The Lions of Fifth Avenue: A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)

THE LIONS ON FIFTH AVENUE by Fiona Davis is a fictional, historical story line focusing on the Lyons family of New York. Told from dual third person perspectives using two different time lines THE LIONS ON FIFTH AVENUE follows housewife/mother/ and feminist Laura Lyons in 1913-1914 as she struggles with family, friendships and a direction in life. Having always wanted to be a journalist, Laura enrols at the prestigious Columbia Journalism School where she will discover that life as she knows it is about to change. From exposure to the Heterodoxy Club, the thefts of valuable books from the New York Public Library where she and her family lived, to her husband’s death and her son’s disappearance, Laura will have to face the reality that her world was spiralling out of control. Fast forward to 1993, wherein we will meet Laura Lyons granddaughter, New York City Library curator Sadie Donovan, a woman whose own life will begin to mimic that of her grandmother’s when a series of manuscripts, notes and books go missing from a rare collection at the public library. With the investigation quickly focusing on Sadie Donovan, Sadie begins to research her family history only to discover that the truth is stranger than fiction. THE LIONS ON FIFTH AVENUE is a slow building story that bounces between two time lines, one family, and a series of missing and stolen books. We are witness to but a few months in the life of both leading heroines yet Sadie has only skimmed the surface of her grandmother’s tale. THE LIONS OF FIFTH is an impassioned, dramatic and tragic story of one family, two women, and the New York Public Library.

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis is a stimulating dual-timeline novel. The story moves between 1993 with Sadie Donovan and 1913 with Laura Lyons. I found The Lions of Fifth Avenue to be well-written with interesting characters. Laura Lyons was a woman ahead of her time. Laura is a wife and mother who has become restless. She is a Vassar graduate who would like a passion in her life. Her husband, Jack is passionate about the book he is writing, and she wants to find something that fulfills her. Laura is accepted into the Columbia Journalism School which opens a new world. She is drawn to a group of women in Greenwich Village who belong to the Heterodoxy Club which encourages them to share their views and ideas on women’s suffrage, birth control, and much more. Sadie works at the New York Public Library in the Berg Collection. She becomes interim curator and is working hard on an upcoming exhibit. Sadie would like to find something of her grandmother’s, Laura Lyons for the exhibit that would wow her boss. Sadie’s mother was tight lipped about Laura and all of Laura’s papers were destroyed upon her death. But Sadie is excellent at her job and she uncovers information that perhaps should remain buried. When books start disappearing from the Berg Collection, it is reminiscent of thefts that occurred in 1913. Sadie begins searching for answers. I loved hearing about the apartment within the New York Public Library. The author’s descriptions allowed me to imagine the vast library with its beautiful marble, painted ceilings, and the bast number of books. I expect that many bibliophiles would love to live in a library (imagine the fun at night when everyone is gone). I liked learning about the New York Public Library and the resources it contains. Sadie and Laura were developed characters with differing personalities. The secondary characters were less developed. The pacing was slower than I prefer. The mysteries surrounding the books was clever (how the deed was accomplished). It is not difficult, though, figuring out the guilty parties. I appreciated that everything was wrapped up at the end. The Lions of Fifths Avenue is an intriguing historical mystery with ancestral aenigmas, missing manuscripts, a manipulating mother, library lions, and bibliophile bliss.

3.5 stars is probably more accurate. It's an interesting read with enough action to keep you going. But not exactly what I was expecting. When I chose this book, I expected historical fiction, with more information about New York City in the early 20th century. And there is some of that. But this book is really focused on two mysteries --both involving stolen books, both connected to one another, and both connected to the main New York Public Library building on Fifth Avenue. In 1913, Laura Lyons, her husband, and two children live in the Superintendent's apartment, inside the library building. Aside from running the library, Laura's husband is also preoccupied writing his "Great American novel." But Laura, smart and resourceful, is finding life as a wife and mother less than fulfilling. She longs to study journalism at Columbia University and become a great reporter. Then, when valuable books being disappearing from the library, Laura AND her husband fall under suspicion. In 1993, Sadie Donovan, still recovering from a divorce, focuses all her energies on her work as curator of the library's Berg Collection of rare books. She is planning an upcoming, high-profile public exhibit of some of the collection's most interesting pieces. Everything is going along well until books from the collection begin to go missing and Sadie becomes a suspect. So, moving back and forth in time, we have two investigations going on involving missing books. Who has access to the collection? Could someone else get into the storage area? Where could the stolen books be sold? How might it be possible to get them back? What impact will the thefts have on the library's fundraising? Ho hum. For me, the mysteries were NOT the most interesting parts of these two women's stories. What interested me was learning about the deeply-rooted sexism that limited their efforts to succeed. Particularly for Laura. I also was fascinated learning about the Heterodoxy Club, which was a feminist debating group operating in Greenwich Village early in the 20th century. It was a group I had not heard about. This is a plot driven novel that moves along at a steady pace. I just didn't care that much about any of the characters and a few of the plot developments seemed hokey and unrealistic. You may feel differently.