Customer Reviews

The Season of Lillian Dawes: A Novel

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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Jeff Woodson, one of America's premier voice artists, gives resonant reading to this tale of fascination and obsession. Those who heard Woodson's rendering of "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" well know the qualities he brings to a voice presentation.

When young Gabriel Gibbs, son of an affluent attorney, is kicked out of prep school he is remanded to the care of his older brother, Spencer. That really isn't too hard to take as Spencer lives in a Greenwich Village apartment and determines that what Gabriel needs is an education in the way the world works. Of course, it is a very privileged world.

It is not too long before Gabriel spies the mysterious Lillian Dawes. She is unlike any of the other women he has come across in the City, and he is smitten. So is Spencer. When Lillian and Spencer become a couple it seems to be the perfect pairing. But, we all know how the course of true love runs and each harbors secrets from the other.

As an observer, although an emotionally involved one, Gabriel learns more than he might have in prep school - he learns about masks and what lies beneath them, he discovers the importance of being true to oneself.

It is a compelling story from which all of us may make discoveries.

- Gail Cooke

The epigraph for this brilliant novel is from Flaubert: "Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we beat melodies fit to make bears dance when we long to make the stars weep." Katherine Mosby does both in this novel, which for me was laugh out loud funny several times, as well as touching, haunting, and thought provoking. It is filled with eccentric characters who populate a deliciously rich evocation of New York in 1954. There were a few improbabilities that broke the spell for me a bit at the end, but I see the effect she was trying for in trying to make the stars weep. She almost makes it.

I hope next time Katherine Mosby allows herself to write a funny and sensual love story where we get to be in the main character's shoes.

I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a novel that purports to be a comedy of manners but is also a heartwarming look at the eccentricities found in families and of the ties that bond those families together - in spite of themselves. Filled with humor and warmth, this one is an absolute stand-out, not to be missed.
At the heart of this book is Gabriel Gibbs, a young boy struggling to find himself after being thrown out of an upscale boarding school. Luckily he has his wise, if unconventional, brother Spencer to look after him as well as a muse in the form of the mysterious Lillian Dawes, a woman who is both more and less than she seems. She touches the heart of both Gabriel and his brother, leading them towards an unpredictable conclusion.

This novel I actually listened to on tape, and though it made my seven hour car ride enjoyable, I couldn't help thinking I've read this book before...I think that's because it reminds me of other famous novels--"The Great Gatsby" meets "Catcher in the Rye," meets Edith Wharton's social commentary. I was quickly able to guess the secret identity of the missing heir who was swindled, and the only suspense was how it was all going to work-out. Mosby's writing style was pleasant, and I enjoyed the difficult vocabulary she interjects--its refreshing to read (or my case, listen), to something that is not written for the lowest common denominator. Its not over-burdened with difficult vocabulary, though the author's descriptive metaphors were often a little forced, and seemed like they were only there to show-off her cleverness. Gabriel was wiser than his years or experience, and Lillian didn't seem entirely believable. I understand that Gabriel would have over-exaggerated her charms since he was enamored, but Lillian shows too much book-intellect for someone that left home at 17 with no formal education beyond that point. Had the author showed her more as someone with a curious, insightful mind (with some life experiences that broadened her education), it would have been easier to believe. The other characters were not fully developed by the author to better understand their behavior, and I for one enjoy more descriptions of their looks so I can better imagine what the characters look like as I'm reading. Everyone does seem much too intelligent, but a private prep school education in the '50s was probably more stringent than a '90s college education...Aunt Livinia adds some comic relief to the novel, though I couldn't helping feeling she was channeling Oscar Wilde with her constant witticisms and social observations. On the whole I enjoyed the novel, and will read the book again to see if I missed something by listening to it on tape. (I will actually enjoy having my dictionary handy to look-up words that are rarely used today in literature.) Also, I wasn't crazy about the ending--I guess I've grown accustomed to the tidy, Hollywood-endings, and had hoped for at least a little hint as to what happened to Lillian and Spencer.

A witty and engaging first-person narrative of New York in 1954. In addition to the brilliant and mysterious Lillian Dawes, whose first noncameo appearance doesn't occur until a third of the book is behind you, you'll meet the brothers Gabriel and Spencer Gibbs, who are temporarily rooming together (for reasons explained in the opening chapter), and their delightful aunt Lavinia, who brings her own silverware, and her dog, to restaurants.

The story is written in the first person, by Gabriel at some point in his future, and it joins the ever-growing list of "New York" novels, and quite near the top, too. Comparisons with "Catcher in the Rye" as well as Henry James and Edith Wharton are inevitable. There's also more than a touch of "Breakfast at Tiffanys."

New Yorkers with long memories, or their children and grandchildren, will delight in the references to the politics of the time (Joe McCarthy, the Rosenbergs, President Eisenhower) as well as to artifacts of the "Populuxe" era--transistor radios, hula hoops--and long-gone New York eating places, like Schraffts.

Tidily done.

This book might be best savored under a large tree with a wicker hamper from Dean and Deluca and a split of Dom Perignon champagne(attractive companion optional). Enter the world of Gabriel and Spencer and be transported to New York in the 1950s - an era of white gloves and house parties, old patrician families and rebellious scions, ageless social rituals rubbed at the edges by the new realities of life after World War II. In this heady world Gabriel,age 17, learns more in a few months than he can hope to have learned in years at the exclusive and stuffy boarding school from which he has been expelled. The inspiration for his education is Lillian Dawes, a mysterious and somewhat penniless heroine, in the style of Edith Wharton, who glides comfortably among both rich and poor with a beauty and charm that makes slaves of them all. She has a hidden past that speaks of danger and privation. She has an impetuous bravery that puts the rich and powerful to shame. She inspires in Gabriel a love that threatens to tear him apart from his fascinating older brother with whom Lillian falls reluctantly in love during this special summer in Greenwich Village.
Katherine Mosby writes in a lyrical style that is both easy to read and truly exquisite. She is a poet as well as an author and it shows. This novel combines the satire of the social world mastered by Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald with the evocation of place found in the likes of Faulkner and wraps it all up in a love story of classic proportions.

Set in NYC high society in the 50's, THE SEASON OF LILLIAN DAWES is an apostolary narrative (the narrator is not the protagonist, but is, rather, an apostle of the protagonist) in the style of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED or THE GREAT GATSBY. Evoking the time when a white linen summer suit was de rigueur, and the Rosenbergs were on trial, this is a lovely, well-written, compelling novel. Must read.

THE SEASON OF LILLIAN DAWES by Katherine Mosby

March 17, 2005

THE SEASON OF LILLIAN DAWES is going to be one of my favorite books for 2005. Beautifully written, the story is about Gabriel Gibbs who has just been kicked out of boarding school and is forced to live with his older brother (by ten years) Spencer in New York. He is introduced to the life of high society and attends parties and other social events with his brother. It is during this time spent in New York that Gabriel becomes aware of a woman named Lillian Dawes and he becomes obsessed with her. It is more than just a crush. She is the center of his summer, but he also spends his time getting to know his eccentric Aunt Lavinia, who had just moved from Paris, studies under the tutelage of Spencer, and enjoys his time at cocktail parties and weekend soirees. It is, in a way, a coming of age book, with a twist.

Reading this book will remind many of THE GREAT GATSBY and other pieces of that time. Mosby's writing is definitely not for the average reader, and this book is not a casual read. Be prepared for some serious reading. Those who are not focused on the book will most likely lose interest. But if you are a reader that has the patience for highbrow narratives, this book will definitely keep you entertained. The mystery behind Lillian Dawes is the focal point of the last half of the book, and if nothing else, this should help the reader reach that last page.

I really loved The Season of Lillian Dawes--it's got wonderful writing and a wonderful story--it's just a terrific read. Katherine Mosby is a terrific writer and so what if her characters speak more eloquently than most people. We would if we could. The story concerns Gabriel Gibbs, who has been kicked out of boarding school and must spend a few months with Spencer his older brother. During their time together, Gabriel befriends Lillian Dawes, a fascinating older woman with on whom he has a very strong crush. Lillian ultimately becomes involved with Spencer. The story is a combination of The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye--it is the coming of age of a wealthy cynic. The ending is fabulous. Mosby leaves enough to the imagination to make it incredibly satisfying without being too perfect or tied up. Enjoy.

This reminded me a little of the Great Gatsby with its reflective prose and clever usage of vocabulary. Part of me found both of these things vaguely irritating from time to time, like I wanted to shake the book and yell, "Just spit it out already-nobody talks like this!" But perhaps this is precisely the way people of a certain upbringing conduct themselves.

The story revolves around brothers Spencer and Gabriel Gibbs, Spencer in his late 20's, Gabriel 10 years his junior. Gabriel has been expelled from his chi-chi private school and comes to live with his brother. He also comes, over the course of a summer, to be infatuated with the mysterious Lillian Dawes, a woman who seems to leave all men trembling in her wake, as she possesses that ineffable "certain something." It is really a tale of Gabriel's coming of age in 1950's New York City. He is a likeable young character, as is his brother, despite their pretensions. Lillian, however, remains rather aloof and unknown throughout the novel, but part of the mystery surrounding her eventually gets unraveled (and if you area halfway intelligent person you will figure it out before Gabriel finally does.)

Overall, an enjoyable read. Maybe I was initially resistant to the way Mosby writes because so few people write like that these days. I had to keep a dictionary handy, though, for some of the vocabulary words.