Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

Recent historical novels by Fiona Davis (The Dollhouse, The Address) have been very popular and feature New York City locations (Barbizon Hotel and The Dakota). I requested an advance reader copy of her newest, THE MASTERPIECE, and found it entertaining and informative. In this novel Davis focuses on the beautiful architecture of Grand Central Terminal (or Grand Central Station as it is often incorrectly, though more affectionately, called) and the art movements of the 1920s through two intertwining stories.  One is set in the 1970s (when the station’s demolition was being adjudicated) with a recent divorcee, Virginia, obtaining an entry level job with the railroad and discovering a hidden painting.  That painting was created roughly 50 years earlier and relates to the more compelling second story about fictional Clara Darden, an aspiring illustrator and instructor at Grand Central School of Art (which did actually exist). There’s a bit of mystery here and some wonderful historical detail, especially for readers who know and love New York City. THE MASTERPIECE received a starred review from Library Journal and was a LibraryReads selection for August 2018.

The Design of Childhood by Alexandra Lange

I am looking forward to having THE DESIGN OF CHILDHOOD by Alexandra Lange on our shelves soon. This very interesting text was written by an architecture and design critic who clearly loves history and children. As the subtitle notes, the text explores “how the material world shapes independent kids.” Lange views a child’s world (filled with stuff) as an ever-expanding environment, growing from building blocks to their house to school to neighborhoods and urban centers. She therefore writes about toys (noting parallels from blocks to Legos to Minecraft), about classroom chairs and desks and about parks and playgrounds. The tone is quite conversational and engaging throughout as she weaves in the changing theories about raising children.

It is clear that this book will be of interest to parents and educators. I also think our students taking AP Psych and/or Child Development will certainly be intrigued by this text.  There are many more, though, who will definitely enjoy her description of some of our local architecture, particularly Crow Island School which is a nationally recognized landmark building.  Designed with growing children in mind (the benches in the auditorium are in graduated sizes, for example), the building and staff evoke fond memories for many of our current students.

Two New York City novels ...

Here are some thoughts on two new books, both of which are set in New York … 

THE GARGOYLE HUNTERS is a debut novel by native New Yorker John Freeman Gill.  In this

story, set in mid-1970’s New York City, 13-year old Griffin tries to cope with his parents’ dysfunctional relationship and struggles with the expectations of the family’s architectural salvage business. It is fascinating to read about his adventures climbing around buildings as, per his Dad’s direction, he rescues and liberates gargoyles and other sculptures.

Gill, an expert on historic New York buildings, seamlessly educates his readers about facades and construction while cleverly raising questions of greed, decay/demolition and preservation/progress. Also, the father son dynamics will offer a potential starting point for Junior Theme students as this quote illustrates: “just standing beside Dad, the force of him, so often rendered me inarticulate.  His imminent disapproval was a weight I could never quite stop trying to push off me.” THE GARGOYLE HUNTERS is both funny and poignant; it received a starred review from Booklist which also recommended this title “for fans of Donna Tartt and Colum McCann.”

A second novel concerning New York is THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET by Randy Susan Meyers which details the development and ultimate consequences of a Ponzi scheme.  To be honest, I really liked the beginning of this novel and then it started to repeat itself seemingly incessantly (about how Jake would be certain to pay back loans and make good on other irregularities in his investment business) and I was simply not so interested. What he did was wrong and not even based on any clear motivation.  More interesting was wife Phoebe’s reaction to Jake’s betrayal, but it took a long time to really understand or feel empathy for her, also.   

While I do not think that this title will have much appeal for our students, it could work for adult book groups since there are clearly some moral issues to discuss and a spousal relationship to explore (perhaps in tandem with Ada Calhoun's recent New York Times article "To Stay Married, Embrace Change"). Other reviewers have been generally more positive (Kirkus called THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET “compelling… an engrossing emotional journey”) so if the financial industry is of interest to you, pick up a copy and let me know what you think.