One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of One Fifth Avenue
Book Review: Bushnell does it again!
Summary: 5 Stars
Candace Bushnell is a genius in this medium. She is a wonderful literary talent who mixes comedy with dark drama in the most interesting of New York settings. ONE FIFTH is a comedy that both New Yorkers and Americans alike can relate to as the tenants of this grand building trample over each other when some try to reach their way to the top of the social scale and buy what is certainly one of the best penthouses in NYC's famous Greenwhich village. Where the fervent Bushnell fans will be delighted to see familar-type faces; the young Lola Fabrikant, the gorgeous actress Schiffer Diamond, that everyone wishes they were. New readers will maybe find a bit of themselves in the reserved but intelligent character of Annalisa or the overachiever, Mindy Gooch, who just never finds happiness, no matter how much she has accomomplished. ONE FIFTH is surely one of the most revelent books on the shelves right now and the best thing about it is, it's a damn good read. TSBook Review: Bushnell's best effort...
Summary: 4 Stars
One Fifth Avenue is one of, if not THE most prestigious co-op building in Manhattan. Everyone wants to live there, but only the rich socialites get to do so. Unless you're James and Mindy Gooch, a middle-aged married couple who live in one of the smaller apartments. She is a member of the co-op board and he is a novelist on the rise. They will never have the same cachet and social status as Philip Oakland -- award-winning book author turned screenwriter -- and his elderly aunt Enid, or draw in the public's attention as movie star Schiffer Diamond. Mindy is never taken seriously by the other tenants and things get worse when Paul and Annalisa Rice move in to what once had been the grand apartment of the late socialite Louise Houghton. Annalisa is a social climber and her husband is a ruthless billionaire. Annalisa is befriended by a fifty-something gay man who, in spite of his lack of fortune, is well loved in all social circles. Then there's Lola Fabrikant, twenty-two-year-old daughter of a businessman from Atlanta. When she discovers that her parents no longer have money, she begins a relationship with Philip, without knowing that Philip has had an on-again, off-again relationship with forty-something Schiffer, whom he still loves. She wants to secure a marriage from him and, as a result, a permanent place in One Fifth. Throw in lots of society commentary, ironic twists, mid-life crisis, unhappy marriages, jewelry theft, suicide and murder, and you get a story not unlike something Edith Wharton would have written had she been alive in this era.
One Fifth Avenue is a great, entertaining read. It shows a darker side to New York's "polite society" and the importance of living in the right address. You get a great deal of insight into a sought-after co-op apartment building and the people who live in it. Candace Bushnell, known for writing Sex and the City and Lipstick Jungle, succeeds in writing an Edith Whartonesque novel, only this has a little Olivia Goldsmith thrown in as well. This is her best work yet, in my opinion. The one thing I don't like about this book is that it is a little hard to keep up with all of the characters and the constant head-hopping gets irritating after a while. And Bushnell does not research Springfield, Massachusetts, very well. She makes it sound like some backwater hick town as opposed to what it actually is: a smallish city with one of the largest and most important hospitals in the northeast. Also, this novel has a great backdrop of the modern Internet and smartphone age. There is a whole lot of blogging and texting going on. Even the old characters do it. I think Bushnell has a contract with Apple or something because she brings up the iPhone and other Apple products A LOT. In fact, the character James Gooch has a deal with Apple that will help sell his book. Interesting. Other than that, I very much enjoyed One Fifth Avenue.
Book Review: Candy at her best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book--- I've read all of Bushnell's books and this is my favorite. I shelved it next to Dorothy Parker, Edith Wharton, Truman Capote, and F.Scott Fitzgerald because this is sure to be a 21st century classic. It's a brilliant social commentary (she picks fun at New Yorkers,the nouveau riche,old money etc) yet she still manages to craft a delicious page turner that you won't want to put down. Better the Claire Messud's book on the same subject. Read it!Book Review: Candy for the Mind
Summary: 5 Stars
I am coming to the end of this book and find myself reading slower and slower because I don't want the story to be done. I think this is a fairly well-written comedy-of-manners and I agree with the comparisons other reviewers have made to the style of Edith Wharton. It's light, interesting, and feels a bit like candy for the mind. I think it would make a great movie and also has enough meat in it to sustain as a television series. I recommend the book highly. If you are anticipating taking a long airline flight or sitting on a beach somewhere, it will pass the time most enjoyably.Book Review: Cliche!
Summary: 2 Stars
I received this as a gift, and was very excited since I am a huge fan of SATC. I was disappointed from the start. Almost all of the character are so unlikable and annoying that you don't care to continue reading to find out what happens to them. The writing is very cliche and unoriginal. The story-line is predictable and empty. Would not recommend wasting your time.