Gilding Lily

I throughly enjoyed reading "Gilding Lily". The character development in this "first novel" is excellent; I felt as though I knew the characters from the beginning of the novel. The pace is even and just fast enough to keep the reader engaged. Without car chases or one character that serves as a "patsy" this story is very often exciting and funny. The "inner life" of the main character reflects so many of the worries that women, regardless of status, concern themselves with daily that it will appeal to anyone who's ever wondered "what IS he thinking"??

I absolutely adored this book. When I got my first look at the cover, I was a little unsure (yes, I am one of THOSE people - I have been known to occasionally base my first impression of a book by its cover). However, in this case, I am glad that I took the time to read the first few sentences of the chapter, because as soon as I did, I was hooked. Gilding Lily, by first time author, Tatiana Boncompagni has all of the elements needed to make it a compulsive read. The storyline is set in the world of the ridiculously rich - and is populated by its own particular brand of characters, which you will (mostly) love to hate. There are also deliciously written scenes of over-indulgence, sweet romantic moments and lots of gossip and cattiness!!! Our main character Lily, who was not born into a world of privilege, but does aspire to it, marries the love of her life and vows to become `one of them' - except that she never quite succeeds. Indeed, saddled with a mother in law who despises her, a husband who lives on his trust fund and has never quite understood that he needs to let go of the apron strings, a brand new baby (not to mention the baby fat and the baby vomit) as well as a bunch of socialites who laugh at her behind her back, Lily feels lost and lonely and hatches a plan to "re-invent" herself and to prove, once and for all, that she is worthy of this high-society life. Just as Lily is finally starting to feel appreciated and accepted, she will come face to face with Emily who will do absolutely anything to get into the same world Lily is now happily living in. I found the character of Emily to be a great addition to the storyline. She is the trigger that will help Lily take a good look at herself and her priorities - she acts as a mirror for Lily and will be a big part of Lily's growing up (finally!) process and will help her discover what is truly important for her. What makes this book so interesting, to me, is that none of the characters (with the possible exception of baby Will) are particularly likeable and this includes Lily. The author has chosen to create Lily with a very interesting mixture of good and bad which I found absolutely riveting. You can feel Lily's inner-struggle, on one hand despising the world she is in, but at the same time, desperately craving to be part of it. At times, she can be almost as catty and horrible as her circle of "Restylane-plumped, laser-resurfaced friends" while simultaneously, proving herself to be a wonderful mother, friend and loving wife. Lily is definitely a dichotomy and I kept reading avidly to find out exactly where Lily would land. This character was truly well constructed and fleshed out and set the tone for the entire storyline. I also thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Lily and her husband, Robert. At times, I was not sure which of the two I wanted to smack more - and I found myself shouting at both of them to grow up, but this just added to my pleasure in reading this book. The w

Lily Grace moves from Nashville to New York with plans of taking Manhattan by storm. She becomes very popular amidst the elite social class and meets educated wealthy charmer Robert Bartholomew. They marry. When Lily becomes pregnant, Robert loses interest in her as she gains weight and is no longer the it "Girl of the moment". He quits his job as a lawyer and begins spending time with his socialite mother who never wanted the southern belle as her daughter-in-law. Lily begins writing lifestyle articles that allows her reentrance into the high society world her pregnancy kicked her from, but she is treated with distain led by Robert's mother. Using hyperbole as an amusing saber, Tatiana Boncompagni provides a fascinating look at what people will accept in order to belong to a group that treats "outsiders" as pet rocks. Lily holds the tale together with her need to be part of the upper crust elitist crowd whose motto ought to be "Let them eat cake off our Persian rugs". Humorous yet somewhat sad as the human need to belong supersedes self actualization even when the members disdain you as inferior. This is a well written insightful contemporary tale in which readers will like the desperate Lily and root for her to find the grace of telling her spouse, her in-laws and the wealthy in crowd to pound rocks although at the same time the audience knows her inclination is in the opposite direction. Harriet Klausner

I thoroughly enjoyed Gilding Lily. Tatiana Boncompagni really knows the world about which she writes. She captures the foibles of young Manhattan socialites brilliantly. This book was absolutely impossible for me to put down. I read it in two sittings. The characters felt very real and the story moves at a brisk clip. If you enjoy intelligent books about the world of Manhattan high society, this one is for you.

This is a great book to curl up with and devour. It's so nice to start a novel and know within the first few pages you're going to love the read. It never let me down. Aside from being well-written and just plain fun, GUILDING LILY offers a delicious glimpse into New York high society. Yet, even though most of us don't live lives anything like Lily's, we can still identify with her struggles for acceptance from others and ultimately herself.