Library Journal - Audio
12/01/2021
Imani Jade Powers inhabits Olive McCormick, the titular character of Harrison's (Montauk) latest novel, who tells her own story in the first person. Growing up in a conservative Minnesota family, Olive dreams of stardom, singing, and dancing, and schemes to land a coveted spot as a Ziegfeld Follies girl. She achieves that dream, but not without consequences. Powers uses subtle accents and a slight breathiness at times to convey Olive's determination and self-absorption set against a backdrop of 1920s Broadway glamour, bohemian Greenwich Village, and the luxuriousness of the Adirondack retreats of the super-wealthy, teetering on the edge of the Great Depression. Touches of thematic music that bracket the entire narration and a historical note at the novel's end add extra credibility. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoy a decisive and talented, but sometimes very flawed heroine, as well as stories set during the 1920s and a peek at the Ziegfeld Follies.—David Faucheux, Lafayette, LA
Publishers Weekly
06/28/2021
Harrison’s stirring latest (after Montauk) follows the coming-of-age of a young Ziegfeld Follies star. Singer and dancer Olive McCormick, 20, moves from Minneapolis to New York City in 1927 after giving up her baby girl for adoption. Olive had become pregnant after being duped into sex by a man who falsely promised to get her a job with the Ziegfeld Follies, and the delivery resulted in a torn uterus. Facing poverty, Olive left for New York to chase her dream. After impressing Mr. Ziegfeld, she finds fame as flirty, negligee-clad Olive Shine of Ziegfeld’s new risqué supper club; her acts are fresh and innovative, and success follows, replete with a Fifth Avenue apartment and adoring men. Olive gets engaged to wealthy businessman Archie Carmichael, but she hasn’t told him she won’t be able to have more children and, fearing his reaction, breaks up with him. Archie and Mr. Ziegfeld lose everything in the 1929 crash, and Olive scrapes by, working in a nightclub. When Olive decides to tell Archie the truth, it marks a pivotal turning point in their lives. Vintage Follies glamour is made lush and evocative, and is complemented by meaty explorations of hardships faceed by women living in the era. Olive is a rebel worth rooting for and she’ll keep readers turning the pages. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"Nicola Harrison brings the exciting world of 1927 New York City to life in The Show Girl." -PopSugar
"Full of surprises and romance, Harrison's novel keeps readers turning the pages...Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's City of Girls will drink this up." —Booklist
"Lush and evocative...she'll keep readers turning the pages." —Publishers Weekly
“Harrison creates a heady mix of history, drama and romance in a seductive novel guaranteed to transport the reader to a different place and time." –Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of All the Way We Say Goodbye
"In The Show Girl, author Nicola Harrison paints her characters with such a precise brush and sympathetic strokes that they live long after the last page." –Betsy Carter, bestselling author of Lost Souls at The Neptune Inn
“Nicola Harrison brilliantly captures the last gasp of the roaring twenties in this indelible story of love and ambition.” –Jamie Brenner, author of Blush
“Harrison beautifully portrays the trials and tribulations of a Ziegfeld Follies dancer in her new novel, which is brimming with juicy details of Roaring Twenties New York City. Fans of City of Girls will adore this exploration of love and ambition.” –Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
"Harrison has created a heroine so complex and endearing, so utterly fearless and full of life, that readers will not be able to forget her. THE SHOW GIRL is a story as intricate and dazzling as one of Ziegfeld’s legendary revues." –Lynda Cohen Loigman, USA Today bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters
“A delicious and entertaining exploration of the life of a Ziegfield girl with Harrison’s trademark ability to plunge the reader deep into the experiences of her characters. The Show Girl is a fast-paced and engaging read that will leave readers giving a standing ovation to Olive and to all women who choose to live life on their own terms.” –Susie Orman Schnall, author of The Subway Girls and We Came Here to Shine
"Harrison has written an energetic, propulsive, delightful book." -Amy Poeppel, author of Small Admissions
