Customer Reviews

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life through the Pages of a Lost Journal

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

What a wonderful and magical read. Lily Koppel has done an amazing job of bringing the reader into the story, "seeing" Florence's life and NY in the 1930's. Florence did not care for "watered down personalities" and no wonder as she is such a forceful character. Before reading this I never imagined the freedom a young New Yorker might have. This woman was so precocious and open minded. You find yourself wondering how her parents managed and at the same time wishing for some of her moxie. Most interesting!

In 2003, a young journalist for the New York Times named Lily Koppel discovers the diary of Florence Wolfson, age 14, in a discarded steamer trunk on the Upper West Side. Investigation leads her to find out that Florence is still living. Upon visiting the 90-year-old, Florence tells Lily her story, of growing up in New York in the 192os and `30s. Florence grew up in an affluent Jewish family, and kept the diary for five years, from age 14 to 19. She was an active writer and artist. Florence attended a private girls' school and then Hunter College (then all women and now co-ed and part of the CUNY system), where she was active in the college literary magazine. Along the way she experimented with same-sex relationships and agonized over the behavior of boys, eventually marrying a childhood friend.

It seems like your typical coming-of-age story, except for the fact that Florence's is very much of the place and era she grew up in. Little facts about New York City are revealed: for example, for thirty years, there were little statues of Mercury mounted on top of all the stoplights in the city. That was one of the biggest draws of this book. Florence had a pretty average New York City childhood, all things considered; and adding in those little bits of arcane trivia really spiced things up for me.

There were a couple of problems I had with this book: first, Koppel spends an inordinate amount of time bragging about her accomplishments. The story is ultimately Florence's, and Lily talking about, say, a story she did once detracts from that. Koppel's prose seemed a little bit purpled and hackneyed; she also tries to make generalizations about the New York of today that ultimately don't ring true. Also, I thought the book would have been better if Florence had actually written it herself. She's a writer, so why not?

This is an amazing piece of history which reads like a novel and is highly recommended for all readers of all ages. As I read I thought, "In our age of television and video games, it is a shame we no longer have the personalities revealed here, the philosophers, the artists." But then I remembered young Lily Koppel not only rescued this diary from the dumpster, she followed through until she discovered Florence and produced this book. Thank you, Lily, and thank you Florence. I'm going to buy a copy for my grandma, just two years younger than the book's heroine, also named Florence and also still very much alive, alert, and full of fun.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of The Red Leather Diary from the moment I read about it in the NY Times Book Review. I was hooked for about the first one hundred pages, and then I became confused--was this a memoir, a biography, or an autobiography? The premise--a young NY Times writer discovers a 1930s teenager's diary in a dumpster outside her Upper West Side apartment building--held promise. But I found Ms. Koppel's writing uneven and disappointing for a writer with her pedigree (Barnard[?] education, a career as a reporter for the paper of record). As K. Huff opined, Florence probably could have written a better story.

I also found the photo captions annoying, as they repeated the text and reminded me of children's textbooks. Still, readers who share my passion for old New York will delight in the descriptions of a bygone era (I, too, was suprised by some fun facts). I suspect many female readers will recognize a bit of themselves in Florence, a fascinating woman far ahead of her time and well worth writing and reading about.

While the premise intrigued me, I gave up reading 1/3 way along. At first the pictures and time period held my interest, but the writing felt more like newspaper reporting than storytelling and I never became invested in the persona of Florence Wolfson.

This impetuous, strong-minded and creative young woman should have been an evocative character, but her exploits were chronicled with a distant and cool hand that left her sounding spoiled and foolish to me. The prose had less life than the brief entries in the diary. I couldn't help thinking that the cold home life alluded to here and there and such events as the house burning down would have had a dramatic effect on an emotional, imaginative girl, yet nothing is made of it at all. We're told Florence wanted to go to school the day after the fire to report the event--only for the dramatic shock effect! Wasn't it rather a plea for attention and/or comfort that was apparently not forthcoming from her parents? This should have been developed (and plenty of other things) to show a sympathetic and multidimensional person who was coping with an intense and complicated situation. The girl who wrote in that diary wasn't a cardboard figure, yet she is made to seem one in the narrative.

Perhaps my expectations for this book were wrong. I thought that based on the diary's entries, a story would be woven that made a young girl and 1930's New York come alive. The author did a fine job of reporting the facts (just the facts, M'am) and there were plenty of them--great research--but no emotion. Considering how dramatic Florence was, it almost seemed silly to report her life like battles in a war. Perhaps things changed further along; I can't say. And again, maybe my expectations were in error and the book was intended to be an accurate chronicle of the facts, but it didn't hold my interest.

For some reason I really love NY in the 20's and 30's. So this book was perfect for me. Plus, I do have to admit I am little nosey, so getting the opportunity to read someone diary sounded fun! Sometimes I have trouble with a book keeping my interest. I had no trouble at all with this one. It had some unexpected parts (PG-13 for sure)and some parts that were really interesting facts. I thought it was a great look back in time. There was only one thing I would change about the book... There were several chapters on the diary and then the next several chapters were in real time. I thought the flow was a little choppy. Other than that it was great!

I just finished "The Red Leather Diary" and thought it was a great book, and I am a picky reader. It's such a neat story how the author finds this old diary in a dumpster, about to be thrown out forever. Then the author is able to track down the owner of the diary, and then we get all of her story, Florence Wolfson.

It was interesting how the author, Lily Koppel, and the diary writer, Florence, do seem to have similarities. It is like they were destined to meet somehow. I was surprised by some of the other reviewers, saying that the author is bragging about her own accomplishments. It seemed to me that the author just touched on her other journalistic activities, which seemed necessary so we know a little more about her. The author really doesn't waste any time getting to Florence's story.

I also liked how the author wrapped it all up in the end with her and Florence meeting and talking and becoming friends after all. I thought the book was beautifully done, with excerpts from the actual diary and lots of pictures. I think the pictures are the best part, great old pictures from the 1930s. Very good book!

The premise was interesting but the execution poor. There is much information but little life in the telling of Frances' story. Confoundedly uneven: for example, dwells at length on her superficial teenage lesbian affairs, but glosses over the details of the romance with the love of her life. No drama, no introspection, no examination of why or how things happened. Most annoying, however, was Lily Koppel's self-conscious intrusion into the story, reminding us repeatedly about her role in bringing the diary to the world's attention. As if telling the world that she's done so might give her some unearned gravitas, an understanding of what it all means, or at least fool the reader into overlooking her artless, simplistic style. Was especially annoyed with her attempts at impressing the reader with her glamorous-but-shallow writing assignments that had nothing to do with the story. Had a hard time getting through the whole book.

Bravo Lily Koppel and Florence Wolfson-- you are both inspiring women! The Red Leather Diary is an enchanting and riveting story, beautifully written by Lily Koppel.

A magical serendipity immediately emerges as Lily, a young writer for the New York Times, stumbles across this 75-year-old abandoned diary whose destiny would have been the garbage heap had fate not intervened. But the way Lily chose to protect and treasure this fragile, beloved diary is no coincidence. For years, Lily persevered with an admirable dedication to research the diary and finally locate its author, Florence Wolfson. As if in a long lost dream, Florence is found alive and well at age Ninety living in Connecticut. Can you imagine Lily calling Florence to say she has her diary of the past? This is one of the many layers woven into a compelling story of depth and intrigue.

"Not a single day was skipped in the diary's five years from 1929 to 1934," thanks to the diligence and moxie of Florence, who was a headstrong, privileged and passionate teenager. Florence gives us a heartfelt and honest glimpse into her rich life of art, theatre, social gatherings and love affairs. Her fascinating world is even further heightened by Lily's exquisite visual narration of New York City in the 1930's. Both Lily and Florence exude an authenticity for creating beauty in life, while carving out their own paths. The journey of Lily and Florence is an inspiring influence to keep engaged in one's own life and to welcome personal reflection. The Red Leather Diary speaks to numerous generations with its spellbinding story, history and message. Once upon a time...

The first of many astonishing revelations in "The Red Leather Diary" is that as recently as 2003, when one would think that the real estate boom would have scavenged, inventoried, emptied and renovated every inch in every building in Manhattan, the basement of a large pre-war apartment building divulged heaps of steamer trunks and their contents abandoned by long departed generations. Lily Koppel, a young New York Times reporter subletting a room in one of those cherished roomy apartments out of the past came home one day to find the management hauling the trunks to the dumpster to make room for an exercise facility. Just before the flea market vendors descended on the trove, Lily escaped with a few keepsakes, including a flapper dress and a red leather diary that had been kept daily by a precocious teen named Florence Wolfson from her 14th birthday in 1929 until her 19th in 1934.

The most wonderful revelation--and this is not a spoiler--is that in 2005, with the help of a private investigator, Lily found the nonagenarian Florence quite alive and living independently in Connecticut and Florida. Florence contributes the introduction to this book. The diary entries and her sharp memories offer up an immediate record of the cultural and social whirlwind life in New York as lived by a young, privileged woman, the daughter of immigrants. The Florence of 1929 - 1934 loved life and grabbed it. She was passionate about the arts, literature and love of all kinds. She emerges as a female Zelig, turning up at significant events in the company of some memorable names, like actress Eva LeGallienne, poet Delmore Schwartz, future author Bel Kauffman ("Up the Down Staircase") and Joy Davidman, whose marriage to C.S. Lewis would be portrayed in the film "Shadowlands." Some episodes of her post-diary life include the intellectual salon she hosted in her parents' apartment and a trip to Europe in the tense years leading up to World War II.

Koppel tells the story like memories rushing out and piling up, sometimes a little chaotically or disjointedly, but that's okay because that's what memories do. She builds a complete and true world that is difficult to give up when the book ends.