The second novel by Elizabeth Gilbert is all about the memories; memories of one’s youth enjoyed and spent in repentance, memories of familial relationships built and nurtured, memories of friendships built and lost and memories of a city loved and admired for over a lifetime.

The story begins in 1940s New York when Vivian Morris, age nineteen and freshly booted from Vassar College, arrives there on her parents’ insistence. Her paternal aunt Peg is going to be her legal guardian in this big city where it is expected for her to learn a thing or two useful before returning to her parents and eventually leading a life of domestic bliss.

However, what Vivian witnesses at the Lily Playhouse- a crumbling theatre owned and operated by her aunt with her live-in partner Alice, changes her worldview completely. For the first time in her life, Vivian feels alive in the company of flamboyant showgirls and amidst the mad rush of theatre production. One of the most beautiful and charming showgirl befriends Vivian, almost taking Vivi under her wings to guide her through the glitz and glamour of pre-war Manhattan.

But the roof comes crashing down when one such glamours adventure turns into a sordid affair, stamping Vivian’s life with a permanent mark and pushing her to a drastically different life albeit via familial drama and personal tragedy. That’s when she meets the love of her life- Frank Grecco.

Although the tone of this is set like a memoir meaning Vivian writing down her memories in a letter to Angela- Frank’s daughter, the book reads more like an historical fiction depicting the New York City transforming through its most turbulent years. Thus, it becomes part fiction and part historical documentation of how the big apple reinvented itself post the WWII.

Having said that, what makes this book worthwhile are the vivid memories of Vivian during the war years and how her retelling makes us hopeful to wait for her eventual relationship with Frank. Although this relationship is the basis of her writing letter to Angela and in a way, telling of her life story, when it finally unfolds is quite a dramatic moment in the novel. Till that point, the readers have reached almost two-third of this book and hence, it feels a little too rushed. Frankly speaking, there is so much drama already happened in her life which Vivian narrates in great details that her later years just whizz by in front of the readers’ eyes.

Still, this book is worth your time if you are looking for a dramatic fictional retelling of the New York glamorous nights during the forties and how it all changed post war. Additionally, the love story at the heart of it makes the wait worthwhile for navigating through Vivian’s complicated youth in this lengthy storyline. You can surely give it a try.