The Dollhouse, by Fiona Davis

What a great surprise this book was.  After reading several literary duds in a row, I was thrilled to come across this engrossing story that had me ripping through the pages at lightning speed.  Many thanks to 'First to Read' for providing me with a copy to review.

At the risk of (erroneously) making it sound boring, this book was like sitting through that (rare) enjoyable history class.  The story takes place at the real-life Barbizon building in New York City.  In 1952, it was a hotel for women, boasting some rather famous residents, such as Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, and Sylvia Plath.  In 2016, it’s a condominium complex.  As art imitates life, the building continues to house some former hotel residents on its 4^th floor – residents who date back to the building’s heyday, including one Darby McLaughlin. 

As the book opens, we’re introduced to Rose, a struggling journalist who is facing upheaval in her personal life, as well as in her professional aspirations.  A resident of the 2016 version of the Barbizon, she encounters one of the 4^th floor residents on the elevator, Miss McLaughlin, and begins to sniff a story. Just who are these women who’ve inhabited the hallways for over 60 years? And, what is this about a mysterious incident that left a woman dead?  Through Rose’s research, we’re introduced to the 1952 Barbizon, seen through the eyes of Darby, a resident who was attending the Katharine Gibbs secretarial school. 

Darby is a shy, introverted young woman, stuck living on a floor with the statuesque models (re: mean girls) signed to the Eileen Ford modeling agency.  While struggling to adapt to her vast new world, Darby is befriended by a maid in the hotel.  Esme is an aspiring actress and singer, who introduces Darby to a different side of New York City – a seedier, yet exciting side, filled with glamour, jazz, and drugs.  Soon Darby is falling in love with her new life, and a new man. 

The chapters take turns, bringing us snippets of Darby’s life, before returning us to Rose’s research of that life.  The story itself is intriguing enough to keep the reader turning those pages, but when I discovered that the Barbizon was once a real, true-life residence for women, I read the words with an extra dose of enthusiasm. 

If this book had one fault, it’s that it could have used an extra twenty to thirty pages.  I felt like the author was in a rush to get the final piece of the puzzle out and shoved all the necessary information into ten quick pages, after building it up for almost 300.  What’s the rush?  I wanted to savor the end, as much as I had the entire book.  Regardless, this is still one of those books you won’t mind plunking down twenty bucks for.  Of course, some may argue that you won’t be getting your money’s worth when you want to read all the pages in a single day.