, and how things still haven’t changed that much almost 70 years later.
Did you know there are dozens of terrible names for old women? Crone, cat lady, hag, battle-ax. But there’s no male equivalent.
One of the things I admire most about this time (1950s), was how determined some women were to become more than what others had deemed acceptable. Striking out on their own, making their own life, even within the constraints of the times, these women were total badasses. World War II and women’s entry into the workforce while men were off fighting was the event that really turned the tide on women’s lib and feminism as we know it. I loved getting a small glimpse of that here in this novel.
Don’t you dare project your own fears onto me.” Her nostrils flared. “I reject them. If you’re lonely and scared, you better deal with it now, because life only gets lonelier and scarier, no matter how many people fill your home or your heart. It’s up to you, sweetheart. Ultimately, you’re on your own.
By comparison, Rose and her story was so disappointing to me. Here we see a modern-day woman who has built her life around a man. Compared to Darby and her contemporaries, Rose comes across weak-willed, whiny, incompetent, and even, dare I say it, pathetic, not to mention that her ethics are questionable. She just lacks the same backbone evident in every other female we are shown in this book, and I just found her incredibly unlikeable.
In conclusion, I liked this book, but it fell victim to the usual problem of books with dual timelines…one was simply a stronger story than the other. As much as I loved the historical timeline, the present-day timeline was lacking in depth, the characters were more like caricatures, and the heroine was just so unlikeable to me.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No