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angus_mckeogh's review
4.0
As with some previous classics I can see why this book would be slotted in with those. It all revolves around topics discussed and the period of time in which the book was published. Sex (with women as sexual beings), drugs, alcohol (during prohibition), infidelity, marriage, men with younger women, suicide, theft, and just all around unsavory behavior, but the best part was the story was interesting as well. My biggest shock with the book and author was reading that O’Hara has the most short stories ever published in The New Yorker. Frankly I’d never heard of him. Good news; he’s written a good number of other books as well.
sidjtu's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Disappointing, the main storyline is promising but the constant diversions failed to hold my interest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
rubberrosebooks's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Misogyny
lauraxbakker's review
3.0
I really enjoyed the writing style but only fairly enjoyed the story itself. To me it wasn't that interesting but I think that back in the era this was written, it must have been thrilling to read a book like this.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting book that tells the tale of Gloria Wandrous and her life. The time is 1930, post stock market crash, the depression is looming and speakeasies are the place to be. Gloria is a young woman who the narrator describes would have been a flapper had she been born a mere ten years earlier.
This is a sad tale, no one seems particularly happy or successful. There are people with money, but there are also men cheating on their wives, getting beaten up in bars, a high probability of alcoholism...Ahh, New York City in the 1930s.
Definitely an interesting read!
This is a sad tale, no one seems particularly happy or successful. There are people with money, but there are also men cheating on their wives, getting beaten up in bars, a high probability of alcoholism...Ahh, New York City in the 1930s.
Definitely an interesting read!
zdkb24's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't quite love this novel, but the portrait it draws of New York City in the nineteen-thirties felt remarkably true. The speakeasies, the apartments, the clothes, the financial squeeze, all that stuff is so vibrant.
carmelitasays's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
erinray82's review against another edition
3.0
I feel rather divided about this book. I believe that I didn't enjoy it more because it lacked something that let me emotionally connect to the characters in a consistent way. It was choppy in that regard. It was very matter of fact, very linear. There were spells where I would read steadily, following along and trying not to be bored to tears. And them, I'd just fall in, like an unexpected drop off in a swimming pool. I'd find myself deep into some truly beautiful writing. It would be descriptive, it would be profound, and in those moments I truly felt like I knew these characters and new them well. In those moments I could identify. And then I would be jolted out, like some abrupt and jarring rescue, and I'd go about linearly again, taking in nothing but facts about the Depression, prohibition, and the practiced manner in which men and women spoke to one another in the 20s and 30s. I found the speech both lovely and infuriating. The language was elevated, practiced, witty in a way it isn't now, thoughtful and evocative in a way I can't perfectly explain. Women were coy and manipulative, even in language. Men were heavy handed and spoke above women, but had blaring moments of protectiveness that made them seem like gentlemen. On the other hand, nobody really says what they mean, or rarely, if ever. It's all about reading between the lines... a task I found amusing on the good days, annoying on all the others.
blueyorkie's review against another edition
5.0
John O'Hara's novel, BUtterfield 8 (the title came from Gloria's telephone exchange when phone numbers were a combination of letters and numbers), differs considerably from Elizabeth Taylor's film. A significant contrast is set in 1931, the beginnings, but not yet the depths of the Depression, in a New York City where Prohibition is still in force—spent that a great deal of time drifting from one speakeasy to another, a portrait of a city starved for alcohol. It takes a while for Gloria Wandrous to focus as the book's central character, as it begins as a kaleidoscopic portrait of the city and its inhabitants. The torn evening gown and the stolen mink coat, so memorable in the film, propel the plot forward. In the movie, the trio of Gloria, Liggett, and her friend, Eddie (as played by the hopelessly inept Eddie Fisher) eventually takes control of the narrative.