I always loved novels that were told from multiple perspectives. This novel was different in the aspect that it was told only from various womens’ perspectives. With the location of the novel being in New York City and the time period stretching across many years, readers are able to see challenges and developments of the women population across time.

Carla Guelfenbein included a few different stories within her one novel. These ranged from letters, to dialogues, or simply narratives. Readers are able to see what different women experienced or look forward to, as some reflect on the past and some look ahead in hopes to change their future.

I want to focus on my favorite story included in the novel. The sudden disappearance of Anne, the concierge of Margarita’s apartment building. While also being a mystery and creating suspense, it displays the process of character development. After living the same life day after day, she was finally fed up enough to leave and never go back. Margarita and Anne’s mother put together clues and reflect on her mothers past in order to figure out what exactly Anne’s motivation was to disappear.

Upon picking up this book for the first time, I never wanted to put it down. With alternating perspectives and stories, readers become hooked to continue reading until they are no longer left curious. The strategy of combining multiple short stories into one is thoughtful and used in a way to get readers to not close their book. After reading this review, I hope that you are willing to give this novel a read and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.