Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk was a recent airport bookstore find. I was sold on the idea of a little old lady, a retired ad exec from the days when women simply didn't work, reminiscing about her life as she walked through miles of New York City on New Year's Eve 1984. Ultimately, I found the premise more enticing than the execution; or, perhaps I found Lillian slightly lacking, at least in comparison to other geriatric protagonists (take a bow, Ove and Hendrik).
Kathleen Rooney is a fine writer, and she does a lovely job placing Lillian in mid-80s New York - grit, crime, AIDS, the soaring Twin Towers - it's all there for the reader's pleasure. I just found Lillian a bit too...abrasive? Sure of herself? Odd? I'll let you determine whether and how her character is deficient (also: it could just be me), but I had a hard time caring about either her past, or the events unfolding before her on NYE. Correction: I didn't care. The book was short, the writing was snappy, the flight was long, and in the end I was determined to finish. My life is no better for the decision, though.
Two stars (one each for good writing and entrancing cityscapes).
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