Meet Mazie Phillips: big-hearted and bawdy, she's the truth-telling proprietress of The Venice, the famed New York City movie theater. It's the Jazz Age, with romance and booze 
aplenty--even when Prohibition kicks in--and Mazie never turns down a night on the town. But her high spirits mask a childhood rooted in poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holds her dearest secrets.
When the Great Depression hits, Mazie's life is on the brink of transformation. Addicts and bums roam the Bowery; homelessness is rampant. If Mazie won't help them, then who? When she opens the doors of The Venice to those in need, this ticket-taking, fun-time girl becomes the beating heart of the Lower East Side, and in defining one neighborhood helps define the city.
Then, more than ninety years after Mazie began her diary, it's discovered by a documentarian in search of a good story. Who was Mazie Phillips, really? A chorus of voices from the past and present fill in some of the mysterious blanks of her adventurous life.
Inspired by the life of a woman who was profiled in Joseph Mitchell's classic Up in the Old Hotel, Saint Mazie is infused with Jami Attenberg's signature wit, bravery, and heart. Mazie's rise to "sainthood"--and her irrepressible spirit--is unforgettable.
~ Goodreads
My review..........3.5 stars
I read The Middlesteins by this author and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to get to read this new novel. First let's look at the beautiful cover! I think it's perfect for this book, it really evokes the time period and where our main character spends her days. This is a fictionalized account of the real life of Mazie Phillips Gordon, movie theater ticket taker by day, helpful "saint" to the homeless of New York City by night. It is a wonderful commentary on NYC at and around the time of the jazz age, prohibition, and the great depression. It's written from the perspective of a documentarian who comes across Mazie's diary, begun when she is ten years old. We have the diary entries, interspersed with pieces by people who either knew her, or heard stories relating to her. This does make the book a little hard to follow, but the vignettes are woven in amongst the diary entries in somewhat of a chronological fashion, so it's not too bad. Mazie is such an amazing character, complete with a troubled life, a fervent love of her city, and a huge need to help those less fortunate than her. I loved her, and only wish the novel could have been longer so we could learn more about her life!
Pick this one up if you enjoy books about this era, or about New York City, or about a bawdy, vivacious, loveable, and persevering woman.
Many thanks to Tiffany at Grand Central Publishing/Hachette who sent me a copy of this for review. My opinions are always my own.
aplenty--even when Prohibition kicks in--and Mazie never turns down a night on the town. But her high spirits mask a childhood rooted in poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holds her dearest secrets.
I really liked this one too! I loved the structure with the little vignettes...I liked seeing the diff perspectives and the anticipation of whose thoughts were comig next.
At first it interrupted the flow for me when I would realize I was not reading from Mazie's diary anymore (I needed to be more mindful of the captions above the sections), but once I got used to it it wasn't a problem. Thanks for stopping by.
I'm curious what you didn't like about it that caused you to give it 3.5 stars instead of 4 or 5. It sounds like you enjoyed it a lot, so I'm just wondering what didn't quite work for you that dropped down your rating.
I don't give out a lot of 5's when I review. It has to be a book that I can't put down and literally don't want to do anything but read. I could have probably given this a 4, but because of the initial getting used to the format, and the fact that I would have liked to explore some of the secondary characters more, I gave it 3.5. It fell between "I liked it" and "I really liked it". Good question....I hope I answered it for you. Thanks for commenting!
Your review made me want to read this one. I love the premise of starting with a real person, taking a small job and making a big life. Thanks for mentioning cover art too...so few people do.
Cover art is hugely important to me! I won't say that I would not read a book because of the cover, but if I'm browsing, I probably won't pick a book up to look at what it's about if I'm not attracted to the cover. If I read a book with an unappealing cover, it's likely because I've read positive reviews about it.