City Of Girls: Taking You To The 1940s

The book is a long, lengthy letter penned by Vivian, a nonagenarian, to Angela, narrating her life-story. We travel with Vivian back when she was nineteen and arrive in New York City with her, to experience its charms and quirks in the 1940s. From there, it is a very interesting and transformative journey, for both Vivian and the readers.

• This was a very different read for me. I went in the book expecting it to be a "period romance" and came out experiencing something entirely different. That's what the protagonist Vivian does to you. She definitely does not fit in the typical idea of a girl from 1940s and she shatters all such notions in the first few chapters. She is a gay and lively girl, who chooses to live life in her own terms. Her transformation from a girl to woman without fundamentally changing herself to society's dictum is what makes this book very special.

• The first part of the book is full of her gay revelries. It was fun to read but got boring after a while. Some parts here made me a bit uncomfortable while reading and after a point, I almost DNFed the book. Yet there was this small thread in the book that made me turn the pages and kept me hooked and rightfully so, for the second part of the book blew me away.

• The second part is full of significant, poignant moments yet nothing was stressed on too much. It may be a deterrent for some but for me that's the beauty of the book: you can read it as a fun light read and be happy and you can also delve deep and appreciate the significant truths portrayed beautifully. At the end, you'd feel like the initial chapters were very necessary for the later chapters to have the impact it does.

• The only other criticism I have is the mode of letter to narrate the tale. It could have worked well as a story in itself, maybe a narration to Angela in person could have worked as well.

• Overall, I really enjoyed this. Highly recommend this.

• Rating: 4/5☆