Kathleen Rooney

"A love letter to city life in all its guts and grandeur, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk... paints a portrait of a remarkable woman across the canvas of a changing America: from the Jazz Age to the onset of the AIDS epidemic; the Great Depression to the birth of hip-hop. Lillian figures she might as well take her time. For now, after all, the night is still young"--

a novel

Lillian Boxfish takes a walk

Melissa Palmer

Book #103 Read in 2018
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

Lillian was an ad writer for Macy's in the early 1900s and loves New York City. The book chronicles her walk through a changed city on New Year's Eve, reflecting on her life and its happenings. Lillian is a spunky woman and an interesting character. This was a good read.

Shreya Punj

A charming book that helped me a lot since I’m reading this in India as the pandemic has made it impossible to go outside, walk and just be. 

Through Lillian’s many long walks, I felt like I was outside too. The author has written her character and life experiences with such a tight hold on reality that it felt like reading Margaret Fishback’s memoir.

Brigid prior 

I was not originally drawn to this book. However, immediately upon starting, the lyrical prose and fascinating characters drew me in. If you love good writing, read it. If you love good stories, read it.

Amanda Wells

I first found this book when I was browsing soundcloud, and a few excerpts from the audiobook were uploaded there. I was enchanted by the premise and the voice of Lillian, and I immediately bought the book. Through a tricky past month or so I've listened to it whenever I can, and I am so glad it has been my companion.

Lillian Boxfish is a marvel. She is insightful, witty, cynical, open-hearted, and complex. I haven't loved a character like this for ages.

Suffice to say, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good character. To anyone who loves books that tell more than one story at a time. To anyone who just wants to read a good book.

"Fall 2016 Library Journal Editors' Pick "In my reckless and undiscouraged youth," Lillian Boxfish writes, "I worked in a walnut-paneled office thirteen floors above West Thirty-Fifth Street ..." She took 1930s New York by storm, working her way up writing copy for R.H. Macy's to become the highest paid advertising woman in the country. It was a job that, she says, "in some ways saved my life, and in other ways ruined it." Now it's the last night of 1984 and Lillian, 85 years old but just as sharp and savvy as ever, is on her way to a party. It's chilly enough out for her mink coat and Manhattan is grittier now--her son keeps warning her about a subway vigilante on the prowl--but the quick-tongued poetess has never been one to scare easily. On a walk that takes her over 10 miles around the city, she meets bartenders, bodega clerks, security guards, criminals, children, parents, and parents-to-be, while reviewing a life of excitement and adversity, passion and heartbreak, illuminating all the ways New York has changed--and has not. A love letter to city life in all its guts and grandeur, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney paints a portrait of a remarkable woman across the canvas of a changing America: from the Jazz Age to the onset of the AIDS epidemic; the Great Depression to the birth of hip-hop. Lillian figures she might as well take her time. For now, after all, the night is still young"--

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Francine Corry

Melissa Railey

Lindsy Rice

Jen Sorenson

Caitlin Hooker

Anna W

NOW A NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER "Transporting...witty, poignant and sparkling." --People(People Picks Book of the Week) "Prescient and quick....A perfect fusing of subject and writer, idea and ideal." --Chicago Tribune "Extraordinary...hilarious...Elegantly written, Rooney creates a glorious paean to a distant literary life and time--and an unabashed celebration of human connections that bridge past and future. --Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed) "Rooney's delectably theatrical fictionalization is laced with strands of tart poetry and emulates the dark sparkle of Dorothy Parker, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Truman Capote. Effervescent with verve, wit, and heart, Rooney's nimble novel celebrates insouciance, creativity, chance, and valor." --Booklist(starred review) "In my reckless and undiscouraged youth,"Lillian Boxfish writes, "I worked in a walnut-paneled office thirteen floors above West Thirty-Fifth Street..." She took 1930s New York by storm, working her way up writing copy for R.H. Macy's to become the highest paid advertising woman in the country. It was a job that, she says, "in some ways saved my life, and in other ways ruined it." Now it's the last night of 1984 and Lillian, 85 years old but just as sharp and savvy as ever, is on her way to a party. It's chilly enough out for her mink coat and Manhattan is grittier now--her son keeps warning her about a subway vigilante on the prowl--but the quick-tongued poetess has never been one to scare easily. On a walk that takes her over 10 miles around the city, she meets bartenders, bodega clerks, security guards, criminals, children, parents, and parents-to-be, while reviewing a life of excitement and adversity, passion and heartbreak, illuminating all the ways New York has changed--and has not. A love letter to city life in all its guts and grandeur,Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney paints a portrait of a remarkable woman across the canvas of a changing America: from the Jazz Age to the onset of the AIDS epidemic; the Great Depression to the birth of hip-hop. Lillian figures she might as well take her time. For now, after all, the night is still young.

Lillian Boxfish takes a walk a novel

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