Saint Mazie
Jami Attenberg
Genre: Real Life People
Grade: B
I have always wanted to be in a book club but I’m not very good at reading things that are in anyway assigned. However this was on-line and I figured if I didn’t get through it no one would have to know… I’ve been trying to branch out in my reading recently and try new things in one area of my life at least.
The weird thing is it definitely affected my view of the book at first. I’m reading through it meanwhile getting all these updates and posts about how much people are loving it and it’s amazing and they’re doing art work and stuff! I was so into it in the beginning and then I started trailing off. Yeah anyway long story short this is a good book but it’s not a great book. This is an interesting woman but really there’s not that much known about her. I suppose its very life like in a sense because while I wanted something to change for Mazie or for her to do something more she really doesn’t.
Mazie takes tickets during the day at a movie theatre in the Bowery that she owns. She’s a wonderful caring person. She takes care of a mentally ill sister. She spends her nights walking the streets and taking care of the downtrodden calling ambulances for them, bringing them soap, giving them what money she has for food. She has men in her life but the only consistent one is a married Captain the relationship goes on when he pops into town but there’s little else to her journal entries.
I think the author does an amazing job of catching the voice and the love of a city. I grew up with my great -grandparents around and surrounded by people there age, who would have only been one generation younger than Mazie, in reading the journal I could hear their voices. The kind of breezy broads of the days of old who drank beer all day long and were somehow both the kindest and most judgmental people ever. Even in Mazie’s diary entries the voice of the secondary characters came through. Reading it felt like authentic. It’s also an interesting look at that period of time in New York and catches the beauty and ugliness of the city that Mazie can never tear herself away.
Recommend: Yes. It’s strange to say despite my weird expectations and the fact that it doesn’t really go anywhere reading it made me feel like I was there and made me think about and miss my great- grandmother.