Elizabeth Gilbert really sets the scene with this stunning book set in the 1940s. The imagery is so vivid and the characters feel so real and relatable. Vivian was so funny and had a wonderful sense of humour. Despite us living totally different lifestyles (and living in different eras!) she started to feel like a really good friend - I loved that we got to see her grow up. I would love to see some sort of spin off novel.

This book was such a delight to read! It was funny as well as witty, but most importantly it was fun and uninhibited. I do wish there was more talk of the recklessness but I can also see why the author chooses to steer away from it, in case it became sordid. In any case, it was lovely reading about someone looking back on their past and being hilariously honest and frank about the privileges of their life and how they loved the fun they had. Definitely, something more women should be happy to revel in!

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert is mostly set in 1940s New York, from the point of view of Vivian Morris, then a 19 year old, good at sewing, but we are told her story by 95 year old Vivian, set in the present day.

Vivian has had a boring upbringing, and is ready for adventure, so when she can go and live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a rundown theatre, in a run down part of New York, she is thrilled. When they discover that she can sew, they make her the seamstress, and she is surrounded by the glamorous people of the theatre, and is soon going out on the town with them.

This was a very evocative story, with the characters enjoyable, and flawed. I really enjoyed reading Vivian's life story, even if there were moments when you wanted to reach into the book and shake her.

This was the first fiction book that I've read by Elizabeth Gilbert, but I have previously really enjoyed a couple of her non-fiction books; Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, and the famous Eat, Pray, Love (I also really liked the film with Julia Roberts!).

City of Girls was published on 4th June 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Publishing (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

I actually wasn't patient enough to read this through, but as much as I did read, I actually enjoyed. The book is luxuriant, fabulous, shiny, fashionable and daring.

I love the way the author is putting things in action. I love the idea of creating a similarity or equality within our world. If women want to be sexual beings, then there should be as much of a shame as it is for men. Every human being is different from the another but similar to others. We like and dislike different things that we should not be judged so harshly for.

So, as much as I read in the book, I don't feel the need to judge, which is the point of all this.

Not what I expected from the author of "Eat Pray Love" but perhaps that is a reason for an extra star.
She set out to explore female promiscuity in a situation where it did not destroy or overpower the character of the protagonist. The novel is a life history of Vivian Morris told from her perspective of a 95 yer old woman who had an eventful life particularly in the theatrical world of New York in the 1940's. Her main interests and skills were sex and sewing. She put both to good use! I loved the way in which Elizabeth Gilbert describes life in New York when Vivian arrives during World war II. I found it very absorbing and finished it quickly.

Oh My! This was a heavenly romp of a read. It is Sex and the City decades before Carrie and the girls arrived. City of Girls could only ever have been based in New York. It is clever, without moralising, touching without being melodramatic and there are girl codes to live by on every page. I adore Liz Gilbert’s writing. This is one for die-hard fans and also anyone who secretly enjoys a sexy bonkbuster. Bravo and more please!

A fabulous story- a great read. Saying that it is a slow burner but it is worth sticking with it.
Well written. Great characters and story
Thank you to both NetGalley Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

This book is magical! It is a rollicking rollercoaster of a ride about all the facets of being a woman. Set in the 1920s but resonates across the decades. As with all of Gilbert's writing, it is beautiful with almost every line quotable. I cannot recommend this book enough - read it!!

I loved the last novel that Elizabeth Gilbert wrote more than enough to rush to read any more that she might send out into the world, and when I read two things she said about this book I was quite sure that it would be very different and very wonderful.

<i> “I’ve longed to write a novel about promiscuous girls whose lives are not destroyed by their sexual desires”

“My goal was to write a book that would go down like a champagne cocktail- light and bright, crisp and fun.”</I>

I’d say that she succeeded in those aims in this story of Vivian Morris, a nineteen year-old college drop-out with a talent for sewing sent to stay with an aunt in New York by her wealthy parents.

The choice of time and place was wonderful – a big city in the summer of 1940, when Europe was at war but the USA hadn’t become involved, though a great many people thought that it was just a matter of time before it was. There was definitely something in the air that summer.

Vivian’s Aunt Peg was the proprietor of a theatre company, and a wonderfully unconventional woman. The Lily Playhouse a very small company in a run down neighbourhood that just about made ends meet, by knowing what the local audience wanted and could afford and delivering just that.

I don’t think I’ve known – or read – anything like that, but Elizabeth Gilbert brought that world, and everything and everyone in it, to life and she pulled me right in to the story.

A wonderful set-up like that needed exactly the right heroine, and that’s exactly what Elizabeth Gilbert provided. Had I not done enough in my first year at Vassar to pass into my second year I would have been heartbroken. Vivian was a little abashed, but she was philosophical, and she accepted her parents’ plans for her with good grace.

She arrived in New York armed with a suitcase and a sewing machine; and she quickly found a niche, as her aunt’s company had never had a seamstress before, and she had a good eye for what would and wouldn’t suit people as well as a gift for making the most glamorous outfits out of the humblest materials.

The showgirls of the company were delighted with that and they drew Vivian into their circle. They were out every night after the show, joyfully taking part in everything that their city had to offer after dark.

When the legendary English actress Edna Watson was stranded in New York, old ties of friendship brought her to the Lily Theatre. Peg’s husband, a successful Hollywood screenwriter came home to create exactly the right show for her the company’s most ambitious show ever. Vivian is entranced by the magic of that show, and intoxicated by her romance with the young leading man.

I found just as much magic in the story and the colourful cast of characters as Vivian found in her life; but I saw pitfalls that she didn’t. Her fall from grace was sudden. I saw it coming and I wanted to pull her back from it, but of course I couldn’t. She made one terrible mistake and her life in New York fell to pieces.

Vivian learned some very hard lessons. She hated how badly people thought of her, and in time she learned that while she might be forgiven for youthful mistakes the consequences of her actions would continue to reverberate. She made some more mistakes as she tried to find her way, but eventually realised that she had to accept that she couldn’t change the past and take responsibility for her own future,

<i>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.</i>

The second act of her life – and of this book – drew on the best bits of the first to make something that was quite different but just as wonderful. It covered a great many years, they flew by, and I only wish that a little more time could have been spent exploring different things that happened over those years.

I loved Vivian. She was a real, fallible woman, slightly out of step with the age she lived in, but live she certainly did; and as she told her own story her voice rang true. It was clear that she was telling that story to someone in particular, but the identity of that person didn’t become clear until the end of the book. It was a lovely surprise, but it made me think again about the balance of the book, because I didn’t think that Vivian would have gone into quite so much detail about events in the first part of the book and that she would have said more about events later on to that person.

That balance was the only thing that disappointed me about this book.

I loved the story, I loved the cast of characters, and I loved the author’s insight and what she had to say in this book.

If I had been told that this novel was a true story I would not have been surprised, because the characters and the world about them lived and breathed, and there were so many moments and so many things that happened – both likely and unlikely – that felt just like real life.

Vivian’s life was colourful, and it was very well lived.

Her story was distinctive and memorable; and I think that her telling did exactly what it was intended to do.

In a memoir-like letter of correspondence, an elderly Vivian Morris details her life story, in order to answer a question that she has been asked. Vivian begins telling her story from 1940, when at nineteen-years-old, she was sent to live with her Aunt in New York City, where her new home was her Aunt’s theatre; the Lily Playhouse.
Whilst there, Vivian’s eyes were opened to a brand-new world of showbiz and exuberant lifestyles filled with fashion, excitement and promiscuity. What transpires from here was a life of fun, desire, sorrow and shame that is ultimately an interesting life worth reading about.
City of Girls is a coming-of-age story across one woman’s lifespan filled with delight and grief, to make a wonderous and deeply emotional read.

You know when you’ve read a good book; when you close the boards having just finished the last page, and let out a sigh of contentment, joy and whatever else someone can feel. That’s what I had here. This was truly a pleasure to read. For me, this is one of those rare gems that is quite special.

This reads like a memoir; I felt like I was sitting down to hear my grandmother’s life story – and I simply couldn’t get enough. The way this story is narrated, felt like I was being made privy to secrets, scandals and such sentiment that comes from a good storyteller. I never wanted it to end.
As the book read like an endearing swansong, it was easy to connect with both the story and its narrator, Vivian. The reader goes on her journeys of first love, questionable choices and influences, great successes and profound mistakes and regrets (to name a few).

Gosh, there was such heart-clenching moments in this. I really can't express the poignancy Elizabeth Gilbert has captured, of someone looking retrospectively at their life. Vivian didn't see what or where she was going wrong at 19, but with the benefit (and tragic beauty) of hindsight, she saw all of these faults in her old age. And faults of other people.

In addition to Vivian, this has a colourful cast of characters. Vain young girls, competent women, gentle women, untrustworthy and arrogant men, traumatised men, people heavily influenced by their social class. There’s more. These great and varied character made this story as enjoyable as it was.

The setting of New York in the 1940s was illustrated so vividly, it was hard not to be immersed in it. I loved The Lily Playhouse, it almost felt as alive as the characters due to vibrancy and its witness to all the on goings.
City of Girls is perfect for fans of theatre and musicals, as it takes the reader through the joys and perils of what being a showman or show woman, backstage crew etc., is all about.

I liked the message behind the angles of women and promiscuity, as the author herself confronts in her author's introduction. However, toward the end of the story, I felt it became a little overkill, and I no longer felt like I had as much of a connection to Vivian as I did at one point. But I strongly admire the portrayal of a female character who is confident in herself that she didn't need marriage or a man to define her or what a woman's fulfilment and happiness can be.

Additionally, toward the end of the book, I felt some chapters were a way to try and showboat knowledge of WW2, particularly Frank’s chapter. It really dimmed the fun and the awe that had consistently been building across the novel for me. Plus, with the amount of focus on WW2, it would have been interesting to have some focus on The Cold War too.

But most importantly, my favourite part of the overall story is what the power of something can do to one’s life.
The power of change – be it through WW2, growing up, losses and success.
The power of mistakes and guilt – the shame a person can feel.
The power of hindsight – the realisation that you were wrong, that you were right, or maybe someone else was/wasn’t.
The power of unpredictability – as life is rarely black and white.
The power of knowing oneself – because that’s one of the greatest and satisfying accomplishments one can achieve.
The extent of how all of these occurrences influence and shape a person was my favourite theme of this story.

Overall, I read this within three days and I’m rating it 5 stars. Are you ever simply floored by a book you’ve read? Enjoyed it so much, and can explain why, but equally at the same time, can’t explain it too? That’s what’s happened here. It feels like I’ve lived a full life in the space of a couple of days. This is a charming story, and I recommend it without hesitation. But, I also respect that this is the kind of story that is either one's cup of tea, or it's not.
I think it’s an essential book in helping young ladies know their worth is what they define it, and that life is worth living to the fullest potential by whatever means bring us as much happiness as possible. Thank you, Elizabeth Gilbert, for sharing this story.
Thank you kindly to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an e-copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

"City of Girls" is truly what Elizabeth Gilbert wanted it to be. A sharp, bubbly and fizzy novel about life, love, sensuality and grasping life with both hands.

Told from the perspective of Vivian Morris, now in her nineties, "City of Girls" is a story of her life told to unknown Angela. We meet our heroine as a young and hopeful girl freshly arrived to New York in summer 1940, where she stays with her Aunt Peg, a theater proprietress and all together unconventional free spirit. New York is for Vivian full of glitz, glamour and sex, and she throws herself into it with abandon - there is theatre, showbiz, beautiful girls, dashing men, dancing, alcohol and sex. VIvian's life is an unbridled chase of pleasures, until one night she makes a mistake, which will force her to reevaluate her life. But do not fret - it is not a book about a heroine who repents for her sins. It is a story of a woman who stays true to herself and is not afraid to say it.

I admit, I am still trying to make sense of what I think about "City of Girls"! I loved the story of young Vivian and her pursuit of excitement and happiness,. She is a great narrator - funny and sarcastic, and she is now able to see her own life with the perspective of time, she is honest as well as vain. I really liked other characters too, especially Aunt Peg and I enjoyed a lot reading about 40s New York. The book is itself a pacy romp, which was a pleasure to read and made me howl with laughter in places.

However, the massive jump in time that happens in the last quarter of the book, although understandable from the perspective of the story, changed the whole pace of the book to me; and that part felt much more rushed, compared with the rest. I guess otherwise the book would be simply too long, but somehow this made that part of Vivian's life feel like it was less significant than the rest of it, despite the importance of events taking place (trying to be cryptic to avoid spoilers...) Despite this, I thought "City of Girls" was a great read and I will be definitely reading more of Gilbert's books.

Me and this book did not get along well. I lost interest about a fifth in and did not finish.

I loved the build up of the character in the beginning. And yay, a sewing machine, I agree, is an essential tool in any one household.

It was the Elizabeth Gilbert book I read and I quite liked it.
It's enjoyable and entertaining, full of joy de vivre and some sombre moments.
I liked Vivian, a likable and well written characters, the well researched background and the plot.
There were a couple of issues with the book length, I think that it's much too long and some parts seems more filler that evolution of the story, and the pace that was sometimes too fast or too slow.
On a general level a very good book, recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I am very confused by this book. Some sections really enjoyable and less so.
A young woman is thrown into 1940’s New York under the guardianship of her less than conventional aunt. She flourishes in the her aunt’s world and takes full advantage of her location and talents.
Guilty of trying to pull all the ends together by the end of the book.

I started to read this book at 11pm in the night and I couldn't stop. I think it was Gilbert's best book till now. I was hooked even from writer's preface. I LOVED Vivian as a character. The story is set in 1940s New York, and I really felt myself transported to that time and place. I imagines the streets, the people, the clothes, everything. I started highlighting at the beginning, but I just gave up, because you can't highlight the whole book, can you? It was a very easy going, approachable, fun, very witty book with writing that just flows.
The storytelling talent Gilbert has is just remarkable. This book was worth the wait, and I'd read anything she writes.

Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for granting my wish, I'm thrilled I read an early copy of this book.

A great story which I really enjoyed. The impression of a New York theatre before the war was one full of life and you could imagine this slightly seedy world. The characters had depth and you felt for them through all of their trials.

I really enjoyed this book, although struggled a bit in the early stages. It seemed to build in momentum as it progressed and became an interesting read

This definitely feels like a book of two halves: the first is a glorious rush of youthful hedonism, and is just so *joyous*. The characters leap off the page and the boho background of a slightly ramshackle neighbourhood theatre is rendered with loving detail from the stunning showgirls to the quiet songwriter, the English star who can't return to London during the Blitz to the Hollywood writer who creates the surprising mega-hit musical ' City of Girls'. The writing flows, Vivie is an adorable ingenue who soon loses all her inhibitions, drinking, carousing and sleeping her way around 1940 Manhattan.

Then something happens that stops her life in its tracks and as Pearl Harbour happens in the background, Vivie's life takes a soberer turn, a putting away of youth. This half of the books felt far more 'told' to me as we're very conscious of Vivie speaking to a correspondent. It's still interesting, especially in its depiction of an independent woman who doesn't conform to gendered expectations, but doesn't have the same life and joie de vivre of the first half - age is inevitable, and we feel it in the tone of the story. To compensate, there is a lovely, unusual love story though it's quite late before it appears.

Gilbert's writing flows so easily that I picked up this book to just dip in... and found myself having read a third without even noticing! With a definite feminist slant, wisdom and an easy style with words, this slides down so easily. The first half is outstanding, the second quieter - a lovely book that I enjoyed immensely.

As a fan of Eat, pray, love I was thrilled to read this book. This was a fun and exciting read that was bursting with life. The characters sang from the page and I love the vivid early years of historical NYC my favourite place in the world.

A must read for NYC fans.