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veloci_rachel 's review for:
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
by Kathleen Rooney
At first this was a 3-star review for me, but the more I thought about this book the more I found wrong with it. It started out so wonderfully; at first glance, Lillian is very likable and I was so engaged by the premise of a retrospective on her time as a working woman in New York City in the 1920's, 30's, and 40's. I liked reading about the history of advertising, the clash between professional passion and motherhood, and seeing NYC change over time through Lillian's eyes.
However, the book never really takes off. It stays flat in terms of tone and pace, and halfway through I stopped wanting to hear more of Lillian's story and didn't really care if she finished her walk. Her shmaltzy run-ins with all walks of life around NYC felt like Rooney was waving a neon sign in my face reading #NotAllOldPeople / #NotAllWhiteWomen. And even when Lillian gets to show us how enlightened she is about race and women's rights, her attitude towards money is so privileged and her off-hand remarks about how other people suffered during the Depression and WW2 were deeply gross to me.
I skimmed after page 200 and I don't feel like I missed much.
However, the book never really takes off. It stays flat in terms of tone and pace, and halfway through I stopped wanting to hear more of Lillian's story and didn't really care if she finished her walk. Her shmaltzy run-ins with all walks of life around NYC felt like Rooney was waving a neon sign in my face reading #NotAllOldPeople / #NotAllWhiteWomen. And even when Lillian gets to show us how enlightened she is about race and women's rights, her attitude towards money is so privileged and her off-hand remarks about how other people suffered during the Depression and WW2 were deeply gross to me.
I skimmed after page 200 and I don't feel like I missed much.