Genre: Memoir
Source: Picked up in the Book Blogger Con swag bag
“Do you remember the best summer of your life?
New York City, 1945. Marjorie Jacobson and her best friend, Marty Garrett, arrive fresh from the Kappa house at the University of Iowa hoping to find summer positions as shopgirls. Turned away from the top department stores, they miraculously find jobs as pages at Tiffany & Co., becoming the first women to ever work on the sales floor—a diamond-filled day job replete with Tiffany blue shirtwaist dresses from Bonwit Teller's—and the envy of all their friends.
Hart takes us back to the magical time when she and Marty rubbed elbows with the rich and famous; pinched pennies to eat at the Automat; experienced nightlife at La Martinique; and danced away their weekends with dashing midshipmen. Between being dazzled by Judy Garland's honeymoon visit to Tiffany, celebrating VJ Day in Times Square, and mingling with Café society, she fell in love, learned unforgettable lessons, made important decisions that would change her future, and created the remarkable memories she now shares with all of us”
From the moment I saw this book I just knew that I had to read it and would love it. Now, I recently had an experience where I hyped a book that I was looking forward to so much, that when I read it and it wasn’t as good as I expected; I was crestfallen. But that was not the case this time and I loved every minute of it. I spent all day on a beautiful Sunday outside reading this book – it was that engrossing.
I have always been enamored with America in the 1920’s-1940’s – my mother always tells me that I was born at the wrong time. Seeing this world through the eyes of Marjorie was just like being there myself. You really got all of the details about fashion and the celebrities they saw while working at Tiffany, the struggles of daily life in NYC, all of the war efforts on the home front. This story encapsulated so many areas of life at this time that the world came to life around you.
This story was so more than just the story of one young woman’s exploits while on summer break from college, but it was the story of the first women to work on the Tiffany’s floor, as well as a historical snapshot of the summer of 1945 in New York City. You saw more than just how these events affected these two girls’ lives, but how they affected the lives of those around them too. You are party to the Empire State Building being hit by a plane, V-J Day, General Eisenhower’s parade through the city, The Queen Mary docking in NYC to release mass amounts of troops home, and much more.
I don’t know what it is about essentially experiencing the life of a normal American in 1945 that made this such an awesome book, but I loved every minute of it! You will certainly not be disappointed if you pick this one up to read – highly recommended.
If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?
You can watch this conversation with the author, Marjorie Hart, as she describes a little about the book and why she wrote it.
Reviews of this book by other bloggers:
Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court
This book sounds absolutely incredible -- I'm also struck by this time period, and I love to read everything about it. Not to mention -- hello, Tiffany's? Yes, can you just imagine working at that amazing store during this incredible time in America's history? How incredible!! Thanks for putting this on my radar!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and this video? The author just seems so wonderful -- I think it touched me the most that she wanted to put something down so that her grandchildren would know what she was like during this amazing time in our country. By doing this and writing it all into a book, we all benefit from learning about this part of the population during the 1940s. I am so intrigued and feel lucky to have a chance to read this one! I am putting it on my wish list!!
This is on my wishlist and is going to be bumped up the queue.
ReplyDeleteI so want this book!
thanks for the review
carol
Coffee and a Book Chick - My sentiments exactly! It would be so incredible to work there, nevermind being the first women to work the floor at such an incredible time. I'm so glad that these sort of regular people decide to write down their memories for us!
ReplyDeleteThis looks amazing! I have to read this book!
ReplyDelete