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The Boston Girl

A Novel

Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available
2016 Audie Award Finalist for Best Female Narrator
New York Times bestseller!

An unforgettable novel about a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century, told "with humor and optimism...through the eyes of an irresistible heroine" (People)—from the acclaimed author of The Red Tent.
Anita Diamant's "vivid, affectionate portrait of American womanhood" (Los Angeles Times), follows the life of one woman, Addie Baum, through a period of dramatic change. Addie is The Boston Girl, the spirited daughter of an immigrant Jewish family, born in 1900 to parents who were unprepared for America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End of Boston, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can't imagine—a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture, and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, to finding the love of her life, eighty-five-year-old Addie recounts her adventures with humor and compassion for the naïve girl she once was.

Written with the same attention to historical detail and emotional resonance that made Diamant's previous novels bestsellers, The Boston Girl is a moving portrait of one woman's complicated life in twentieth century America, and a fascinating look at a generation of women finding their places in a changing world. "Diamant brings to life a piece of feminism's forgotten history" (Good Housekeeping) in this "inspirational...page-turning portrait of immigrant life in the early twentieth century" (Booklist).
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 6, 2014
      Bestseller Diamant (The Red Tent) tells a gripping story of a young Jewish woman growing up in early-20th-century Boston. Addie Baum, an octogenarian grandmother in 1985, relates long-ago history to a beloved granddaughter, answering the question: “How did I get to be the woman I am today?” The answer: by living a fascinating life. First reminiscing about 1915 and the reading club she became a part of as a teenager, Addie, in a conversational tone, recounts the lifelong friendships that began at club meetings and days by the seaside at nearby Rockport. She tells movingly of the fatal effects of the flu, a relative’s suicide, the touchy subject of abortion and its aftermath, and even her own disastrous first date, which nearly ended in rape. Ahead of her time, Addie also becomes a career woman, working as a newspaper typist who stands up for her beliefs at all costs. This is a stunning look into the past with a plucky heroine readers will cheer for.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 23, 2015
      Actress Lavin, best known for her star role in the 1970s sitcom Alice, is an ideal narrator for Diamant’s portrait of Addie Baum, a turn-of-the-century girl born to immigrant parents in Boston. Set in the 1980s, the story is framed as an oral history in which Addie describes to her granddaughter her coming of age in the 1910s and 1920s. We journey through the immigrant experience, the joys of adolescent friendships and first romantic “assignations” (as Addie puts it), the sadness wrought by the 1918 influenza epidemic, and the struggles of pioneering women in the workplace. Lavin nails the notoriously difficult Boston accent as she brings Addie to life with marvelous wit and wisdom, showcasing the heroine’s innate playfulness as well as her gutsy perseverance. Lavin’s performance sparkles throughout. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect pairing of novel and narrator. A Scribner hardcover.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Eighty-five-year-old Addie Baum's granddaughter asks, "How did you get to be the woman you are today?" So begins a touching, unforgettable journey with a witty, charming guide. Narrator Linda Lavin brings heartfelt emotions, intelligence, and humor to Addie. Her performance is so truthful it feels as if Lavin is Addie Baum or Addie Baum is Lavin. Born here in 1900 of Russian immigrants, Addie experiences the conflict between the old and new worlds. Lavin is relaxed and mellow, chuckling when Addie finds something amusing--you can hear the impish smile on her face. As Addie's life unfolds, Anita Diamant offers a well-researched, detailed look at women in the last century, and Lavin gets it just right. PS: I want Linda Lavin to be my BFF. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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