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book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audio book performed by Elizabeth McGovern
3.5***
In 1922, only a few years before she will become a famous film actress, 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita for a summer in New York City. Much to her annoyance, her parents have hired a neighbor to accompany her as chaperone. Cora Carlisle is 36-years-old, and her sons have left for college, so her husband can certainly do without her for a few weeks. But Cora has her own private reason for making the trip. She has her hands full with the impetuous and arrogant Louise, but while her charge is in dance class all day, Cora is able to work towards her own goals. What she learns – about herself and others – isn’t what she was expecting, but will change how she lives the rest of her life.
Louise Brooks is a real person and Moriarty uses some of the facts of her life as the framework for telling Cora’s story. The novel is really a character study of one woman’s awakening. When we meet her, Cora is focused on presenting a certain image (and later on maintaining it), and her neighbors and acquaintances all recognize her sterling character. She has a steady, loving marriage and two wonderful grown sons. She volunteers for the right charities and belongs to the right clubs. She has become the upstanding, traditional woman she appears to be and which everyone admires. But along the way she has completely lost touch with what she really wants or needs. As exasperating and exhausting as Louise makes things for Cora, the five weeks they spend in New York open Cora’s eyes to possibilities in her own life.
I was caught up in the story from the beginning. I liked the way Moriarty depicted Cora’s developing sense of self. A lifetime of doing what was expected of her, of remaining ignorant of facts or hiding behind small (and large) lies has shaped her, and it is not easy for Cora to step away from the public persona she has created – even in private. Parts One and Two introduce us to Louise and Cora, and detail the time they spend in New York. Part Three picks up when Cora returns to Wichita and covers 50+ years. There are large gaps in time from chapter to chapter, but we do continue to see Cora grow and the effects of her awareness on those around her. Still, the momentum of the story slows considerably in the last hundred pages.
Elizabeth McGovern does a fine job performing the audio version. The voices she gave the men or certain immigrants (Irish, Italian, German) added color and helped to differentiate those characters. It was not always as easy to tell the Mid-western women apart, but this was really a minor issue.
3.5***
In 1922, only a few years before she will become a famous film actress, 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita for a summer in New York City. Much to her annoyance, her parents have hired a neighbor to accompany her as chaperone. Cora Carlisle is 36-years-old, and her sons have left for college, so her husband can certainly do without her for a few weeks. But Cora has her own private reason for making the trip. She has her hands full with the impetuous and arrogant Louise, but while her charge is in dance class all day, Cora is able to work towards her own goals. What she learns – about herself and others – isn’t what she was expecting, but will change how she lives the rest of her life.
Louise Brooks is a real person and Moriarty uses some of the facts of her life as the framework for telling Cora’s story. The novel is really a character study of one woman’s awakening. When we meet her, Cora is focused on presenting a certain image (and later on maintaining it), and her neighbors and acquaintances all recognize her sterling character. She has a steady, loving marriage and two wonderful grown sons. She volunteers for the right charities and belongs to the right clubs. She has become the upstanding, traditional woman she appears to be and which everyone admires. But along the way she has completely lost touch with what she really wants or needs. As exasperating and exhausting as Louise makes things for Cora, the five weeks they spend in New York open Cora’s eyes to possibilities in her own life.
I was caught up in the story from the beginning. I liked the way Moriarty depicted Cora’s developing sense of self. A lifetime of doing what was expected of her, of remaining ignorant of facts or hiding behind small (and large) lies has shaped her, and it is not easy for Cora to step away from the public persona she has created – even in private. Parts One and Two introduce us to Louise and Cora, and detail the time they spend in New York. Part Three picks up when Cora returns to Wichita and covers 50+ years. There are large gaps in time from chapter to chapter, but we do continue to see Cora grow and the effects of her awareness on those around her. Still, the momentum of the story slows considerably in the last hundred pages.
Elizabeth McGovern does a fine job performing the audio version. The voices she gave the men or certain immigrants (Irish, Italian, German) added color and helped to differentiate those characters. It was not always as easy to tell the Mid-western women apart, but this was really a minor issue.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
1.0
I bought this book expecting chick-lit, what I got was one woman's saga. First off, nothing is known of Louise Brook's real chaperone in New York. Moriarty made up the character of Cora. More than that, she made up an entire life for her.
As I mentioned while I was reading this book, I don't like Cora. Her high moral standards in the beginning of the book -SPOILERS- change suddenly and dramatically after her love affair with Joseph and this doesn't make her more likeable. The book should have ended after she found her birthmother or when Louise left New York, but no, it goes on to the 1970s, with a 90-something-year-old Cora happy about the first gay pride parades.
I didn't enjoy this book, Cora grated my nerves and bratty Louise even more so. In fact, most of the characters are not likable. I only finished the book because it was an audiobook and I listened to it during traffic.
As I mentioned while I was reading this book, I don't like Cora. Her high moral standards in the beginning of the book -SPOILERS- change suddenly and dramatically after her love affair with Joseph and this doesn't make her more likeable. The book should have ended after she found her birthmother or when Louise left New York, but no, it goes on to the 1970s, with a 90-something-year-old Cora happy about the first gay pride parades.
I didn't enjoy this book, Cora grated my nerves and bratty Louise even more so. In fact, most of the characters are not likable. I only finished the book because it was an audiobook and I listened to it during traffic.
shareen17's review against another edition
4.0
A woman spends a month in New York chaperoning a young Louise Brooks - future silent film star. This experience changes her world view and the course of the rest of her life.
cwalter01's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Good read.
myriadreads's review against another edition
5.0
In 1922, the future film star Louise Brooks is only 15 years old. She’s intelligent, beautiful, and rebellious. 36-year-old Cora Carlisle is a well-to-do wife and mother with two grown children and a quiet house. She fought for women’s suffrage, but she still wears her corset faithfully and keeps her knees covered. Together, the two journey to New York City so that Louise can study dance at the famous Denishawn dance school. Cora signs on as a chaperone, but her own hidden reasons for wanting to journey to New York emerge as the story unfolds. After five weeks in New York, Cora goes home to Wichita as a very different woman.
Cora’s challenges with family and society during the turbulent years after her return raise questions for readers about morality, sexuality, and social conventions. Details from Louise Brooks’ troubled life in the spotlight are interspersed through the story, so that the lives of two very different women are set against the backdrop of the changing times.
This book hits so many important social issues that we still struggle with today, including women's rights, racial equality, and gay rights, but it never feels contrived. Moriarty chose the perfect era, and tells her story through the eyes of a woman who lives the better part of an amazing century.
The characters are real--rounded, flawed, and inspiring. I've read this one twice now, and I feel confident that I'll read it again...and enjoy it even more than I did before.
Cora’s challenges with family and society during the turbulent years after her return raise questions for readers about morality, sexuality, and social conventions. Details from Louise Brooks’ troubled life in the spotlight are interspersed through the story, so that the lives of two very different women are set against the backdrop of the changing times.
This book hits so many important social issues that we still struggle with today, including women's rights, racial equality, and gay rights, but it never feels contrived. Moriarty chose the perfect era, and tells her story through the eyes of a woman who lives the better part of an amazing century.
The characters are real--rounded, flawed, and inspiring. I've read this one twice now, and I feel confident that I'll read it again...and enjoy it even more than I did before.
booksconnectus's review against another edition
5.0
I never wanted this book to end.....I thought it was a simple and straight-forward story about a middle-aged lady chaperoning a young girl to New York in the early 20's....it was sooooo much more than that.....the first surprise was that Louise Brooks was a real person!!!!!!! I won't spoil the rest of the story for you...but it's unbelievable what all Laura Moriarty fits into this book. I felt like I gained a much better understanding about America's history. It was also a good reminder to open our minds....and that our generation really isn't and different or better than the previous ones and that we all faced more or less the same sort of struggles and the younger generation was always misunderstood by the older and that this will probably always be the way. I want to read more by this author!! So many plesant surprises and a wonderful storyteller.
nikki_in_niagara's review against another edition
3.0
Fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks (soon to be famous silent screen star) goes to New York City to dance for a famous school but needs a chaperone. Middle-aged married Cora is that chaperone. The book mostly concentrates on Cora while detailing Louise's career and fall from grace as a side story.
I enjoyed this, my first foray back into historical fiction in decades. This slow-moving story continues to bring content to the reader, hitting emotions and bringing mysteries along. The first reveal is shocking and unexpected changing our view of Cora. I enjoyed her as a character and felt for her. This has piqued my interest in historical fiction again. This was set in my preferred era of the 1830s to the 1930s, this taking place mainly in the 1920s.
I enjoyed this, my first foray back into historical fiction in decades. This slow-moving story continues to bring content to the reader, hitting emotions and bringing mysteries along. The first reveal is shocking and unexpected changing our view of Cora. I enjoyed her as a character and felt for her. This has piqued my interest in historical fiction again. This was set in my preferred era of the 1830s to the 1930s, this taking place mainly in the 1920s.
jaschultze's review against another edition
3.0
Disappointing and not what I expected. It seemed less a tale of the relationship between these two women than an epic march through women's history of the 20th century.
traceyelder's review against another edition
3.0
I'd actually like to give this book 3.5 stars, not just three, but I can't. I thought it was really fascinating and I love the time period, and I'm interested in the subjects addressed throughout the book (women's rights, birth control, homosexuality, temperance, etc.). The only problem is that I think the author tried to do too much. The book either needed to be longer and go into greater depth, or cut some of the subjects out.