Review: Beautifully written historical fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 13, 2011
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order toreview it.Simon Rosedale is a wealthy Jewish banker trying to gain acceptance into New York's upper crust of society in 1905, during the gilded age of obscene wealth and prejudicial discrimination.  To add insult to injury, he's completely taken with a beautiful gentile woman who's grasping to maintain her hold on that society herself.  Lily Bart is all wrong for Simon, but he can't see it.  The person who can see it is his closest female friend, who is in love with Simon herself.  The reader follows along as Simon longs for something out of his reach and makes a fool of himself in the process, all the while being the object of another's longing completely unaware.This novel is meticulously written to relate the thinking and lifestyle of the period.  I think it says a great deal about the author's skill that I loved this novel even though I do not like a single one of the characters.  He lays them all out for us to examine, flaws and all.  It brings a very human touch to the story that makes it hard to put down.  I was pleasantly surprised to find myself so emotionally involved in these characters.