REVIEW for Gilding Lily

I was asked to review this book for:

http://www.rebeccasreads.com





TITLE : Gilding Lily
AUTHOR : Tatiana Boncompagni
DATE: September 2008
STARS: 5 stars

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 writing style flows gracefully and there is not one word out of place. Absolutely charming, authentic and extremely difficult to put them….un petit péché mignon!!!