The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

This was a hard book to finish. Too many lines that elicited eyerolls, too many British expressions from Americans. Too many one dimensional characters and boring sidebars.

I read this book for book club, and I chose it because of the link to the NY Public Library and the bookish themes throughout. I truly enjoyed this story split between 1913 and 1993, with two characters from the same family of a fictional famous writer. The 1913 storyline touches on the restrictive role of women during that time, and the groups in NYC at that time trying to change things. The 1993 storyline also examines choices women have available to them, nearly a century later. There are also book thefts in both time periods and complicated relationships. I wish Goodreads would allow me to give half stars because this is a solid 3.5 star rating for me - very much worth my time and very much a good story. Can't wait to discuss with my book club friends!

The book certainly spoke to my library fetish, and the author surely did her homework and sprinkled the book with all kinds of NYPL history and trivia. Part family drama (although really focused on 2 individuals) and part mystery. Honestly, the family drama has been done better (check out Hala Alyan's The Arsonist's City) and the mystery is very guessable (clues are there - kudos to the author), overall, it's a satisfying read. There's a feminist aspect, but that thrust is blunted by its historical nature somewhat, but I appreciated the attempt to grapple with the possible conflicts between family and self-realization. Honestly, read it for the library history and the lions' backstory.