Susan Dworkin

Interesting, but overlong, biography of Bess Myerson, centering on her reign as Miss America in 1945. The first 80 pages, about her life growing up in the Bronx, are only intermittently interesting, but the book takes off when she heads to Atlantic City for the Miss America pageant. Bess Myerson's much more interesting first person sections alternate with Susan Dworkin's third person biographical sections. Two large photo sections. The book glosses over or totally omits some of the less show more flattering events in Miss Myerson's life in later years, but offers a powerful look at antiSemitism and racism during the 1940s. show less

The Garden Lady is not a long book – it is 220 pages – but the author packs a lot in so it’s a fast paced read. Maxie Dash has decided that she will marry again, but he is going to be someone rich so that when/if he dies she will be set for life. She finds her man but her desire for a comfortable life perhaps overrides her good sense. She marries Albert but he and his money come with a lot of conditions; the most important being that she never ask about his business. She is so desirous show more of an easy life that she agrees to everything he demands, even when it causes her discomfort.

As I noted there is a lot going on in this book; Maxie’s abusive childhood is explored. She survived thanks to her best friend CeeCee. They remain close and CeeCee is involved in another subplot involving a shipping company whose executive is investigation Maxie’s husband for selling faulty plane parts. There are suspicious guests at dinner parties, there are strange orchids, there are murders. There is botany and memorial gardens. It’s a diverse book full of many subplots.

It’s hard to truly describe the book. It reads very quickly and in some ways it’s light and breeze and in others it’s heavy and hidden. I read it in one sitting and the ending was a wowzer. Not all questions are answered or I missed something. It does make for a fascinating read. show less