Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
Ratings13
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings13
Average rating4.1
NOW A NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER A love letter to city life in all its guts and grandeur, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney paints a portrait of a remarkable woman across the canvas of a changing America: from the Jazz Age to the onset of the AIDS epidemic; the Great Depression to the birth of hip-hop. “In my reckless and undiscouraged youth,” Lillian Boxfish writes, “I worked in a walnut-paneled office thirteen floors above West Thirty-Fifth Street...” She took 1930s New York by storm, working her way up writing copy for R.H. Macy’s to become the highest paid advertising woman in the country. It was a job that, she says, “in some ways saved my life, and in other ways ruined it.” Now it’s the last night of 1984 and Lillian, 85 years old but just as sharp and savvy as ever, is on her way to a party. It’s chilly enough out for her mink coat and Manhattan is grittier now—her son keeps warning her about a subway vigilante on the prowl—but the quick-tongued poetess has never been one to scare easily. On a walk that takes her over 10 miles around the city, she meets bartenders, bodega clerks, security guards, criminals, children, parents, and parents-to-be, while reviewing a life of excitement and adversity, passion and heartbreak, illuminating all the ways New York has changed—and has not. Lillian figures she might as well take her time. For now, after all, the night is still young. “Transporting...witty, poignant and sparkling.” —People (People Picks Book of the Week)
Reviews with the most likes.
In our lives, we sometimes run across people who take our breath away with their zest, their wit, their purpose, their zing. Lillian Boxfish is one of those sorts of people. She's clever, brilliant really, and full of resolve for her life. She is an ad copywriter and a poet, and, as I read along, I couldn't believe how real she seemed. At the end of the book, I found out why: she was real; the author based Lillian Boxfish, in part, on the life of Margaret Fishback.
This may be the best novel I read this year.
I always enjoy a story with a strong MC and Lillian does not disappoint. I fell in love with her wit and determination. Reading her struggles, how she coped and dealt with hard life decisions really hit home. She handled it all with patience, grace, quiet solitude, and respectfulness that we can all learn from.
It's hard for me to pinpoint why I didn't love this book - and it's probably closer to 3.5 stars, almost 4 just based on my book club discussion (I love these discussions because people point out things I may have missed, book clubs are the best). There was a lot going on with this book, and maybe that's why I didn't love it. Lillian goes on a walk on New Year's Eve in NYC, 1985. And basically the book flips back and forth between her walk and little snippets of her life that have led to her choices today.
This book meanders, but so do walks I suppose. But I didn't see a large theme or even smaller themes, there was too much going on. There was some reference to working on Madison Avenue in the 1930s - but not enough exploration of the sexism and how it affected Lillian.
There was a suicide attempt - but not enough exploration of what leads to the suicide attempt and frankly it seemed very out of character for Lillian.
There was some reference to the crime that was rampant in NYC in the 70s and 80s - but not enough exploration of how it came to be and how it affected Lillian.
A lot of things Lillian did later in life didn't seem to follow logically from the character the author introduced. But maybe that's part of the appeal - you can't put Lillian Boxfish in a box, which is probably more true to real life than most book characters.
Books
7 booksIf you enjoyed this book, then our algorithm says you may also enjoy these.
