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The Vixen
Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Francine Prose returns with a dazzling new novel set in the glamorous world of 1950s New York publishing, the story of a young man tasked with editing a steamy bodice-ripper based on the recent trial and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg—an assignment that will reveal the true cost of entering that seductive, dangerous new world.
It’s 1953, and Simon Putnam, a recent Harvard graduate newly hired by a distinguished New York publishing firm, has entered a glittering world of three-martini lunches, exclusive literary parties, and old-money aristocrats in exquisitely tailored suits, a far cry from his loving, middle-class Jewish family in Coney Island.
But Simon’s first assignment—editing The Vixen, the Patriot and the Fanatic, a lurid bodice-ripper improbably based on the recent trial and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, a potboiler intended to shore up the firm’s failing finances—makes him question the cost of admission. Because Simon has a secret that, at the height of the Red Scare and the McCarthy hearings, he cannot reveal: his beloved mother was a childhood friend of Ethel Rosenberg’s. His parents mourn Ethel’s death.
Simon’s dilemma grows thornier when he meets The Vixen’s author, the startlingly beautiful, reckless, seductive Anya Partridge, ensconced in her opium-scented boudoir in a luxury Hudson River mental asylum. As mysteries deepen, as the confluence of sex, money, politics and power spirals out of Simon’s control, he must face what he’s lost by exchanging the loving safety of his middle-class Jewish parents’ Coney Island apartment for the witty, whiskey-soaked orbit of his charismatic boss, the legendary Warren Landry. Gradually Simon realizes that the people around him are not what they seem, that everyone is keeping secrets, that ordinary events may conceal a diabolical plot—and that these crises may steer him toward a brighter future.
At once domestic and political, contemporary and historic, funny and heartbreaking, enlivened by surprising plot turns and passages from Anya’s hilariously bad novel, The Vixen illuminates a period of history with eerily striking similarities to the current moment. Meanwhile it asks timeless questions: How do we balance ambition and conscience? What do social mobility and cultural assimilation require us to sacrifice? How do we develop an authentic self, discover a vocation, and learn to live with the mysteries of love, family, art, life and loss?
It’s 1953, and Simon Putnam, a recent Harvard graduate newly hired by a distinguished New York publishing firm, has entered a glittering world of three-martini lunches, exclusive literary parties, and old-money aristocrats in exquisitely tailored suits, a far cry from his loving, middle-class Jewish family in Coney Island.
But Simon’s first assignment—editing The Vixen, the Patriot and the Fanatic, a lurid bodice-ripper improbably based on the recent trial and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, a potboiler intended to shore up the firm’s failing finances—makes him question the cost of admission. Because Simon has a secret that, at the height of the Red Scare and the McCarthy hearings, he cannot reveal: his beloved mother was a childhood friend of Ethel Rosenberg’s. His parents mourn Ethel’s death.
Simon’s dilemma grows thornier when he meets The Vixen’s author, the startlingly beautiful, reckless, seductive Anya Partridge, ensconced in her opium-scented boudoir in a luxury Hudson River mental asylum. As mysteries deepen, as the confluence of sex, money, politics and power spirals out of Simon’s control, he must face what he’s lost by exchanging the loving safety of his middle-class Jewish parents’ Coney Island apartment for the witty, whiskey-soaked orbit of his charismatic boss, the legendary Warren Landry. Gradually Simon realizes that the people around him are not what they seem, that everyone is keeping secrets, that ordinary events may conceal a diabolical plot—and that these crises may steer him toward a brighter future.
At once domestic and political, contemporary and historic, funny and heartbreaking, enlivened by surprising plot turns and passages from Anya’s hilariously bad novel, The Vixen illuminates a period of history with eerily striking similarities to the current moment. Meanwhile it asks timeless questions: How do we balance ambition and conscience? What do social mobility and cultural assimilation require us to sacrifice? How do we develop an authentic self, discover a vocation, and learn to live with the mysteries of love, family, art, life and loss?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 29, 2021
368 people are currently reading
8661 people want to read
About the author
Francine Prose
154 books865 followersFrancine Prose is the author of twenty works of fiction. Her novel A Changed Man won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and Blue Angel was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent works of nonfiction include the highly acclaimed Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, and the New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, a Director's Fellow at the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her most recent book is Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 508 reviews
July 10, 2021
Hot diggity!
This Francine Prose is one of the pros, I’m telling you. With sophisticated, lively language, she took me into the New York City publishing world in the 1950s, and I was totally absorbed from page 1. Oh, and she also took me to Coney Island, and I could feel the boardwalk under my feet, feel the thrill of the rides.
I’ve got a weird thing going about New York. I never lived there but I’m nostalgic. But tell me, how can I be nostalgic for a city that I only visited a dozen times or so? I don’t believe in past lives, but if I did, I’m pretty sure I was once a proud New Yorker. One who loved the fast pace, the cynicism, the subway, the book world. Every time I read a good book about NYC, I sort of get this swagger and I think I’m a hot shot. I have to tell myself to calm down and stop being so obnoxious in my head, but the other voice tells me, “Whatever floats your boat.”
Well, this book definitely floated my boat. Not only did I feel the pulse of the city and the publishing world, I learned a little history. I had been too young at the time to hear about the Rosenbergs, a couple who were accused of being Communist spies and were executed in the 1950s. Don’t ask me why I didn’t learn about it in school. The book opens with a scene of a family watching the countdown to execution.
The characters are vivid and complex; especially Simon, who is telling the story. Another huge plus for me: lots of introspection. Simon is always analyzing what he’s doing, what he’s thinking. He’s sort of floundering and is very hard on himself. He gets in trouble because he wants everyone to like him. Meanwhile, I liked him!
What I also loved was that Simon was in a moral quandary for most of the book. What was the right thing to do? And would he do it? Could he live with himself if he did the wrong thing? And was there actually a “wrong” thing to do? I can’t remember when I last read a book that had morality as its main theme. Good stuff!
I liked it that there wasn’t an ounce of sentimentality. At the risk of sounding like a cold fish, I’m glad to read a book where heartwarming isn’t the main adjective used to describe it.
A few quotes to whet your appetite:
“My uncle turned a pinkish purple of a violent intensity that I wouldn’t see again in nature until my first desert sunset.”
“The snails were an ingenious delivery system for garlic, butter, and parsley.”
“His posture was aggressive and defensive at once, as if, like a toddler with sharp scissors, he feared that someone would take away his cane.”
“Just getting through the day felt like memorizing poetry in a foreign language, outside, in a hailstorm.”
Now, of course, I want to read more of Prose’s books. This was such a satisfying read. Check it out!
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
This Francine Prose is one of the pros, I’m telling you. With sophisticated, lively language, she took me into the New York City publishing world in the 1950s, and I was totally absorbed from page 1. Oh, and she also took me to Coney Island, and I could feel the boardwalk under my feet, feel the thrill of the rides.
I’ve got a weird thing going about New York. I never lived there but I’m nostalgic. But tell me, how can I be nostalgic for a city that I only visited a dozen times or so? I don’t believe in past lives, but if I did, I’m pretty sure I was once a proud New Yorker. One who loved the fast pace, the cynicism, the subway, the book world. Every time I read a good book about NYC, I sort of get this swagger and I think I’m a hot shot. I have to tell myself to calm down and stop being so obnoxious in my head, but the other voice tells me, “Whatever floats your boat.”
Well, this book definitely floated my boat. Not only did I feel the pulse of the city and the publishing world, I learned a little history. I had been too young at the time to hear about the Rosenbergs, a couple who were accused of being Communist spies and were executed in the 1950s. Don’t ask me why I didn’t learn about it in school. The book opens with a scene of a family watching the countdown to execution.
The characters are vivid and complex; especially Simon, who is telling the story. Another huge plus for me: lots of introspection. Simon is always analyzing what he’s doing, what he’s thinking. He’s sort of floundering and is very hard on himself. He gets in trouble because he wants everyone to like him. Meanwhile, I liked him!
What I also loved was that Simon was in a moral quandary for most of the book. What was the right thing to do? And would he do it? Could he live with himself if he did the wrong thing? And was there actually a “wrong” thing to do? I can’t remember when I last read a book that had morality as its main theme. Good stuff!
I liked it that there wasn’t an ounce of sentimentality. At the risk of sounding like a cold fish, I’m glad to read a book where heartwarming isn’t the main adjective used to describe it.
A few quotes to whet your appetite:
“My uncle turned a pinkish purple of a violent intensity that I wouldn’t see again in nature until my first desert sunset.”
“The snails were an ingenious delivery system for garlic, butter, and parsley.”
“His posture was aggressive and defensive at once, as if, like a toddler with sharp scissors, he feared that someone would take away his cane.”
“Just getting through the day felt like memorizing poetry in a foreign language, outside, in a hailstorm.”
Now, of course, I want to read more of Prose’s books. This was such a satisfying read. Check it out!
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
April 7, 2022
Had Francine Prose followed what I believe was her initial instinct—to write a story about an innocent junior editor who has torn between his conscience and his desire to garner the rewards of living a relevant and interesting life—this would have been an extraordinary novel.
The premise is indeed, fascinating: a bumbling young Harvard graduate named Simon Putnam is placed in charge of shepherding a bodice-ripper of a book based on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. The novel is designed to help a struggling literary publisher get back on its feet financially, and it is written by a very beautiful, enticing, and unstable debut author named Anya. Naturally, Simon falls head over heels for her.
The fictional book, entitled The Vixen, the Patriot, and the Fanatic, with its lewd plotline, is in direct contrast to Simon’s sense of value and dignity. His mother, after all, was neighbors with Ethel and has often quoted one of her final statements to her lawyer: “You will see to it that our names are kept bright and unsullied by lies.” That line is repeated in this book. A lot. So are Simon’s fears and guilt about causing his mother grief. We hear about that a lot, too.
This good-looking Harvard graduate is so awkward and bumbling that his social interactions border on cringeworthy. Later in the book, he is described by a key character as malleable. It is hard to believe that anyone could get through college years – even in the 1950s – and be so rudderless and self-lacerating. Simon also has a habit, it seems, of falling in love with just about any female who is placed in his path. It is easy to see why he would be lustful towards Anya. But to fall so deeply for a woman who appears to have his polar opposite values, little moral compass, and who is quite likely mentally disturbed is a hard pill to swallow.
I won’t give away the plot points. It wouldn’t be fair. But I will say that I had the uncomfortable feeling that art was imitating life. The state-mandated murder of the Rosenbergs for a level of crimes they did not do (Ethel, for example, was only the typist of materials and paid for that with her life), has long held a sort of prurient interest. The fictional Vixen capitalizes on that interest and in ways, so does its namesake. The urge to publish a best seller that will appeal to a broad audience (we later discover who that audience is intended to be) also has some tendrils in the Prose book. All the kinds of characters that appeal to readers are here – the naïve acolyte, the scheming and lascivious publisher, the beautiful and damaged damsel, the secondary characters who are not what they appear to be.
But in writing this soon-to-be best-seller (and I suspect it will be, because the storyline moves fast and I never did want to abandon it), the theme becomes heavy-handed and the characters in places become caricatures. When Simon moans that all the people around him have lied to him and betrayed him, it’s almost a laughable moment because he has lied by omission to many of them—and most of all, to himself.
Now, I love Francine Prose. I have read many of her past books and have totally enjoyed several of them. So it gives me no great joy to depart from several literary reviews who are calling the book “dazzling”. I want to thank HarperCollins—which is a FAR better publishing house than the one portrayed in these pages!—and NetGalley for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. I am truly sorry that that this review is taking me in an unanticipated direction and look forward to the many other superb titles they publish.
The premise is indeed, fascinating: a bumbling young Harvard graduate named Simon Putnam is placed in charge of shepherding a bodice-ripper of a book based on Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. The novel is designed to help a struggling literary publisher get back on its feet financially, and it is written by a very beautiful, enticing, and unstable debut author named Anya. Naturally, Simon falls head over heels for her.
The fictional book, entitled The Vixen, the Patriot, and the Fanatic, with its lewd plotline, is in direct contrast to Simon’s sense of value and dignity. His mother, after all, was neighbors with Ethel and has often quoted one of her final statements to her lawyer: “You will see to it that our names are kept bright and unsullied by lies.” That line is repeated in this book. A lot. So are Simon’s fears and guilt about causing his mother grief. We hear about that a lot, too.
This good-looking Harvard graduate is so awkward and bumbling that his social interactions border on cringeworthy. Later in the book, he is described by a key character as malleable. It is hard to believe that anyone could get through college years – even in the 1950s – and be so rudderless and self-lacerating. Simon also has a habit, it seems, of falling in love with just about any female who is placed in his path. It is easy to see why he would be lustful towards Anya. But to fall so deeply for a woman who appears to have his polar opposite values, little moral compass, and who is quite likely mentally disturbed is a hard pill to swallow.
I won’t give away the plot points. It wouldn’t be fair. But I will say that I had the uncomfortable feeling that art was imitating life. The state-mandated murder of the Rosenbergs for a level of crimes they did not do (Ethel, for example, was only the typist of materials and paid for that with her life), has long held a sort of prurient interest. The fictional Vixen capitalizes on that interest and in ways, so does its namesake. The urge to publish a best seller that will appeal to a broad audience (we later discover who that audience is intended to be) also has some tendrils in the Prose book. All the kinds of characters that appeal to readers are here – the naïve acolyte, the scheming and lascivious publisher, the beautiful and damaged damsel, the secondary characters who are not what they appear to be.
But in writing this soon-to-be best-seller (and I suspect it will be, because the storyline moves fast and I never did want to abandon it), the theme becomes heavy-handed and the characters in places become caricatures. When Simon moans that all the people around him have lied to him and betrayed him, it’s almost a laughable moment because he has lied by omission to many of them—and most of all, to himself.
Now, I love Francine Prose. I have read many of her past books and have totally enjoyed several of them. So it gives me no great joy to depart from several literary reviews who are calling the book “dazzling”. I want to thank HarperCollins—which is a FAR better publishing house than the one portrayed in these pages!—and NetGalley for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. I am truly sorry that that this review is taking me in an unanticipated direction and look forward to the many other superb titles they publish.
July 11, 2021
What a pleasure this novel is—I couldn’t put it down—and how tricky it is to say why or anything about it, because to do so would rob other readers of the pleasure of discovery.
Since it happens immediately, it is safe to tell you that it begins with the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, but where it goes from there is so unpredictable that it’s best to say nothing.
As a writer, I enjoyed the “inside” look at book publishing and book politics, but nonwriters will also relate: if you’ve ever suffered betrayal from someone you like/love/trust or if you were ever screwed at a job, you’ll have some kind of personal identification. The plot leaps in this story may seem extreme . . . unless you know some real history of extreme political actions. (Hint: Ian McEwan covered some of the same territory in Sweet Tooth, a book that has almost nothing else in common with this one, but having read it, I’m sure what seems far-fetched is not.* Add to that our current cultural divides in the U.S. over truth and fiction . . . Suffice it to say, facts and "alternative facts" have proven to be a matter of belief and are easily manipulated.)
I’m being a tease and can’t help it. I should just shut up and say, boy, was this book fun to read.
Thanks to HarperCollins Netgalley for the ARC. I can’t wait until there are tons of reviews. I’m so curious how others will react.
This is my fourth Francine Prose novel and my favorite.
______________
*7/11/21 Update
I found myself contemplating this book as well as McEwan's Sweet Tooth this morning, wondering if there was a true historical article to be mined from their similar plot choices, and I did some research. Which leads me to this correction: the plot leap, which I cannot divulge without spoiing it, is not based on historical truth, as far as I can tell.
That said, for the past 25 or so years, I've been learning the history I was never taught in my white suburban New York schools. This effort began when I landed in a job which threw me into indigenous rights communities about which I knew nothing. Feeling like an idiot, I began educating myself. This self-education has escalated since the Big Liar took office and falsehoods about everything from the seriousness of COVID to election results exploded the already roiling culture war. I've written many reviews of the books that have helped me in my efforts (too many to list here), so suffice it to say that although the plot twist in this and McEwan's novel are fiction, there is plenty of basis for Francine Prose's imagination.
Since it happens immediately, it is safe to tell you that it begins with the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, but where it goes from there is so unpredictable that it’s best to say nothing.
As a writer, I enjoyed the “inside” look at book publishing and book politics, but nonwriters will also relate: if you’ve ever suffered betrayal from someone you like/love/trust or if you were ever screwed at a job, you’ll have some kind of personal identification. The plot leaps in this story may seem extreme . . . unless you know some real history of extreme political actions. (Hint: Ian McEwan covered some of the same territory in Sweet Tooth, a book that has almost nothing else in common with this one, but having read it, I’m sure what seems far-fetched is not.* Add to that our current cultural divides in the U.S. over truth and fiction . . . Suffice it to say, facts and "alternative facts" have proven to be a matter of belief and are easily manipulated.)
I’m being a tease and can’t help it. I should just shut up and say, boy, was this book fun to read.
Thanks to HarperCollins Netgalley for the ARC. I can’t wait until there are tons of reviews. I’m so curious how others will react.
This is my fourth Francine Prose novel and my favorite.
______________
*7/11/21 Update
I found myself contemplating this book as well as McEwan's Sweet Tooth this morning, wondering if there was a true historical article to be mined from their similar plot choices, and I did some research. Which leads me to this correction: the plot leap, which I cannot divulge without spoiing it, is not based on historical truth, as far as I can tell.
That said, for the past 25 or so years, I've been learning the history I was never taught in my white suburban New York schools. This effort began when I landed in a job which threw me into indigenous rights communities about which I knew nothing. Feeling like an idiot, I began educating myself. This self-education has escalated since the Big Liar took office and falsehoods about everything from the seriousness of COVID to election results exploded the already roiling culture war. I've written many reviews of the books that have helped me in my efforts (too many to list here), so suffice it to say that although the plot twist in this and McEwan's novel are fiction, there is plenty of basis for Francine Prose's imagination.
October 2, 2021
2.5
My first encounter with Francine Prose's writing hasn't left a good impression on me.
Apologies to my GR friends who loved this novel, The Vixen did absolutely nothing for me.
It was an accessible novel, easy to read.
It begins with the Rosenbergs' execution in the 1950s, but it's also about Simon Putman, a recent Harvard graduate, who's a bit of a wet blanket, truth be told. Now, don't get me wrong, I like good guys, who are sensitive, introspective etc, but I never bought Simon as a real person. Usually, first-person narrated novels get me on the side of the narrator no matter their flaws. Still, this perfectly nice young man got on my nerves.
The Vixen is a body ripper novel whose main character is supposed to be Esther Rosenberg. Simon, the newly hired assistant editor, is given the task of editing it. The author is this sexy, mysterious young woman, who's inhabiting Simon's fantasies, even before he meets her. When they meet she looks just like in the photo he was given. There are some incongruences and question marks, but Simon is too busy drooling over her and having sex in public places, pretty much on each date. Simon is used like a human dildo. I never found those behaviours believable, even knowing that many men would not say no to free sex with a gorgeous woman, I just didn't buy the premise, the justifications, few as they were.
There are spies, CIA agents, pretenders, everyone has secrets - it's one tangled mess.
Also, Simon seems to fall for every half-decent looking woman who says hi to him, I found that somewhat perplexing.
I thought the storyline was incomprehensible, convoluted, I didn't get what Prose was trying to say/accomplish. It was as if I was trying to put together a puzzle by using the pieces belonging to other puzzles.
My first encounter with Francine Prose's writing hasn't left a good impression on me.
Apologies to my GR friends who loved this novel, The Vixen did absolutely nothing for me.
It was an accessible novel, easy to read.
It begins with the Rosenbergs' execution in the 1950s, but it's also about Simon Putman, a recent Harvard graduate, who's a bit of a wet blanket, truth be told. Now, don't get me wrong, I like good guys, who are sensitive, introspective etc, but I never bought Simon as a real person. Usually, first-person narrated novels get me on the side of the narrator no matter their flaws. Still, this perfectly nice young man got on my nerves.
The Vixen is a body ripper novel whose main character is supposed to be Esther Rosenberg. Simon, the newly hired assistant editor, is given the task of editing it. The author is this sexy, mysterious young woman, who's inhabiting Simon's fantasies, even before he meets her. When they meet she looks just like in the photo he was given. There are some incongruences and question marks, but Simon is too busy drooling over her and having sex in public places, pretty much on each date. Simon is used like a human dildo. I never found those behaviours believable, even knowing that many men would not say no to free sex with a gorgeous woman, I just didn't buy the premise, the justifications, few as they were.
There are spies, CIA agents, pretenders, everyone has secrets - it's one tangled mess.
Also, Simon seems to fall for every half-decent looking woman who says hi to him, I found that somewhat perplexing.
I thought the storyline was incomprehensible, convoluted, I didn't get what Prose was trying to say/accomplish. It was as if I was trying to put together a puzzle by using the pieces belonging to other puzzles.
July 17, 2021
History and humor ….. blend together like sugar and spice. The prose is filled with marvelous texture and intricate narrative sensations.
I really enjoyed this historical contemporary stylized novel.
It had an old fashion feeling of power and greed in parts - there are political and social issues - with all the pleasures of personal intimacies…..( love, loss, misery, secrets, conflicts, choices, guilt, dependency, individuality, with perils of self-reinvention).
The dominant question explored is, “how does one balance ambition and conscience?”
‘The Vixen’ takes place in the 1950’s. I went in blind. It was great advice (thank you Betsy)…..so I’m going to pass on the same tip.
The professional blurb says plenty.
But….I’ll leave a couple of excerpts [no spoilers] to pass on varied tidbit flavors:
“I imagined that my colleagues were hiding something from me, and later, when my work required hiding something from them, I was grateful for my cloak of invisibility”.
“I felt lucky to have a job, though it wasn’t what I planned. I still longed for the library carrel smelling of dust and mold, for the warm dark cave where I could spend my life reading sagas about honor killings, about women with thieves’ eyes bringing disaster down on the men who ignored the warnings.
Somewhere my authentic self was being acclaimed for his original research, even as my counterfeit self was suffering envelopes with rejected novels about Elizabethan wenches, aristocratic Southern families with incestuous pasts, the plucky founders of small-town newspapers, and inferior imitations of ‘The Wall’ John Hersey’s bestselling novel about the Warsaw Ghetto”.
“My private war had broken out between my conscience and my ambition, my passivity and my wanting to do the right thing. I was being asked to edit a book of lies about a woman who could no longer defend her self, if she ever could. My family would’ve been horrified”.
“Julia said, Do you know what those are?”
“Manuscripts?”
“Julia shook her head”.
“Wrong. That pile of shit is the hourglass your life is about to trickle out of”.
“Did Julia always talk like that?”
“I wish she was staying on. We could work side-by-side. We could get to know each other, and she wouldn’t hate me. I wanted to see her again. There was no point asking if I could get in touch with her in case I had questions”.
“Have fun, Mr. Ivy League Hot Shit, she said”.
“Please call me Simon, I said”.
“Please don’t tell me what to do, she said and burst into tears”.
Parts of this novel were predictable—but not only didn’t I mind…it gave me comfort. I enjoyed living inside this created world with these characters.
There are heartbreaking and heartwarming moments….with an easy natural ‘writing/reading’ flow making it very enjoyable to dissolve ourselves completely in.
I especially loved the ending pages.
I really enjoyed this historical contemporary stylized novel.
It had an old fashion feeling of power and greed in parts - there are political and social issues - with all the pleasures of personal intimacies…..( love, loss, misery, secrets, conflicts, choices, guilt, dependency, individuality, with perils of self-reinvention).
The dominant question explored is, “how does one balance ambition and conscience?”
‘The Vixen’ takes place in the 1950’s. I went in blind. It was great advice (thank you Betsy)…..so I’m going to pass on the same tip.
The professional blurb says plenty.
But….I’ll leave a couple of excerpts [no spoilers] to pass on varied tidbit flavors:
“I imagined that my colleagues were hiding something from me, and later, when my work required hiding something from them, I was grateful for my cloak of invisibility”.
“I felt lucky to have a job, though it wasn’t what I planned. I still longed for the library carrel smelling of dust and mold, for the warm dark cave where I could spend my life reading sagas about honor killings, about women with thieves’ eyes bringing disaster down on the men who ignored the warnings.
Somewhere my authentic self was being acclaimed for his original research, even as my counterfeit self was suffering envelopes with rejected novels about Elizabethan wenches, aristocratic Southern families with incestuous pasts, the plucky founders of small-town newspapers, and inferior imitations of ‘The Wall’ John Hersey’s bestselling novel about the Warsaw Ghetto”.
“My private war had broken out between my conscience and my ambition, my passivity and my wanting to do the right thing. I was being asked to edit a book of lies about a woman who could no longer defend her self, if she ever could. My family would’ve been horrified”.
“Julia said, Do you know what those are?”
“Manuscripts?”
“Julia shook her head”.
“Wrong. That pile of shit is the hourglass your life is about to trickle out of”.
“Did Julia always talk like that?”
“I wish she was staying on. We could work side-by-side. We could get to know each other, and she wouldn’t hate me. I wanted to see her again. There was no point asking if I could get in touch with her in case I had questions”.
“Have fun, Mr. Ivy League Hot Shit, she said”.
“Please call me Simon, I said”.
“Please don’t tell me what to do, she said and burst into tears”.
Parts of this novel were predictable—but not only didn’t I mind…it gave me comfort. I enjoyed living inside this created world with these characters.
There are heartbreaking and heartwarming moments….with an easy natural ‘writing/reading’ flow making it very enjoyable to dissolve ourselves completely in.
I especially loved the ending pages.
July 19, 2021
A world paralyzed by nuclear terror.
A nation riven by internal suspicion.
A mother killed by electrocution.
Such are the grim elements of Francine Prose’s new comic novel, “The Vixen.”
Depending on the light, it’s either a very funny serious story or a very serious funny story. But no matter how you turn it, “The Vixen” offers an illuminating reflection on the slippery nature of truth in America, then and now.
Comedy and tragedy are two sides of a spinning coin in Prose’s latest historical reimagining. The story begins with dread on Coney Island. It’s June 19, 1953, and the TV is playing “I Love Lucy” interrupted with updates on the imminent execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
The narrator, Simon, is sitting with his parents in their dark apartment watching the flickering images on the black-and-white screen. Years ago, Simon’s mother grew up in the same tenement building as Ethel Rosenberg. “They hadn’t been close,” Simon says, “but history had turned Ethel, in my mother’s eyes, into a beloved friend.” The connection is deeper, though. For Simon’s family, the Rosenbergs’ conviction on espionage charges is another frightening example of American anti-Semitism. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
A nation riven by internal suspicion.
A mother killed by electrocution.
Such are the grim elements of Francine Prose’s new comic novel, “The Vixen.”
Depending on the light, it’s either a very funny serious story or a very serious funny story. But no matter how you turn it, “The Vixen” offers an illuminating reflection on the slippery nature of truth in America, then and now.
Comedy and tragedy are two sides of a spinning coin in Prose’s latest historical reimagining. The story begins with dread on Coney Island. It’s June 19, 1953, and the TV is playing “I Love Lucy” interrupted with updates on the imminent execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
The narrator, Simon, is sitting with his parents in their dark apartment watching the flickering images on the black-and-white screen. Years ago, Simon’s mother grew up in the same tenement building as Ethel Rosenberg. “They hadn’t been close,” Simon says, “but history had turned Ethel, in my mother’s eyes, into a beloved friend.” The connection is deeper, though. For Simon’s family, the Rosenbergs’ conviction on espionage charges is another frightening example of American anti-Semitism. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
April 21, 2021
I don't normally give such low ratings, but, wow, what a stupid book. I can't count how many times I rolled my eyes. This book is possibly worse than the Vixen book in the story that they make fun of.
August 30, 2021
DNF at 86%. Two stars is for the audiobook only. The protagonist/narrator of this book, Simon, is the most insecure character I've ever come upon in a novel. He takes every opportunity (about every 4th sentence) to question himself, his behavior, his words, his existence. It became really annoying to listen to after a while. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. Tristan Morris, the audiobook narrator, exaggerates this trait with a breathy, melodramatic voice. That was hard very to listen to and at 86% I stopped rolling my eyes and getting annoyed and decided to read something else.
The premise of the book is a interesting. The plot went places that felt ridiculous but honestly, I can't differentiate between what seemed like unbelievable turns in the plot and the audiobook narrator's melodramatic reading.
The premise of the book is a interesting. The plot went places that felt ridiculous but honestly, I can't differentiate between what seemed like unbelievable turns in the plot and the audiobook narrator's melodramatic reading.
July 15, 2021
I tried, Lord did I try. I've been a fan of Prose for years (even met her at a signing), and had high hopes early on for a shocking conclusion. The result? An insipid, wimpy narrator and a supporting cast of terrible people. Sadly, this ranks as one of 2021's Worst of picks
July 9, 2021
A historical novel that deftly straddles the line between the serious and the comedic. There are some eye-rolling twists and turns that are great fun while Prose slyly casts a reflection on our current times.
September 12, 2021
4.5
Coming of age in the McCarthy era. Eerie yet with many comical elements and surprising twists and turns to make it an enjoyable read.
Coming of age in the McCarthy era. Eerie yet with many comical elements and surprising twists and turns to make it an enjoyable read.
July 6, 2021
I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately for me it was too many stories wrapped into one. Romance. Historical fiction. Mystery. It was too muddled.
April 2, 2021
A most exciting and interesting story. I never read anything about the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. The characters became more interesting as I read this great story. I felt like I knew each and everyone of them. This story keeps you reading and enjoying each and every page. It is a spy story, love story and a thriller all bundle together. I am now so interested in reading more books about Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. What a great author. Highly recommend this book to family , friends and book clubs.
November 27, 2020
I fear I cannot adequately explain why this novel hypnotized me. The narrator, Simon Putnam, tells a tale out of my own childhood about the death of the Rosenbergs and the events and conspiracies swirling around them. I have probably read everything about the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, so this novel fascinated me.
As always, Prose writes exquisitely, and brought me back to the 1950’s with frightening strength. I remember the night that television was interrupted to tell us that Julius and Ethel had been executed. I know my family was as furious as Simon’s. From that day till today, my fascination with their lives and death has pulled me toward everything ever written about them. I was one of the few theater goers to see ETHEL SINGS: The Unsung Song of Ethel Rosenberg, when it briefly played off Broadway.
So, I had to love this book and Simon’s efforts to ensure that Ethel not be defamed. Bravo Simon, and bravo Francine Prose for bringing this era to life. A special thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel. WOW!
As always, Prose writes exquisitely, and brought me back to the 1950’s with frightening strength. I remember the night that television was interrupted to tell us that Julius and Ethel had been executed. I know my family was as furious as Simon’s. From that day till today, my fascination with their lives and death has pulled me toward everything ever written about them. I was one of the few theater goers to see ETHEL SINGS: The Unsung Song of Ethel Rosenberg, when it briefly played off Broadway.
So, I had to love this book and Simon’s efforts to ensure that Ethel not be defamed. Bravo Simon, and bravo Francine Prose for bringing this era to life. A special thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel. WOW!
August 29, 2021
So improbable as to be laughable, but I didn’t find it funny either.
May 3, 2025
Francine Prose's "The Vixen" is a top notch mystery tale. It only takes a few pages before we're introduced to some strange goings on at Landry, Landry, and Bartlett publishing. Still wet behind the ears recent grad from Harvard Simon Putnam is hired on and given a book to edit that's being printed by the near bankrupt publishing house in order to raise money. Seems they need something popular to raise some much needed cash.
Enter Anya Partridge the beautiful and reckless author of "The Vixen, the Patriot, and the Fanatic," a bodice ripper based on Ethel and Julius Rosenburg's sensational trial and execution. Soon the odd coincidences start piling up. Tension grows as more and more of these "maybe, maybe not" situations arise. It's 1953 United States and the country in in the midst of McCarthyism where paranoia is the default emotional state. That goes double for Simon's parents. His mother was friends with Ethel Rosenburg when they were children. And, despite their WASPish name, the Putnams are Jews.
Simon is overwhelmed by his situation. Naive in many ways he wants more than anything to be accepted by the high society business he's been given access to. So he makes compromises. A choice he'll come to regret.
Prose does an excellent job pacing Simon's story. The slow revelation of the truth left me on the edge of my seat wondering what, if anything, is really going on. And yes, there is most definitely something going on. Simon is young, inexperienced (he's only had one real girlfriend his whole life) naive, and eager to please. Why, he wonders, is his first assignment to edit a manuscript a work that's so important to Landry, Landry, and Bartlett Publishing? Why indeed.
"The Vixen" is, by turns, funny, exciting, mysterious, and sad. A snapshot of 1950s America warts and all.
Enter Anya Partridge the beautiful and reckless author of "The Vixen, the Patriot, and the Fanatic," a bodice ripper based on Ethel and Julius Rosenburg's sensational trial and execution. Soon the odd coincidences start piling up. Tension grows as more and more of these "maybe, maybe not" situations arise. It's 1953 United States and the country in in the midst of McCarthyism where paranoia is the default emotional state. That goes double for Simon's parents. His mother was friends with Ethel Rosenburg when they were children. And, despite their WASPish name, the Putnams are Jews.
Simon is overwhelmed by his situation. Naive in many ways he wants more than anything to be accepted by the high society business he's been given access to. So he makes compromises. A choice he'll come to regret.
Prose does an excellent job pacing Simon's story. The slow revelation of the truth left me on the edge of my seat wondering what, if anything, is really going on. And yes, there is most definitely something going on. Simon is young, inexperienced (he's only had one real girlfriend his whole life) naive, and eager to please. Why, he wonders, is his first assignment to edit a manuscript a work that's so important to Landry, Landry, and Bartlett Publishing? Why indeed.
"The Vixen" is, by turns, funny, exciting, mysterious, and sad. A snapshot of 1950s America warts and all.
July 7, 2021
I dont think I was the audience for this book. Maria Semple called it "trickster of a novel, wonderousky funny and wickedly addictive". Definitely didnt get the funny and it was too easy to put down.
October 9, 2021
I cannot bring myself to give this 3 stars, which technically means "liked it," because I did not like this book. But that's a little misleading. I liked some of the period details (set in mid-1950s America with McCarthyism on the rampage); I liked some of the insights into the human condition--the way we so often outgrow our families and are sometimes embarrassed by them even as we love them, for example. And there's this, towards the very end: "How foolish we are to assume that the lost will be found, the hidden revealed, the mystery solved, or even that we will figure out what to call the mix of emotions we feel when a passing stranger turns out not to be the person we hoped and feared to see." I mean, that's pretty great writing. But these insights were simply not enough to prop up this book and its terrible, thinly-drawn main character, Simon Putnam. He's too weak to carry this novel and its ambitions.
It could be me. I am admittedly tired of reading about sad-sack, yet somehow incredibly entitled, young white guys. Simon is spineless, adrift in a world he feels abandoned him, even though he's a Harvard graduate, which we are reminded of incessantly, and has a job at a respected publishing firm (this turns out to be more complicated). I could not stand Simon for this entire novel and I couldn't tell if that was intentional or not, which is a problem. For much of the first half, I felt this HAD to be satire. We are told he is smart repeatedly, yet he is ridiculously, almost unbelievably, stupid for much of the book. His views on women, though rooted in the 1950s, still grate. There's not a female character in this book (aside from his mom) that he doesn't consider in terms of romantic/sexual potential even though he says they are all "out of his league." His thoughts on Elaine and Anya seriously made me eyeroll and then see red. He buys wholeheartedly into the "madonna-whore" binary even as he explains what it is. And as this is not satire--or at least not described that way anywhere I could find--I ultimately just found that aspect gross and simplistic.
He's also painted as pretty spineless and self-involved throughout the novel, constantly wrestling with his conscience about the work he's been asked to do--copyedit a pulpy novel that fictionalizes the Rosenbergs and turns Ethel (Esther in the pulp novel) into an oversexed, knowing and eager traitor. Given that Simon's mother knew Ethel and that, as Jewish family, they never believed in the Rosenberg's guilt, Simon struggles with his assignment. And, of course, it's not just that. We loop in the CIA and lots of conspiracies and things get pretty chaotic. I will say, the final third of the novel is a sprint; the pages turned quickly.
Yet by the end we are asked to believe that Simon does a good thing for the right reasons. And though he has wrestled with what the right thing is during the novel, he never seemed to get anywhere. And I just never believed he earned this neatly tied-up ending. He made his choices because people were laughing at him, playing him for the dupe (which he was), seeing him as weak and malleable...so he wanted revenge. This was not about being decent, this was about payback. So all of it was incredibly frustrating and if I could throw Simon, along with this book, across the room, I would.
I've read and enjoyed fiction and nonfiction by Prose before, so I expected to like this, but, alas, it was not to be. I need to be off sad-sack white male narrators for the next few books, that's for sure.
It could be me. I am admittedly tired of reading about sad-sack, yet somehow incredibly entitled, young white guys. Simon is spineless, adrift in a world he feels abandoned him, even though he's a Harvard graduate, which we are reminded of incessantly, and has a job at a respected publishing firm (this turns out to be more complicated). I could not stand Simon for this entire novel and I couldn't tell if that was intentional or not, which is a problem. For much of the first half, I felt this HAD to be satire. We are told he is smart repeatedly, yet he is ridiculously, almost unbelievably, stupid for much of the book. His views on women, though rooted in the 1950s, still grate. There's not a female character in this book (aside from his mom) that he doesn't consider in terms of romantic/sexual potential even though he says they are all "out of his league." His thoughts on Elaine and Anya seriously made me eyeroll and then see red. He buys wholeheartedly into the "madonna-whore" binary even as he explains what it is. And as this is not satire--or at least not described that way anywhere I could find--I ultimately just found that aspect gross and simplistic.
He's also painted as pretty spineless and self-involved throughout the novel, constantly wrestling with his conscience about the work he's been asked to do--copyedit a pulpy novel that fictionalizes the Rosenbergs and turns Ethel (Esther in the pulp novel) into an oversexed, knowing and eager traitor. Given that Simon's mother knew Ethel and that, as Jewish family, they never believed in the Rosenberg's guilt, Simon struggles with his assignment. And, of course, it's not just that. We loop in the CIA and lots of conspiracies and things get pretty chaotic. I will say, the final third of the novel is a sprint; the pages turned quickly.
Yet by the end we are asked to believe that Simon does a good thing for the right reasons. And though he has wrestled with what the right thing is during the novel, he never seemed to get anywhere. And I just never believed he earned this neatly tied-up ending. He made his choices because people were laughing at him, playing him for the dupe (which he was), seeing him as weak and malleable...so he wanted revenge. This was not about being decent, this was about payback. So all of it was incredibly frustrating and if I could throw Simon, along with this book, across the room, I would.
I've read and enjoyed fiction and nonfiction by Prose before, so I expected to like this, but, alas, it was not to be. I need to be off sad-sack white male narrators for the next few books, that's for sure.
May 13, 2021
I was provided an ARC of this book through a Goodreads giveaway and received no compensation for my comments.
For the second time this week, curse my inability to give this book 3.5 stars. I have lots of feelings about the book; some parts were amazing, some parts made me hope that a few more edits would be made, sometimes I thought I was reading too much into it, sometimes the writing was good enough to be certain that I was getting exactly what the author wanted me to get out of it.
The first thing people need to know about this book? Read it all. I mean it. Normally I'm all for quitting books you don't enjoy. Life is short and all that. But this book switches genre, tropes, etc at different parts of the book, at the same time the narrator realizes exactly what kind of situation he is in the middle of. The prologue is...rocky. At best. The writing style feels like it's from a different book, which, given the ending, might be on purpose. It then transitions into The-Secret-History-lite, then to the Tortured Academic Novel, then into Tom Clancy. And it only works if you read the whole thing.
Do I think the transitions between genres could be done smoother? Of course. Some of the key themes of third act needed to make an appearance earlier. The political commentary could have been a bit more nuanced. Theres a bunch of technical tweaks I would make, but the tiny moments in the book make the book worth it. The diner's mac-n-cheese, The Burning, the subtle hints about Anya w/ the rice pudding...those tiny hints keep the wheels of the book turning.
For the second time this week, curse my inability to give this book 3.5 stars. I have lots of feelings about the book; some parts were amazing, some parts made me hope that a few more edits would be made, sometimes I thought I was reading too much into it, sometimes the writing was good enough to be certain that I was getting exactly what the author wanted me to get out of it.
The first thing people need to know about this book? Read it all. I mean it. Normally I'm all for quitting books you don't enjoy. Life is short and all that. But this book switches genre, tropes, etc at different parts of the book, at the same time the narrator realizes exactly what kind of situation he is in the middle of. The prologue is...rocky. At best. The writing style feels like it's from a different book, which, given the ending, might be on purpose. It then transitions into The-Secret-History-lite, then to the Tortured Academic Novel, then into Tom Clancy. And it only works if you read the whole thing.
Do I think the transitions between genres could be done smoother? Of course. Some of the key themes of third act needed to make an appearance earlier. The political commentary could have been a bit more nuanced. Theres a bunch of technical tweaks I would make, but the tiny moments in the book make the book worth it. The diner's mac-n-cheese, The Burning, the subtle hints about Anya w/ the rice pudding...those tiny hints keep the wheels of the book turning.
June 18, 2024
Two 1/2 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 rounded up to three. The Vixen by Francine Prose, started out for me with so much promise that I was expecting it to be a 4 star read. I tend to rate most books with 3 stars, with plus or minus 1/2 because for me, they are good solid books, but not exceptional. In the end, this book didn’t quite live up to the 3 stars.
The Vixen is a story about a young Jewish man, Simon, from Brooklyn who, having graduated from Harvard, lands a job, with a little help from a relative, in a large prestigious publishing company. He is close to his parents and was a young boy during the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. His parents, especially his mother, were traumatized by what they saw as an unfair and anti-Semitic affair and not only that, but Simon’s mother had lived in the same building as Ethel Rosenberg, growing up, making her feel as if she actually had some kind of connection to her. So when Simon (the protagonist) is assigned to edit the book, The Vixen, a story loosely based on the Rosenbergs, trivializing and hyper-sexualizing the event, most especially the role of the Ethel character, needless to say Simon was conflicted. The book is a kind of satire on the 1950’s hypocrisy, conformity and cruelty. I guess on that level it’s a good book. The problem for me was that at the beginning of listening to the audiobook, read by Tristan Morris, I was fully engaged by both the story and the narrator but the further I got into it, the more disengaged I became from both.
The Vixen is a story about a young Jewish man, Simon, from Brooklyn who, having graduated from Harvard, lands a job, with a little help from a relative, in a large prestigious publishing company. He is close to his parents and was a young boy during the trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. His parents, especially his mother, were traumatized by what they saw as an unfair and anti-Semitic affair and not only that, but Simon’s mother had lived in the same building as Ethel Rosenberg, growing up, making her feel as if she actually had some kind of connection to her. So when Simon (the protagonist) is assigned to edit the book, The Vixen, a story loosely based on the Rosenbergs, trivializing and hyper-sexualizing the event, most especially the role of the Ethel character, needless to say Simon was conflicted. The book is a kind of satire on the 1950’s hypocrisy, conformity and cruelty. I guess on that level it’s a good book. The problem for me was that at the beginning of listening to the audiobook, read by Tristan Morris, I was fully engaged by both the story and the narrator but the further I got into it, the more disengaged I became from both.
July 13, 2021
The premise of this meta fiction novel with impressively complex plot is brilliant and the writing is crisp. It is both funny and frightening. The setting in mid-century NYC is clear. It speaks to the fluidity of truth both during the McCarthy-era nightmare of American history and the present. The author was able to get the reader to peel back layers of truth as the naive narrator slowly understood the situation. This is a story of betrayal and revenge within the context of how history is told. This book is perfect.
November 7, 2023
I really liked this one! I see that there are mixed reviews about it, but I found it pretty compelling and unique as a novel. I didn't know much about the Red Scare before starting this book, but the widespread hysteria was definitely captured by Prose, and I still found it an accessible read. Simon is an awkward, mousy and semi-spineless protagonist, but, at least in my opinion, he eventually redeems himself. This is really a book about morality, mixed in with themes of coming-of-age and politics -- and interspersed with some really great writing, I thought!
The ending became a bit repetitive, for me, and I was slightly confused by Simon's ability to fall madly in love with women after an hour in their company -- but other than that, I enjoyed it a lot.
Anyway, Dad, you'd probably like this!
C u next time :)
The ending became a bit repetitive, for me, and I was slightly confused by Simon's ability to fall madly in love with women after an hour in their company -- but other than that, I enjoyed it a lot.
Anyway, Dad, you'd probably like this!
C u next time :)
May 4, 2022
This book sounded intriguing.
It's the story of Simon, a young man fresh out of Harvard (to which he'd had a scholarship) but whose graduate-school ambitions have been thwarted. His uncle gets him an editing job in a New York publishing house. He is full to the brim with insecurity and self doubt, which makes him obsequious and gullible. He is given an awful book to edit, one his boss says is required to extricate the publishing house from its financial troubles -- and one whose author is a seductive temptress with whom he's supposed to work closely. Not only that, but the book is about the Rosenberg affair and their recent trial and execution. McCarthyism furnishes the backdrop for all of this. The book, which pictures Ethel Rosenberg as an evil communist sex kitten out to destroy America, is morally repugnant to Simon, for whom she's an innocent scapegoat who got in over her head. Just the same, he allows himself to be led around by the nose.
The book parallels today's polarized politics in that the social forces propel one to be either a commie or a right-wing nationalist, with no middle ground. That feels right.
Maybe the book we're reading parallels the book in the story.
Nobody is presented in their best light until the protagonist finally regains his agency. (This isn't a spoiler since the author foreshadows an "everything will be okay" scenario.)
Some of the language is not in line with the '50s. I'm thinking such terms as "therapy," "pizza spot," "play nice," "wonk," "moral compass," or "day care" emerged later.
The protagonist never became fully male. He was preoccupied with appearances and clothes. His loves were a little like school-girl crushes. So the chemistry is lacking and the book isn't hot, the content notwithstanding.
Any criticisms aside, I was drawn to keep reading.
What makes me finish one book and put the other aside?
Does this one fit the genre of "literary fiction?" I think so. But was I learning from it?
This McCarthyism is stereotypical.
The outcome was surreal -- not alternative history but too absolutely black and white to be realistic. Good guys and bad guys. I haven't read Francine Prose before so not sure if this is on purpose. Still mimicking that book in the story?
At one point the author can't find an obscure address. That reminded me of The Trial, which I read recently.
The element of suspense for me was not what would happen to the protagonist, since, as I said, she foreshadowed, but, rather, what is real. The author plays with the reader. Funny, I think it's in this book that the protagonist refers to bad writing in which students resolve plot problems by having protagonists wake up to discover it had all been a dream. No, that's not the conclusion to The Vixen. But not sure how much I trust this writer.
But it's quite readable and wouldn't let me put it down.
It's the story of Simon, a young man fresh out of Harvard (to which he'd had a scholarship) but whose graduate-school ambitions have been thwarted. His uncle gets him an editing job in a New York publishing house. He is full to the brim with insecurity and self doubt, which makes him obsequious and gullible. He is given an awful book to edit, one his boss says is required to extricate the publishing house from its financial troubles -- and one whose author is a seductive temptress with whom he's supposed to work closely. Not only that, but the book is about the Rosenberg affair and their recent trial and execution. McCarthyism furnishes the backdrop for all of this. The book, which pictures Ethel Rosenberg as an evil communist sex kitten out to destroy America, is morally repugnant to Simon, for whom she's an innocent scapegoat who got in over her head. Just the same, he allows himself to be led around by the nose.
The book parallels today's polarized politics in that the social forces propel one to be either a commie or a right-wing nationalist, with no middle ground. That feels right.
Maybe the book we're reading parallels the book in the story.
Nobody is presented in their best light until the protagonist finally regains his agency. (This isn't a spoiler since the author foreshadows an "everything will be okay" scenario.)
Some of the language is not in line with the '50s. I'm thinking such terms as "therapy," "pizza spot," "play nice," "wonk," "moral compass," or "day care" emerged later.
The protagonist never became fully male. He was preoccupied with appearances and clothes. His loves were a little like school-girl crushes. So the chemistry is lacking and the book isn't hot, the content notwithstanding.
Any criticisms aside, I was drawn to keep reading.
What makes me finish one book and put the other aside?
Does this one fit the genre of "literary fiction?" I think so. But was I learning from it?
This McCarthyism is stereotypical.
The outcome was surreal -- not alternative history but too absolutely black and white to be realistic. Good guys and bad guys. I haven't read Francine Prose before so not sure if this is on purpose. Still mimicking that book in the story?
At one point the author can't find an obscure address. That reminded me of The Trial, which I read recently.
The element of suspense for me was not what would happen to the protagonist, since, as I said, she foreshadowed, but, rather, what is real. The author plays with the reader. Funny, I think it's in this book that the protagonist refers to bad writing in which students resolve plot problems by having protagonists wake up to discover it had all been a dream. No, that's not the conclusion to The Vixen. But not sure how much I trust this writer.
But it's quite readable and wouldn't let me put it down.
March 11, 2022
Three stars.
This is three stars but it’s a positive three stars. An a-good-time-was-had-by-all three stars. An I-must-be-a-literary-snob-if-I’m-not-giving-this-more-than-three-stars three stars.
I was pleased to read a book about the Rosenbergs. I’ve been interested in them for a long time. It isn’t about them, really; they die in chapter 1, it’s about how that little plume of smoke that comes out of Ethel Rosenberg’s head after her botched assassination, sorry, execution sets off a similar plume of smoke in the heart of our hero, slush-pile reader Simon Putnam. There’s no smoke without fire, and Simon is handed a manuscript that was once called “The Burning,” a terrible, exploitative hatchet job on Ethel as some kind of evil communist femme fatale. Simon must decide what to do with the manuscript: does he fix the typos and publish it as is? Or does he try to honour Ethel Rosenberg’s dying wish that their names be “kept bright and unsullied by lies.” It doesn’t help that he might be in love with the author of the book.
Prose keeps things cracking along at a good pace. And it’s not a simplistic book. There are framing references to Norse Revenge sagas, Albanian fairy tales, moral hysteria, I Love Lucy.
The prose is correct. Actually I thought it could be a little better considering it’s a book about “good” and “bad” literature. And this is the second book I’ve read this year that doesn’t seem to trust me to remember what the stakes and issues are from one chapter to the next and just repeats everything ad nauseum. A case in point, I now have Ethel’s dying wish tattooed on my brain.
Anyway, three enjoyable stars of the I-had-fun-and-don’t-feel-dumb-afterwards variety.
Bonus points for the lovely cover design.
This is three stars but it’s a positive three stars. An a-good-time-was-had-by-all three stars. An I-must-be-a-literary-snob-if-I’m-not-giving-this-more-than-three-stars three stars.
I was pleased to read a book about the Rosenbergs. I’ve been interested in them for a long time. It isn’t about them, really; they die in chapter 1, it’s about how that little plume of smoke that comes out of Ethel Rosenberg’s head after her botched assassination, sorry, execution sets off a similar plume of smoke in the heart of our hero, slush-pile reader Simon Putnam. There’s no smoke without fire, and Simon is handed a manuscript that was once called “The Burning,” a terrible, exploitative hatchet job on Ethel as some kind of evil communist femme fatale. Simon must decide what to do with the manuscript: does he fix the typos and publish it as is? Or does he try to honour Ethel Rosenberg’s dying wish that their names be “kept bright and unsullied by lies.” It doesn’t help that he might be in love with the author of the book.
Prose keeps things cracking along at a good pace. And it’s not a simplistic book. There are framing references to Norse Revenge sagas, Albanian fairy tales, moral hysteria, I Love Lucy.
The prose is correct. Actually I thought it could be a little better considering it’s a book about “good” and “bad” literature. And this is the second book I’ve read this year that doesn’t seem to trust me to remember what the stakes and issues are from one chapter to the next and just repeats everything ad nauseum. A case in point, I now have Ethel’s dying wish tattooed on my brain.
Anyway, three enjoyable stars of the I-had-fun-and-don’t-feel-dumb-afterwards variety.
Bonus points for the lovely cover design.
August 13, 2021
Recent Harvard graduate Simon Putnam has been rejected from grad school and has thus returned to his parents’ place in Coney Island for the foreseeable future. It’s the summer of 1953, and Simon and his parents spend their evenings devotedly watching the news coverage of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg’s trial — an event that is especially emotionally charged for the Putnam family. Like the Rosenbergs, the Putnams are Jewish, and Ethel Rosenberg is a former classmate of Simon’s mother. Contrary to the predominant social attitude about the Rosenbergs, Simon and his parents watch with horror and disbelief as the execution takes place.
You can read my full review HERE on BookBrowse, and you can read a piece I wrote about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg HERE.
You can read my full review HERE on BookBrowse, and you can read a piece I wrote about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg HERE.
January 5, 2021
Read in prepub, due out June 2, 2021.
A story of publishing intrigue steeped in the red scare paranoia of the mid 1950's. The mystery at the center of the narrative is relatively low stakes, but the characters that Prose introduces are so interesting that you can't stop reading until you find out what happens to them.
Recommended for fans of Emma Donoghue. Prose handles historical themes with the same type of literary deftness.
A story of publishing intrigue steeped in the red scare paranoia of the mid 1950's. The mystery at the center of the narrative is relatively low stakes, but the characters that Prose introduces are so interesting that you can't stop reading until you find out what happens to them.
Recommended for fans of Emma Donoghue. Prose handles historical themes with the same type of literary deftness.
August 7, 2021
This fell flat for me…neither the satire nor the humor was particularly sharp or effective, and the earnestness that crept in at times was hard to interpret—is this the author or the narrator? It held my interest because of the time period and subject matter—although the author is only loosely bound by the actual history of the events she reimagines.
March 28, 2023
The third to last chapter should have been the end of this book, which felt as if it would never end.
What was this? A mystery? A young man grows a spine? (He doesn’t) A Mad Men caper about men who drink too much and have sex with their secretaries?
I wouldn’t say this was bad; but I did not enjoy it.
What was this? A mystery? A young man grows a spine? (He doesn’t) A Mad Men caper about men who drink too much and have sex with their secretaries?
I wouldn’t say this was bad; but I did not enjoy it.
January 30, 2022
An entertaining and cleverly written novel set in the NYC publishing world of the 1950's with lots of interesting parallels to our present political situation.
August 14, 2021
It's a mixture of pleasure at having discovered a new-to-me talented writer, and of dismay that it took such a long time for the discovery. It's especially true in the case of Francine Prose, who has been extremely prolific for many years, and the fact that at age 72 I don't have all that much time to catch up.
This novel was a great beginning. I loved the protagonist and all the other interesting characters. Just when I thought this was a nice, comfortable, romantic tale of a sweet, naive young man in the 1950s, about halfway through ... BAM ... a plot twist (or ten) spinning it in an entirely different direction that made it a page-turner. But it's the prose (pun unavoidable) that makes this special. You gotta love a book with sentences like these:
“Just getting through the day felt like memorizing poetry in a foreign language, outside, in a hailstorm.”
“It was remarkable how that one word, bartender, could combine so much self-mocking irony and unassailable privilege.”
“I longed to reach out and stroke the delicate face of the author of a book that had already tested my integrity, destroyed my peace of mind, and might yet ruin my career.”
“The oxygen had been replaced by the heady perfumes that stylish young women playfully sprayed at me as I rambled through this Taj Mahal of commerce.”
“A chill seeped into the warm space that Elaine used to occupy in my thoughts.”
“It was easier not to see her, to let my doubts and grief remain foggy and abstracted instead of fixed in memory: sharp, permanent, and cruel.”
An awesome story, beautifully written. The first thing I did after reading the last page was e-mail my two closest friends to recommend it. I know they're going to love it as much as I did. Looking forward to reading a lot more by this amazing author.
This novel was a great beginning. I loved the protagonist and all the other interesting characters. Just when I thought this was a nice, comfortable, romantic tale of a sweet, naive young man in the 1950s, about halfway through ... BAM ... a plot twist (or ten) spinning it in an entirely different direction that made it a page-turner. But it's the prose (pun unavoidable) that makes this special. You gotta love a book with sentences like these:
“Just getting through the day felt like memorizing poetry in a foreign language, outside, in a hailstorm.”
“It was remarkable how that one word, bartender, could combine so much self-mocking irony and unassailable privilege.”
“I longed to reach out and stroke the delicate face of the author of a book that had already tested my integrity, destroyed my peace of mind, and might yet ruin my career.”
“The oxygen had been replaced by the heady perfumes that stylish young women playfully sprayed at me as I rambled through this Taj Mahal of commerce.”
“A chill seeped into the warm space that Elaine used to occupy in my thoughts.”
“It was easier not to see her, to let my doubts and grief remain foggy and abstracted instead of fixed in memory: sharp, permanent, and cruel.”
An awesome story, beautifully written. The first thing I did after reading the last page was e-mail my two closest friends to recommend it. I know they're going to love it as much as I did. Looking forward to reading a lot more by this amazing author.
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