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City of Girls cover art

City of Girls

Written by: Elizabeth Gilbert
Narrated by: Blair Brown
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Publisher's Summary

The blazingly brilliant new novel from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the international best seller Eat Pray Love: a glittering coming-of-age epic stitched across the fabric of a lost New York.

It is the summer of 1940. Nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris arrives in New York with her suitcase and sewing machine, exiled by her despairing parents. Although her quicksilver talents with a needle and commitment to mastering the perfect hair roll have been deemed insufficient for her to pass into her sophomore year of Vassar, she soon finds gainful employment as the self-appointed seamstress at the Lily Playhouse, her unconventional Aunt Peg's charmingly disreputable Manhattan revue theatre. There, Vivian quickly becomes the toast of the showgirls, transforming the trash and tinsel only fit for the cheap seats into creations for goddesses.

Exile in New York is no exile at all: here in this strange wartime city of girls, Vivian and her girlfriends mean to be free, to get up to no good, to drink the heady highball of life itself to the last drop. And when the legendary English actress Edna Watson comes to the Lily to star in the company's most ambitious show ever, Vivian is entranced by the magic that follows in the wake of this true, true star.

But there are hard lessons to be learned and bitterly regrettable mistakes to be made. Vivian learns that to live the life she wants, she must live many lives, ceaselessly and ingeniously making them new.

'At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is,' she confides. And so Vivian sets forth her story, and that of the women around her - women who have lived as they truly are, out of step with a century that could never quite keep up with them.

©2019 Elizabeth Gilbert (P)2019 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about City of Girls

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BEYOND AMAZING

I found myself laughing, and crying and in deep thought. My heart is happy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful

Delightful book written about a fulfilling lifeline. Recommended by a woman also a senior.

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2 people found this helpful

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Loved it

This is a must listen. A wonderfully epic story. Well written and the perfect narrator.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic reading performance!

I enjoyed the book, the plot lagged a bit in the middle but it was otherwise good. But the performance by Blair Brown was really what made this a great experience for me. she was terrific! I will miss hearing her "Vivian" recounting her life story. loved it.

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Delightful! And screenplay material!!

Looking forward to the film version. Very enjoyable read..or listen! Gilbert did it again. Blair Brown nailed it!

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  • PCR
  • 2022-03-20

Didn't want it to end

Loved the characters in all their flaws, the way the story unfolded. Laughed, shed a tear.

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  • fab
  • 2022-11-08

Great book by an amazing author

I have loved every of this author books! Thos one surprised me a s a bit different.. that been said, it didn’t take much time for me
to be deep into it!
Loved it!!!

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    3 out of 5 stars

Like meeting a new friend.

Easy listen. Wonderfully narrated. Story was interesting enough to hold interest but no big plot twists or surprises. I’ll miss the story like you miss a dear friend.

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Just ok

Really don’t understand how this book got so many rave reviews. The whole idea of this being a letter to someone didn’t work for me as very little of this life story had anything to do with the recipient.
I found the main character annoying but that may have been partially due to the delivery of the narrator. The sarcastic ‘humour’ just left me rolling my eyes.
Not a bad story overall with some interesting historical contexts. Wouldn’t recommend though as I found it to be a bit boring and long winded. Listened to the last half or so at 1x5 just to get it over with.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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ok

I finished it but couldn't wait for it to be over. poor Angela for asking a simple question to get hours of a life story. i found it long and boring,glad it was on sale

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1 person found this helpful