Solos: A Novel

by Kitty Burns Florey

Emily Lime and her equally palindromic dog, Otto, live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (zip code 11211), in a warm community of friends and fellow artists. Her life becomes more complicated when she falls in love with Marcus, a dog-walker and fellow Scrabble nut, whose father is Emily’s shady ex-husband who wants the lovable Emily dead. A mystery unravels, a valuable lost cache of paintings is found, and Emily’s life changes in ways she could not have anticipated.

Genres: Fiction

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2004

About the author

Kitty Burns Florey is a veteran copyeditor and the author of nine novels and many short stories and essays. Her nonfiction book, Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences, was a National Bestseller that has been called "a wistful, charming, and funny ode to a nearly lost art."

An only child born and raised in Syracuse, New York, Florey attended St. John the Baptist Academy from 1st-12th grades, and this parochial school experience would later inform her nonfiction writing. She has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Boston University as well as a master's degree from Syracuse University, also in English Literature.

Her most recent nonfiction book, Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting, is an exploration of the history of handwriting and a meditation on its modern function in the digital age. It will be released in paperback in September 2013.

Amy Tan called Script & Scribble "[A] book every writer would love, a curio cabinet on the art and act of writing," and The Wall Street Journal praised it as "witty and readable."

Her most recent work of fiction is The Writing Master, a historical novel set in New Haven,CT in 1856, which was inspired by her interest in handwriting history. Praise for the book includes this endorsement from Susan Cheever, author of Louisa May Alcott : "I tore through THE WRITING MASTER in one night. It's a murder mystery, a father-daughter story, and a detailed slice of 19th-century New England history -- lovely!"

Florey is working on a sequel to The Writing Master , set in Amherst, MA, where she now lives.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist's name is a palindrome, who lives in a palindrome of a zip code; the chapter titles are palindromes as well. It's as though the book were straining to be cutesy, over-the-top -- yet it wasn't.
Florey has a remarkable gift for evoking place (Williamsburgh, Brooklyn), probably the strongest point of the story. Her characters are well-written, and interesting, although as a group they can be a bit gentrification-ish; I felt more connection with some of the secondaries, than with Emily herself. Technically, there is a plot, but not a lot of suspense; I didn't find that a problem, but was aware that events "drifted" rather than moved.
Much of one chapter concerns that month's meeting of "the Trollope group" to which Emily and Marcus belong. They discuss (debate) points of Dr. Wortle's School, agreeing to read Miss Mackenzie next. Trollope enthusiasts (guilty as charged!) will enjoy Emily's thoughts on that book as she reads it during the second half of Solos.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, light read - definitely try it!

[Diem Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again I am struck by Florey's gift for creating interesting characters. This is a delightful novel. Since I tend to read things that are ultimately depressing, I needed something playful. But by playful I don't mean frivolous. I read straight through without growing impatient and skipping ahead. (Don't judge me.) The setting this time is NYC; a neighborhood with a palindromic zip code and a heroine with a palindromic name. There's a sort of mystery and a sort of romance, but it is finally a celebration of finding one's place in the world. I am going to track down as many books by Kitty Burns Florey that I can.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is almost too quirky for its own good. The first time trying it, I was unaffected by its charms. But the second time stuck. The look at Williamsburg right on the cusp of gentrification felt authentic and I wound up caring about the characters almost in spite of myself.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember anymore where or who this was recommended by, but thank god they did. Florey's quirky writing played particularly well to my own reading sensibilities. She really loves the strange oddities that make up our lives and what at first may sound like a confused, over-wrought plot turns to pure simplicity in her capable hands.

This basic premise here is that Marcus has been asked by his father to kill his ex-wife, Emily Lime. However, there's a bit more to it then that, which I won't give away, but for such a dastardly plot, the book is filled with lovely characters and a cozy setting that made me want to walk right in and grab a cookie (they eat cookies a lot). And just when I thought the plot was the point, alas! It was a message book in disguise!

Emily Lime doesn't like change and neither do I. The author does an admirable job of showing that it isn't all bad though. She also makes unlikely situations seem particularly normal. Women in love was a man 15 years younger than her? Why not? Man happens to secretly be the son of her ex-husband? Of course!

A fun, sweet story about unrequited love, artistic personalities, and the love of a pet, this could have cheered up Sylvia Plath. Definitely recommended, although I have trouble trying to define to who, other than anyone who likes to read. Oh! The cute chapter titles are worth the read alone; they're all palindromes!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I could, I'd actually mark this 4 and a half stars, because while I wouldn't classify it as quite "amazing," it was a great read, the quickness of which belies the emotional depth and richness of the story. Also, I'm a huge word dork, so I loved all the palindroms and word games scattered throughout, AND the heroine's name is Emily-- what's not to love?!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great light summer/cottage read. Interesting, quirky group of characters brought together by words (they like crossword puzzles, palindromes, etc), art and animals/pets.

Emily Lime (a palindrome) is a starving artist, who is in love with her dog-walker, Marcus, who also happens to be her ex-husband, Hart's son - and Hart has asked Marcus to kill Emily...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, fun read about a young woman living in Bklyn - the book is full of jokes that are sophisticated and mature enough to not be silly.
Will look for more books by her - a good, fast read.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fun, light reading with romance, quirky neighbors, mysterious relatives, suspense and mystery.

[Jerry Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is very good but is just a lot of confusing.it seems that the main character Marcus does love his father Hart also Emily thinks that Hart is not a bad person after all

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the quirky characters and the playful nature of Florey's use of language. Definitely a fun read for a former English major. Will definitely seek out some of her other books.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the world she creates and the fun she has with words, but the romance that never came to be was odd, and a few parts of the plot were too obvious.

[rachelraven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just find the premise of the ex wanting the woman dead awkward. Why does he want her dead? And the characters are stilted. I quit about half through. Just can't get through it.