Monday, July 6, 2015

Searching for Grace Kelly

I just loved this first novel by Michael Callahan, set in the famous Barbizon Hotel for Women in NYC in the 1950's. Callahan has really captured a moment in time, and tells an entertaining story about three very different women along the way.

Beautiful Smith College undergrad Laura has come to NYC to do a summer internship with Mademoiselle. When she arrives at the Barbizon she is assigned a room with Dolly, a sunny working-class girl attending secretarial school. Soon they meet Vivian, a gorgeous Brit who loves to break the rules. The three become fast friends, and help each other through the trials of being young women in a city and a society where the rules for proper behavior are being rewritten everyday.

Callahan has a great ear for dialog and seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from Hepburn/Tracy comedies. The characters are smart, literate, and endearing. This is a wonderful and quick read.

Searching for Grace Kelly

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