Can you imagine being new to New York City, starting a new career as a journalist and stumbling upon a dumpster full to the brim with old steamer trunks? This is a true story and it is what happened to Lily Koppel in 2003. She made an amazing discovery, an old and cracked red leather diary complete with a broken latch. Inside, she reads the diary of Florence Wolfson, a 14 year old girl when she started the diary in 1929 after she received it as a present. She continued to write in the diary through to 1934 when she turned 19. The diary is a window into the life and mind of a young girl as she grows and matures. Florence writes brief diary entries about theater experiences, literature, shopping and fashion,friendships, family and even her own sexual explorations. Lily became fascinated with the diary and set on a path to find out as much as she could about Florence and was able to locate Florence with much perseverance and the assistance of an investigator.
Ms. Koppel translated the snippets and entries from Florence's diary into a novelistic type story that turns the diary and back story into a wonderful read. I have a special fondness for books related to diaries and letters. I find that diaries and letters take you to the true inner core of a person and you can get a true picture of who they are as a reader. It may be because diaries and letters are usually meant for private inner thoughts and not for mass appeal. There is a genuineness in these types of books that I am drawn to. The Red Leather Diary definitely takes you into the private inner thoughts of Florence, sometimes a bit more than you may want to know. I found Florence to be a woman ahead of her times in many ways and I was thrilled to read that Lily found her and she was reunited with the girl of her youth from the diary. It was also interesting to read about Florence's life after the diary ended and her life now. I believe that the author did a wonderful job bringing to light the pages of Florence's diary and it is a story that I will not forget.
The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel
Listen to Lily Koppel talk about The Red Leather Diary with Book Club Girl on Blog Talk Radio, HERE.
I'm really interested in reading this book. It's been on my TBR List since it came out. Glad to see it was enjoyable to you.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book and Book Club Girl's interview. Great review.
ReplyDeleteVery good review! Definitely peaks my interest!
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I really want to read this one!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds so good. I need to double-check to see if it's on my wish list. Terrific review!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you liked this one so much, since it's already on my list, and I've been hoping it would be a good read.
ReplyDeleteOh, this sounds SO GOOD! I can't pass it up! Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI've benn wanting to read this. I have an award for you here.
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I've read a bunch of reviews of this book, and every single time I read one I think, "Man, I should read this book!" I love stories that journalists dig up and then tell, it's my favorite genre/style, I think. Thanks for reminding me about this book... I'm going to the library website to request it right now.
ReplyDeleteKim
Wonderful review Bonnie. I enjoyed this one and I'm not even all that fond of diary type books. I agree that she was ahead of her time. She would have done great growing up in this time period.
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
ReplyDeleteA diary or a personal journal is your most intimate confidante. You can confidently share your secrets with it knowing that your personal diary will not talk to someone. So you should be very careful about your personal dairy. Leather is one of the most versatile materials that finds application in many areas. I would suggest to maintain a leather dairy instead of any normal dairy.
ReplyDeleteHi there, awesome site. I thought the topics you posted on were very interesting. I tried to add your RSS to my feed reader and it a few. take a look at it, hopefully I can add you and follow.
Leather Diary