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Time's a Thief
Francesca "Chess" Varani is an ultra-bright, sassy, but vulnerable Barnard freshwoman from a blue-collar background in the vibrantly gritty New York City of the mid-eighties. She strikes up a volatile and somewhat toxic friendship with drama-queen classmate Kendra Marr-Löwenstein, and falls into the bewitching orbit of her Salingeresque, high-toned family. Upon graduation, she moves into the Marr-Löwenstein house in the West Village as a secretary/girl-of-all-work to the soignèe literary intellectual Clarice Marr (think Susan Sontag but blondly coiffed and dressed in Chanel) and receives the sentimental education and emotional roughing up New York bestows on all of its new arrivals—including a love affair with Clarice's glamorously damaged son, Jerry. The story is related by Chess in sadder but wiser fashion from the distance of a financially beset 2008 and the depths of a crap job taken of necessity, tinged with the poignancy of time and choices made and not made.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2017
20 people are currently reading
783 people want to read
About the author
B.G. Firmani
1 book10 followersB.G. Firmani was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in May 1968. She is the author of the novel Time’s a Thief, published by Doubleday in 2017, and has published short fiction in the Bellevue Literary Review, BOMB, Michigan Review, and Philadelphia Stories. She also (very occasionally) writes a blog about Italian-American literature and folkways called Forte e Gentile. She lives in New York City with her husband, Damian Van Denburgh.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
May 7, 2017
This was that kind of book that you begin and then just fall into – it was engaging and effortless to read. There have been so many stories set in Manhattan and here we go, another one, but I mean, how many narrators give you two coming-of-age stories?!
At the core were Francesca Variani, Italian Catholic, and the Jewish Kendrick Lowenstein, who met as students at Barnard. Chess (Francesca) is inadvertently engulfed in Kendra's dysfunctional family, but her own family was so dysfunctional that she couldn't be objective. I thought it an interesting note that both girls shared the experience of cold emotionless mothers and useless fathers, one distant, the other cruel.
I loved this book on so many levels. The author's descriptions of New York neighborhoods and subways give the setting genuine depth. When she said that Los Sures had Dominican or Puerto Rican flags hanging which looked like something from a Childe Hassam painting, I knew exactly what she meant.
There's a small roster of characters, some more preplexing than others, but you're not left trying to keep track of who did what.. She nailed Clarice in one paragraph: "Lunch with Clarice was an exercise in what it was to be a WASP. Oddly, it seemed to grow in complexity over the course of the week, like the New York Times crossword puzzle."
Chess fell blindly in love with the damaged Jerry, Kendra's brother, and gave up her own ambitions to support his, six passionate and lost years. Her inability to find what she wants to do with her life until well into her 30s seems to be a contemporary phenomena. It's when she looks at her life, compares it to where she's been and the promise she felt was hers, she remembers a song - Love is pure gold and time a thief.
I appreciate a book that entertains me and makes me think at the same time and this book gave me both and more. I'm going to suggest it to my book club.
At the core were Francesca Variani, Italian Catholic, and the Jewish Kendrick Lowenstein, who met as students at Barnard. Chess (Francesca) is inadvertently engulfed in Kendra's dysfunctional family, but her own family was so dysfunctional that she couldn't be objective. I thought it an interesting note that both girls shared the experience of cold emotionless mothers and useless fathers, one distant, the other cruel.
I loved this book on so many levels. The author's descriptions of New York neighborhoods and subways give the setting genuine depth. When she said that Los Sures had Dominican or Puerto Rican flags hanging which looked like something from a Childe Hassam painting, I knew exactly what she meant.
There's a small roster of characters, some more preplexing than others, but you're not left trying to keep track of who did what.. She nailed Clarice in one paragraph: "Lunch with Clarice was an exercise in what it was to be a WASP. Oddly, it seemed to grow in complexity over the course of the week, like the New York Times crossword puzzle."
Chess fell blindly in love with the damaged Jerry, Kendra's brother, and gave up her own ambitions to support his, six passionate and lost years. Her inability to find what she wants to do with her life until well into her 30s seems to be a contemporary phenomena. It's when she looks at her life, compares it to where she's been and the promise she felt was hers, she remembers a song - Love is pure gold and time a thief.
I appreciate a book that entertains me and makes me think at the same time and this book gave me both and more. I'm going to suggest it to my book club.
November 24, 2016
The pace of this novel was a bit slow, and the narrator was almost maddeningly self-reflective, but I enjoyed this book immensely. It offered that rare gift to a reader: something to think about. In fact, lots of things:
. . . . the challenge of understanding (and accepting) what it takes to be true to yourself;
. . . . the poison of envy;
. . . . the compromises we make to put a roof over our head;
. . . . the pain of loving the wrong person;
and, how much pleasure we can find if we stop to enjoy the beauty of the place where we live.
Fireman's book felt over-written in parts, and it mined the same emotional scene quite a few times in different guises, but it was a book that will linger with me for a while---and, that sets it apart from most contemporary fiction.
Net galley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
. . . . the challenge of understanding (and accepting) what it takes to be true to yourself;
. . . . the poison of envy;
. . . . the compromises we make to put a roof over our head;
. . . . the pain of loving the wrong person;
and, how much pleasure we can find if we stop to enjoy the beauty of the place where we live.
Fireman's book felt over-written in parts, and it mined the same emotional scene quite a few times in different guises, but it was a book that will linger with me for a while---and, that sets it apart from most contemporary fiction.
Net galley provided me a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 17, 2017
I'm being super generous here, because zzzzzz. I just don't have the heart to give a one-star, because it feels incredibly labored. It's so overwritten, you really feel the effort in every single sentence, like, I guess you want to get your money's worth from the MFA. But don't they cover the whole show, don't tell thing? Anyway, this should be about a third of its length because nothing happens and the narrator is a snob. This was torture.
January 15, 2017
It seems that "the gritty New York of the 80's" is a thing. As another mentioned I,too, have read this before so this is ground that has been covered. And, dude, I found the usage of current slang during what is supposed to be the 80's jarring and odd. I know, right?
December 22, 2016
I received this as an ARC through Netgalley. I decided to read this as Netgalley flagged it as historical fiction and something I may be interested in. I saw that it was partially based in NYC in the 1980's and thought, why not? Unfortunately, almost 3 weeks later, I can't even get past the half way point of a fairly short book. It feels like nothing of import has happened. Chess is in her head so much, but most of the drama or action seems to be on the light side. Nothing to keep the reader really engaged Plus, the weird Chess side story in modern day. It feels like filler. Nothing to pull you in is happening there. I kept trying to get my head into it and just found after the time I've spent trying to read this, I generally didn't find myself invested in Chess or the story at large.
May 12, 2017
Please Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.
When comparing themselves to the British, American's often pride themselves that their country doesn't have a rigid class system. Rich and poor, alike, can mingle. No one really cares about if your family has money or not. To which I say:
Time's a Thief, by B.G. Firmani, explores themes of entitlement and assumptions, between working-class and wealthy college co-eds at Columbia University. It is a love letter to 80's New York City, and the optimism that only twenty-somethings can possess.
What I Liked:
Characters:
Chess dreams of going to school in New York, and quickly assimilates into college life at Barnard College. With her working class background, she is easily dazzled by her rich new friends, particularly Kendra. Always a people pleaser, she becomes enmeshed in Kendra's family and nearly becomes their servant. She puts up with this treatment because of her own insecurity. I liked how Chess finally comes to terms with her background, and whether Kendra's family will ever consider her their equal. She has a road to travel to understand her own worth.
Jerry is Kendra's brother and later becomes involved with Chess. He is the charming bad boy that everyone wants to save. While I didn't "like" his character, I think he served a purpose in this book. He demonstrates how entitled people make assumptions about others. The bubble he lives in is indicative of white male privilege. He is clueless as to how much Chess does for him, and what she sacrifices to be with him.
Character progression:
Chess narrates the story that spans over twenty years. One of the things I found fascinating was how she went from an optimist to a pessimist, and then found some peace. I think most twenty-somethings have the outlook that the world is their oyster and they will all accomplish great things. As we get older and realize that most of us won't make a serious impact, we can become bitter. I liked how Chess worked through those feelings.
1980's New York:
While I have never been to New York, I was a young person at that time. New York always seemed like the most glamorous place in America. With all the characters going out, even when they don't have money, New York nightlife is showcased. The author does a wonderful job of evoking this time and place.
What I Was Mixed About:
Do all rich people need to be jerks? It seems like every single rich person in this novel is terrible. Each and every one of these characters were truly awful people. I don't think I would want to hang out with them. I found this to be a bit extreme.
When comparing themselves to the British, American's often pride themselves that their country doesn't have a rigid class system. Rich and poor, alike, can mingle. No one really cares about if your family has money or not. To which I say:
Time's a Thief, by B.G. Firmani, explores themes of entitlement and assumptions, between working-class and wealthy college co-eds at Columbia University. It is a love letter to 80's New York City, and the optimism that only twenty-somethings can possess.
What I Liked:
Characters:
Chess dreams of going to school in New York, and quickly assimilates into college life at Barnard College. With her working class background, she is easily dazzled by her rich new friends, particularly Kendra. Always a people pleaser, she becomes enmeshed in Kendra's family and nearly becomes their servant. She puts up with this treatment because of her own insecurity. I liked how Chess finally comes to terms with her background, and whether Kendra's family will ever consider her their equal. She has a road to travel to understand her own worth.
Jerry is Kendra's brother and later becomes involved with Chess. He is the charming bad boy that everyone wants to save. While I didn't "like" his character, I think he served a purpose in this book. He demonstrates how entitled people make assumptions about others. The bubble he lives in is indicative of white male privilege. He is clueless as to how much Chess does for him, and what she sacrifices to be with him.
Character progression:
Chess narrates the story that spans over twenty years. One of the things I found fascinating was how she went from an optimist to a pessimist, and then found some peace. I think most twenty-somethings have the outlook that the world is their oyster and they will all accomplish great things. As we get older and realize that most of us won't make a serious impact, we can become bitter. I liked how Chess worked through those feelings.
1980's New York:
While I have never been to New York, I was a young person at that time. New York always seemed like the most glamorous place in America. With all the characters going out, even when they don't have money, New York nightlife is showcased. The author does a wonderful job of evoking this time and place.
What I Was Mixed About:
Do all rich people need to be jerks? It seems like every single rich person in this novel is terrible. Each and every one of these characters were truly awful people. I don't think I would want to hang out with them. I found this to be a bit extreme.
June 30, 2017
One of the books I have liked very best that I have read recently. Possibly a roman a clef about a young woman from Barnard who, in the 80s, goes to work for a Susan Sontag-like character downtown, Firmani’s novel is also a great deal more than that. It’s more accurately a freewheeling, though highly literary, take on the nature of memory and recollection from a more poignantly painful now. I can think of few novels that have better captured what I remember of the same period, the 80s in NYC, when I was first living there myself. Sure, the novel has a few sentimentalized moments, but mainly the writing is so sharp, and so bittersweet, that you remember much more what she gets right, which is a great deal indeed. This work is a genuine lesson as to what realism can still do, and as such it’s a very, very promising first novel.
September 3, 2017
I received this book as a free giveaway on Goodreads.
This book is well written with a compelling story and well developed characters. I did not give this book five stars for a couple of reasons. I found the author to be a bit pretentious. There are constant extensive references to places with an assumption that the reader is familiar with New York City in the 1980s, and few explanations of those references or why they are relevant. There are many literary references, and although I consider myself to be well read, I did not connect to most. I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with Chess as she floated through her life allowing things to happen to her and never taking initiative. I was pleased when she realized this for herself, but the reader never sees the result of that realization.
This book is well written with a compelling story and well developed characters. I did not give this book five stars for a couple of reasons. I found the author to be a bit pretentious. There are constant extensive references to places with an assumption that the reader is familiar with New York City in the 1980s, and few explanations of those references or why they are relevant. There are many literary references, and although I consider myself to be well read, I did not connect to most. I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with Chess as she floated through her life allowing things to happen to her and never taking initiative. I was pleased when she realized this for herself, but the reader never sees the result of that realization.
July 14, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. It brought back so many memories of life in New York City in the 1980s and after the financial crisis hit. The characters all felt so real to me, especially with the various eccentricities of the Marr-Lowenstein clan, and the book is very funny to read. I was also constantly looking up little references that are made throughout the book to other books, as well as paintings, authors, bands, songs and even types of furniture that I wasn't familiar with, so it was a learning experience too. Really an absolute delight to read. I can't recommend it highly enough. Beautifully written too.
April 26, 2017
DNF @ 43%
This book moved so slow and had no point. It consisted of a narrator who seemed like an 80 year old grandmother reminiscing about her younger days to her grandchildren. And honestly... not an interesting past.
This book moved so slow and had no point. It consisted of a narrator who seemed like an 80 year old grandmother reminiscing about her younger days to her grandchildren. And honestly... not an interesting past.
November 9, 2018
The writer is very smart. That's mostly what this book is about. It's also about the main character's obsession with an awful rich family in New York City. The part I could most relate to is the heaviness of life's reality not matching youthful expectations. Now I sound a million years old.
May 14, 2017
Did you ever have a person or group of people in your life that were horrible for you, but exerted some kind of magical pull on your affections, time and interest? Did you ever know someone who was a bad influence, but you loved being with them? Who treated you horribly but somehow was the best thing that ever happened to you, and the worst all at the same time?
This novel is about such a relationship. The protagonist, "Chess" Varani, is recounting for us her admittedly unhealthy obsession with the amazing, maddening, tantalizing family known as the Marr-Lowensteins. She encounters Kendra first of all, Kendra the flighty, drug-addled, exciting, school-skipping rich kid with whom she forms an immediate inexplicable co-dependent relationship, if it can be called that, which consists mainly of Kendra using Chess for whatever the moment demands and then dropping out of her life for lengths of time. Chess is slowly drawn into the circle of the Marr-Lowensteins, eventually coming to work for the matriarch, Clarice, and must come to terms with her unhealthy relationship with this family, her own needs as a blossoming young adult, and whether or not to sever ties with them in order to go into the world and live a full and healthier life.
The book is a modern, or post-modern, bildungsroman, one that deals with an emotional and intellectual growing-up rather than a physical one. In the 1980s New York in which Chess struggles to survive, the pull from the Marr-Lowensteins is like the thrill of a cheap bodice-ripper: you know it's horrible for your constitution, but you just can't pull yourself away and have to read just one more chapter. The Marr-Lowensteins are dysfunctional in the extreme, and Clarice seems to be the chief culprit. Once taken under her wing, Chess can't seem to get out from under it, although she knows she is entangling herself in the family sickness.
As a coming of age tale, this is very well done. The Marr-Lowensteins become a surrogate family for Chess, one she is desperate for, at the same time that she realizes she's got to break away and live her own life. I thought the conflicts and confusions Chess faces were realistically complex and interesting.
The author structures this as a tale-within-a-tale. Chess is telling this story more than 20 years past these events, and the first third of the novel alternates between 20 years hence and the origin of the tale. This seems, at first, a mistake, especially because as the tale moves into the second third, Chess's more recent story, taking place in 2008, is dropped completely, until the very end of the book. However, when it is picked up again towards the end, the author's intent becomes clear: to show just how successful or unsuccessful Chess has been over the decades in emerging fully independent of her past. Whether or not, and how, she does, forms the last part of the novel.
One note: though I liked Chess, the author has her drop numerous -- i.e on almost every single page -- arcane literary and cultural references, to authors, poems, films, art, etc, and expect the reader to understand the significance of the reference. To wit: "I realized that her pose reminded me of a Giorgione: the Dresden Venus." "It put me in the mind of a certain kind of Nordic desolation, of Knut Hamsun walking around Christiania wretched with hunger." This is annoying, because I consider myself fairly cultured and well-read, and couldn't be in Chess's mind with her.
And one more note: can we be done with the "gritty 80s" thing? It's just so done to death at this point.
Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy.
This novel is about such a relationship. The protagonist, "Chess" Varani, is recounting for us her admittedly unhealthy obsession with the amazing, maddening, tantalizing family known as the Marr-Lowensteins. She encounters Kendra first of all, Kendra the flighty, drug-addled, exciting, school-skipping rich kid with whom she forms an immediate inexplicable co-dependent relationship, if it can be called that, which consists mainly of Kendra using Chess for whatever the moment demands and then dropping out of her life for lengths of time. Chess is slowly drawn into the circle of the Marr-Lowensteins, eventually coming to work for the matriarch, Clarice, and must come to terms with her unhealthy relationship with this family, her own needs as a blossoming young adult, and whether or not to sever ties with them in order to go into the world and live a full and healthier life.
The book is a modern, or post-modern, bildungsroman, one that deals with an emotional and intellectual growing-up rather than a physical one. In the 1980s New York in which Chess struggles to survive, the pull from the Marr-Lowensteins is like the thrill of a cheap bodice-ripper: you know it's horrible for your constitution, but you just can't pull yourself away and have to read just one more chapter. The Marr-Lowensteins are dysfunctional in the extreme, and Clarice seems to be the chief culprit. Once taken under her wing, Chess can't seem to get out from under it, although she knows she is entangling herself in the family sickness.
As a coming of age tale, this is very well done. The Marr-Lowensteins become a surrogate family for Chess, one she is desperate for, at the same time that she realizes she's got to break away and live her own life. I thought the conflicts and confusions Chess faces were realistically complex and interesting.
The author structures this as a tale-within-a-tale. Chess is telling this story more than 20 years past these events, and the first third of the novel alternates between 20 years hence and the origin of the tale. This seems, at first, a mistake, especially because as the tale moves into the second third, Chess's more recent story, taking place in 2008, is dropped completely, until the very end of the book. However, when it is picked up again towards the end, the author's intent becomes clear: to show just how successful or unsuccessful Chess has been over the decades in emerging fully independent of her past. Whether or not, and how, she does, forms the last part of the novel.
One note: though I liked Chess, the author has her drop numerous -- i.e on almost every single page -- arcane literary and cultural references, to authors, poems, films, art, etc, and expect the reader to understand the significance of the reference. To wit: "I realized that her pose reminded me of a Giorgione: the Dresden Venus." "It put me in the mind of a certain kind of Nordic desolation, of Knut Hamsun walking around Christiania wretched with hunger." This is annoying, because I consider myself fairly cultured and well-read, and couldn't be in Chess's mind with her.
And one more note: can we be done with the "gritty 80s" thing? It's just so done to death at this point.
Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy.
August 3, 2017
I was intrigued with the synopsis of the book as it returned me to one of my favorite cities and to a time period I remember well. I can’t say that I could relate to much else as I did not go to a college in the city, I did not take drugs and I certainly was not, nor am I currently rich. The job of a writer is to take the reader into a world and hopefully immerse them in a way that they forget their current reality and they live, at least for a while, within the two covers. There were hints of that in Ms. Firman’s writing; she certainly has a way with words. At some junctures in the book I would reread a sentence because it was just so beautifully written.
The story was not one I understood on any level. I could not grasp why Francesca was so drawn to these awful, awful people. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would have run quickly in the opposite direction and yet she kept going back. It boggled my mind. I wanted to slap her.
The book was also full of references to designers, New York landmarks, obscure books and other name dropping that if the reader wasn’t aware of these things it would, I think make for jarring reading. I was familiar with New York and I read a LOT so I knew most of the references. I will admit that the name dropping got old after a bit.
Overall the city of New York was a stronger character than any of the humans in play. The book was diverting but I found it more frustrating than fascinating. It’s definitely a character driven novel and when you as a reader can’t understand the motivations of the main character you are going to have trouble with the book. I’ve seen others who loved it. And that is the glory of reading; one person’s great book is another’s not so great.
3.5
The story was not one I understood on any level. I could not grasp why Francesca was so drawn to these awful, awful people. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would have run quickly in the opposite direction and yet she kept going back. It boggled my mind. I wanted to slap her.
The book was also full of references to designers, New York landmarks, obscure books and other name dropping that if the reader wasn’t aware of these things it would, I think make for jarring reading. I was familiar with New York and I read a LOT so I knew most of the references. I will admit that the name dropping got old after a bit.
Overall the city of New York was a stronger character than any of the humans in play. The book was diverting but I found it more frustrating than fascinating. It’s definitely a character driven novel and when you as a reader can’t understand the motivations of the main character you are going to have trouble with the book. I’ve seen others who loved it. And that is the glory of reading; one person’s great book is another’s not so great.
3.5
November 10, 2019
Time’s A Thief is a sort of American Brideshead Revisited, an engaging, deeply absorbing coming-of-age story in which our narrator, Francesca Varani, brought up working-class in a hard-luck nowhere town, falls in love with an entire clan of elite Manhattanites. In the mid-1980s, whisked by a scholarship from her narrow world to Barnard, Francesca meets fellow-student Kendra Marr-Löwenstein, the reckless but magnetic daughter of the very wealthy, highly cultured Marr-Löwenstein family. Francesca is brilliant and observant, honest, hard-working and witty—but she is also a very vulnerable girl-woman yearning to find her way into a much bigger world than her own, and therefore dazzled by her new friend. Only gradually does she discover that not only Kendra but most of the Marr-Löwensteins are deeply, painfully, dangerously screwed up, destructive to themselves as well as others.
Firmani’s characters are vivid and memorable, her writing distinctive and sharp—and, despite the suffering Francesca eventually endures, studded with laugh-out-loud lines. I’ve given copies of Time’s A Thief to many friends. It makes a great present.
Firmani’s characters are vivid and memorable, her writing distinctive and sharp—and, despite the suffering Francesca eventually endures, studded with laugh-out-loud lines. I’ve given copies of Time’s A Thief to many friends. It makes a great present.
June 2, 2017
I just finished this wonderful debut and cannot stop thinking about it. The portrayal of New York in the eighties is just one of the many wonderful aspects of this deeply felt narrative. The narrator's voice was so honest, thoughtful and incisive that I found myself revisiting my own experience in New York City in my 20s, even though my world could not have been more different. The writing was gorgeous, the pacing kept me returning to this book every chance I got, and the lingering emotions will play in my mind for a long time as I continue to think about the many lessons of growing older, both for the book's narrator and myself. To me, that's the mark of a great book.
November 7, 2016
A Brideshead Revisited/Franny and Zooey/Bright Lights, Big City mashup. It wasn't bad, but every bit of it felt like something I'd read before.
November 15, 2016
Perfectly captures New York during its Giuliani inflection point, beautifully juxtaposing the atmosphere and protagonist to illuminate the character's evolution out of adolescence. The book's clarity, humor and energy are all so distinctly of that time and effectively rendered that its effect for any reader who lived in New York as it teetered at the precipice of becoming a capitalist amusement park will be left viscerally shaken.
March 24, 2023
I picked this up when I saw it was written by a Barnard alumna. I had no idea it would be such an emotional read.The story is set in 1980s-90s New York and it took me right back. Chock Full O’Nuts. The view down Claremont Ave from the dorm on 116th street. The tunnels under Barnard and the entitled girls who would never hold the doors for others. I saw so many parallels between the main character Francesca (Chess) and myself. We both came to Barnard from a teeny town far from New York. Made friends with girls who summered in the Hamptons while we temped in “Suck City.” The realization arrived many years after graduation that my lack of professional ambition and feelings of failure may well have been fueled by having spent my college years at Barnard. Maybe if I’d spent my formative years at a school ‘more my speed’ I would have realized a true professional purpose and community, and managed my expectations appropriately. I could not relate to the many obscure literary and cultural references sprinkled about, particularly those enjoyed by the Marr-Lowenstein family. I majored in Urban Studies after all, and, like Chess, thought that if your family owned a VCR or a microwave “you were well on your way to being rich.” I don’t know if Firmani and I crossed paths at Barnard, but I’m glad to know there was someone who may have had a similar experience to mine. I just loved this book and may read it again.
June 6, 2017
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. I kept having this strange feeling of familiarity and it didn't hit me where it was coming from until a scene near the end where they are crossing a bridge and I suddenly flashed to the scene in The Great Gatsby where Nick and Gatsby are crossing the bridge into New York. This isn't to say I felt like this book was ripping off Fitzgerald in any way, but simply that there were elements to the story that reminded me of his stories and style. Since I'm a big Fitzgerald fan, I liked those aspects a lot.
I liked the narrator's voice and I found the description of her world engaging. I wasn't particularly interested in the people that the narrator was fascinated by, so that kind of cut into my love of the story. Of course the narrator is young and a little naive so her fascination doesn't feel false but I wasn't keen on spending so much time with these folks.
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. I kept having this strange feeling of familiarity and it didn't hit me where it was coming from until a scene near the end where they are crossing a bridge and I suddenly flashed to the scene in The Great Gatsby where Nick and Gatsby are crossing the bridge into New York. This isn't to say I felt like this book was ripping off Fitzgerald in any way, but simply that there were elements to the story that reminded me of his stories and style. Since I'm a big Fitzgerald fan, I liked those aspects a lot.
I liked the narrator's voice and I found the description of her world engaging. I wasn't particularly interested in the people that the narrator was fascinated by, so that kind of cut into my love of the story. Of course the narrator is young and a little naive so her fascination doesn't feel false but I wasn't keen on spending so much time with these folks.
November 30, 2017
Dense and overly self-involved, this books offers a glimpse into interesting characters, but they remain fairly one-dimensional. Chess, the protagonist, could be more engaging as a character if she wasn't so stunningly self-involved and completely attached to her navel gazing relationships with others. By the last 1/4 of this I was so fed up with the needlessly descriptive passages and exhausting re-examination of the few themes that I skimmed through the ending. Reading this book is like being forced to listen to the inane and self-important chatter of sheltered college freshmen.
January 15, 2019
I enjoyed the writing, but not the subject matter. I made it 93 pages on the strength of the writing, but at page 94 realized I simply didn't care enough about Chess's obsession with the obnoxious Kendra to endure any more of it.
I'd read a different book by the author, but this one was tedious and annoying.
I'd read a different book by the author, but this one was tedious and annoying.
May 6, 2020
Am I the only one who suspected that Jerry and Kendra would ultimately be revealed to be the same person? The story is set up for this plot twist...but never happens. They remain two separate dismal characters. This is the only reason I kept going through this book, along with the NYC reminiscing (more like name dropping). Times A Thief...uh...yeah.
June 23, 2019
I may have liked it less had not my own youth in NYC overlapped with the protagonist’s. That being said, there were a few too many laundry lists and pretentious name droppings.
I love the cover art.
I love the cover art.
November 13, 2020
The premise of this novel was great, but the execution was weak, replete with pacing and characterization problems. In particular, the final section felt interminable. I think the author is talented, but I wish this novel had been given another few editing passes.
May 28, 2017
I don't know why I continued to read this book. It's one of the most poorly written books I have ever finished.
June 4, 2017
Another one that after 75 pages I can't bother to read more - absolutely nothing happening but trauma and drama- no plot, lousy characters - I wonder how this insipid stuff gets published????
October 29, 2017
I won this book through Goodreads. Very fun and absorbing story. Love the 80's references. Great coming of age story.
April 15, 2018
This starts off slow and doesn’t really go anywhere. The entire book is trapped in Chess’ whiney head. I think KENDRA’S story would have been far more interesting.
March 31, 2019
I stopped liking the elitist New York people.
December 13, 2021
too wordy
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