City of Girls

A Novel

By: Elizabeth Gilbert

Narrated by: Blair Brown

Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

An Instant New York Times Best Seller!

From the number-one best-selling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a good person.

"A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness." (PopSugar)

"Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger." (USA Today)

"Pairs well with a cocktail...or two." (TheSkimm)

"Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are."

Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love.

In 1940, 19-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.

Now 89 years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time", she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.

©2019 Elizabeth Gilbert (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Blair Brown delivers a superb narration of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel, which features the recollections of a 95-year-old New York seamstress who came of age during WWII. Brown's straightforward, charming depiction illuminates the vivacious young woman the wistful elderly narrator remembers, and her conversational pacing creates vibrant pictures for the listener." (AudioFile Magazine)

"With all the conversations about sexual consent, it's risen up around the #MeToo movement... This author doesn't want us to forget there's also such a thing as female desire, the main character wants to have sex and she's not shy about hunting for it." (Whoopi Goldberg, The View "Ladies Get Lit Summer Reads 2019'")

"Delightful…Terrific characters, gorgeous clothing, great one-liners, convincing wartime atmosphere, and excellent descriptions of sex…Don't miss out on her wonderful novels any longer." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Gilbert takes us to New York City in the glamorous 1940s, where the sex was plentiful and showgirls just wanted to have fun." (Oprahmag.com)

Blair Brown's narration is spectacular.

Blair Brown is an accomplished actress, whose excellent reading, voices and accents give life to characters whom we might not otherwise care about.

A nuanced portrait of womanhoood

I don’t take the time to write reviews often, but I have just finished City of Girls, and I can not recommend high enough. There is so much press about all the sex in the book, and yes, Vivian has a lot of sex, but only a few of those encounters are described, and they are written about beautifully. Our culture is still so prurient when it comes to female sexuality, so therein lies all the fuss in my view. Vivian is a complex, full of life, flawed character, who is also good and likable and deeply memorable. She undergoes a captivating maturity over the course of the book, and in the end she really knows who she is. I reveled in the arc of her growth as it just felt real and true. Lastly, the story, and this character are really important right now. I realize I crave stories about woman that push against the cultural narratives most woman still contend with daily. Gilbert has written one that is both enjoyable and deep.

A Nice and interesting story

I started reading this book and put it down because I was busy, and then I forgot about it for a while. But I came back to it eventually and did finish it. This book was an easy listen and I liked the unconventional characters.

A fabulous read.

I read this book in 3 days. Great way of telling a story and learning about Vivian’s life choices.

In a word, delicious!

This is a fun and unique story that indulged my ears in the most savory of delectable stories. Liz’s sense of humor and language paints colorful, fascinating, and highly relatable characters in nostalgic scenes. I listened to the entire book in less than a week. Buy this book if you want to be transported to the drama and glamour of 1940s New York!

Great story!

I loved everything about the book! Characters were well developed, the story kept me intrigued, the narrator was awesome! The book is set way before my time, yet I could relate to it. Can’t wait to start her next book! I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have❤️

OMG… the most deeply honest and touching book I have ever read

Cindy
How could I have pretended all these years to have understood my sex or history without this honest account through the eyes of this incredible woman , Vivian Morris …

Captivating

I listen to audiobooks on my commute, I would find myself staying in my car well after I got home because “ I just needed to know what happened next.” I loved Vivian. I felt her pain and her triumphs. I definitely would recommend this book and wished that there were s sequel.

Could not stop listening to this story

I do not often review books, but this is a treasure. I could not stop listening, and did not want it to end. I love listening to the story of a someones life, especially as they are telling it. Sneak away with a cup of coffee and have a long conversation with Vivian...Elizabeth...Blair.

Amazing!

a wonderful and refreshing story! I couldn't stop listening to it. The characters are so fun and vibrant!