The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Fiona Davis takes iconic New York City buildings and creates richly-imagined stories around them: the Barbizon Hotel for Women in The Dollhouse, The Dakota apartment building in The Address, The Grand Central Terminal in The Masterpiece, and the Chelsea Hotel in The Chelsea Girls.  Her new book, coming out on August 4, brings to life the grand New York Public Library building, weaving together two stories of the people in it.

The first story takes place in the early 1900s when Laura and Jack Lyons and their two children live in the library building for Jack’s caretaking job there.  (While this family is completely fictional, there actually was an apartment in the building used formerly by the library’s superintendents.)  Jack is an aspiring author, and in his off-duty hours, he is completely immersed in  writing a novel.  Laura and their two children make themselves at home as best as possible in the immense and majestic halls of the building, open all day to scholars and readers and quiet as a tomb at night.  Laura has her own aspirations, and she follows her dream of entering the Columbia School of Journalism and becoming a reporter. 

The second story takes place in the early 1990s and features a librarian for the Berg Collection, the world-class research library within this building that contains original manuscripts from authors like Edgar Allen Poe and William Shakespeare as well as memorabilia and oddities belonging to famous writers, such as Charles Dickens' cat paw letter opener.  Sadie Donovan, slightly awkward but completely competent, is thrilled when she is put in charge of highlighting this collection in an upcoming special exhibit.

Both the Lyons and Sadie’s lives at the library are tainted by missing or stolen books and suspicions of their involvement in their loss, but their lives are also entwined in other ways.  The mysteries of the books’ disappearances makes for compelling reading and allows for wonderful behind-the-scenes looks at the library and its system of dumbwaiters along with the marvelous architectural beauties of the place.  Adding to the depth of the story is Laura’s involvement in the bohemian Heterodoxy Club for women and the discussion of the roles and expectations of women, both in 1914 and in the 1990s. 

The enjoyable thing about Davis’ books is the mix of mystery, history, architecture, and societal issues.  Here, there is a certain amount of suspense, some lovely interludes about the music scene in New York enjoyed by Sadie as an escape from her life, and a burly but surprisingly tender detective. 

If you want to know more about this special library, it’s easy to do so at the New York Public Library website where an excellent page of “facts” can start you down the rabbit hole of exploration.  https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/schwarzman/facts


Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss and Netgalley for advance copies.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

Last year, I fell in love with a debut novel called The Flatshare, which was a lovely and very creative story about two people who come together despite themselves.  With its quirkiness, humor, and unusual plot, it was vastly compelling and entertaining reading.  When the author’s  second book was announced, I wondered if she had the ability to pull it off again—not the same story but the same characteristics as the first.  The result is The Switch, publishing on August 18.

When grief overwhelms 29-year-old Leena and she needs a break from her hectic life in London, and her 79-year-old grandmother Eileen wants something more exciting than her current existence in small village Yorkshire, they decide to switch places for two-months time.  Leena agrees to take over all the volunteer jobs her grandmother ably does, while Eileen grabs at a chance of later life romance and signs up on a dating site.  What could go wrong? 

The fun thing from the start is that you expect that maybe younger Leena will succeed and older Eileen will flounder, but that isn’t the way that it actually happens.  Leena finds that her grandmother’s volunteer jobs are much trickier than she expects, and her first episode of dogwalking for a good-looking local teacher’s exuberant dog is downright embarrassing.  Meanwhile, Eileen takes on the dating world with confidence and flair. 

In addition, both women take to their new surroundings and develop friendships with disparate groups of people, who pose problems for their counterparts, but who benefit from the new friendships of granddaughter and grandmother.  Surprisingly, things that are "wrong" seem to have a way of making themselves right with the sheer exuberance and determination of these two women.

The many things I liked about the author's first book are in evidence here--a creative plot, well-defined and unusual characters, humor, and loads of entertainment value.  The author juggles the emotions and stages of grief with aplomb and ably writes about family estrangement, and this is the darker side that gives this book heft.  The sense of community that these two women bring to their new locations is especially heart-warming in these divisive times.

In an interview through Macmillan, author Beth O’Leary talked about how time spent with her grandmother inspired the character of Eileen for this book.  As a tribute to her grandmother, she created an older woman who was at the start of her adventures, and for this portrayal of an "active elder," she is to be commended.  In the interview, she also mentioned that she often says, in response to her friend’s observation about embarrassing moments, “this will be in a book some day.” In fact, it sounds like her own exuberant dog gave her some good ideas about a dog walk gone bad. 

The interview also revealed that she is at work on a third book called The Road Trip about two-days’ time spent with the worst possible combination of people—the ex-boyfriend, his best friend, and a “motley” collection of others.  Based on her first two books, this will be another treat.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for an advance copy of The Switch.