Does City of Girls Live Up to the Hype?

Please don't leave when you hear that I was not obsessed with Eat, Pray, Love. I read this book during the height of its popularity, and it wasn't the life-changing read for me that it seemed to be for everyone else. Possibly because I was a college student. The idea of a woman leaving everything to take a trip around the world to find herself didn't connect with me at the time.

I do like Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic. It's completely different from her most popular success, and I loved the ideas that she presented about creativity. This book didn't end up being made into a movie starring Julia Roberts, but it was incredibly useful for me.

Due to my mixed reactions to Gilbert's writing, I was interested in City of Girls, but I wasn't sold enough to try it. Then, one of my friends invited me to a book club. That just happened to be reading City of Girls.

As far as I can tell, Elizabeth Gilbert doesn't tell the same story twice. City of Girls is a fictional novel set in 1940s New York. The book has been heavily promoted especially since Gilbert is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Over 3/4 of the reviews on Goodreads give it at least 4 stars. People seem to really enjoy this book.

So, is it really as good as everyone says?

Here's what I thought.

Positives

• The narrator is telling the story to an unknown character. I loved this frame for the story. Not only did it allow the narrator to offer commentary on the events as they happened, it also keeps the reader curious throughout the novel looking for clues to who this character might be. 
• The setting is enchanting. Gilbert excels at creating a version of 1940s New York that is enticingly nostalgic and romantic. Immediately after finishing this story I was a tiny bit sad that I'll never get to live in New York during the 1940s.

Neutral

• The plot is solid. The story unfolds relatively well. The actions that characters took and the results of those choices made sense. A few subplots could have been tightened, but nothing pushes the reader out of the story.

Negatives

• The characters were interesting, but none of them seemed like the kind of people you'd want to be around for long. It was fascinating to read about these people, but I didn't feel a connection with them.
• The sex scenes were a little much for me. Since I didn't do any research into the book before reading it, I had no idea to expect these scenes. Some people would probably classify these scenes as a positive, but I was just uncomfortable. Plus, story-wise, it is odd for a narrator to give these detailed descriptions. It's made clear that she's telling the story to the daughter of a man that she used to know. The daughter would most likely not want to hear these parts.

Was it worth the hype?

My answer is an incredibly unsatisfying "kind of." It is not the best book that I've ever read. I have no intention of reading it again. But, I absolutely could not put it down once I started reading.

I predict that this movie will be made into a movie within the next few years, and that with the right director and cast, the movie will be very popular. I'd consider watching it just for the sets and costumes because those would be amazing.

This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info.

What books have you read lately that were worth the hype? I'd love to review other books that are getting a lot of buzz. Feel free to leave suggestions here or on instagram.