CITY OF GIRLS

Blair Brown delivers a superb narration of Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel, which features the recollections of a 95-year-old New York seamstress who came of age during WWII. Brown’s straightforward, charming depiction illuminates the vivacious young woman the wistful elderly narrator remembers, and her conversational pacing creates vibrant pictures for the listener. In 1940, after Vivian dropped out of Vassar and moved to Manhattan to help her aunt run a decrepit theater company, she discovered the joys of an unbridled sex life and the idiosyncrasies of the acting community. She also created stunning costumes for the company, including a middle-aged British actress memorably rendered by Brown. The storytelling device of the main character writing a letter is a bit clumsy, but the novel is entertaining. N.M.C. 2020 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2019]