The Season Of Lillian Dawes: A Novel [Paperback]

This novel I actually listened to on tape, and though it made my seven hour car ride enjoyable, I couldn't help thinking I've read this book before...I think that's because it reminds me of other famous novels--"The Great Gatsby" meets "Catcher in the Rye," meets Edith Wharton's social commentary. I was quickly able to guess the secret identity of the missing heir who was swindled, and the only suspense was how it was all going to work-out. Mosby's writing style was pleasant, and I enjoyed the difficult vocabulary she interjects--its refreshing to read (or my case, listen), to something that is not written for the lowest common denominator. Its not over-burdened with difficult vocabulary, though the author's descriptive metaphors were often a little forced, and seemed like they were only there to show-off her cleverness. Gabriel was wiser than his years or experience, and Lillian didn't seem entirely believable. I understand that Gabriel would have over-exaggerated her charms since he was enamored, but Lillian shows too much book-intellect for someone that left home at 17 with no formal education beyond that point. Had the author showed her more as someone with a curious, insightful mind (with some life experiences that broadened her education), it would have been easier to believe. The other characters were not fully developed by the author to better understand their behavior, and I for one enjoy more descriptions of their looks so I can better imagine what the characters look like as I'm reading. Everyone does seem much too intelligent, but a private prep school education in the '50s was probably more stringent than a '90s college education...Aunt Livinia adds some comic relief to the novel, though I couldn't helping feeling she was channeling Oscar Wilde with her constant witticisms and social observations. On the whole I enjoyed the novel, and will read the book again to see if I missed something by listening to it on tape. (I will actually enjoy having my dictionary handy to look-up words that are rarely used today in literature.) Also, I wasn't crazy about the ending--I guess I've grown accustomed to the tidy, Hollywood-endings, and had hoped for at least a little hint as to what happened to Lillian and Spencer.

A witty and engaging first-person narrative of New York in 1954. In addition to the brilliant and mysterious Lillian Dawes, whose first noncameo appearance doesn't occur until a third of the book is behind you, you'll meet the brothers Gabriel and Spencer Gibbs, who are temporarily rooming together (for reasons explained in the opening chapter), and their delightful aunt Lavinia, who brings her own silverware, and her dog, to restaurants.

The story is written in the first person, by Gabriel at some point in his future, and it joins the ever-growing list of "New York" novels, and quite near the top, too. Comparisons with "Catcher in the Rye" as well as Henry James and Edith Wharton are inevitable. There's also more than a touch of "Breakfast at Tiffanys."

New Yorkers with long memories, or their children and grandchildren, will delight in the references to the politics of the time (Joe McCarthy, the Rosenbergs, President Eisenhower) as well as to artifacts of the "Populuxe" era--transistor radios, hula hoops--and long-gone New York eating places, like Schraffts.

Tidily done.

I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a novel that purports to be a comedy of manners but is also a heartwarming look at the eccentricities found in families and of the ties that bond those families together - in spite of themselves. Filled with humor and warmth, this one is an absolute stand-out, not to be missed.
At the heart of this book is Gabriel Gibbs, a young boy struggling to find himself after being thrown out of an upscale boarding school. Luckily he has his wise, if unconventional, brother Spencer to look after him as well as a muse in the form of the mysterious Lillian Dawes, a woman who is both more and less than she seems. She touches the heart of both Gabriel and his brother, leading them towards an unpredictable conclusion.