Peeking Between the Pages

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Book Review: The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel

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The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel is a fascinating journey back in time to a diary written by a young girl, Florence Wolfson, from the ages of 14-19 and who is now in her nineties and still going strong. The diary’s entries are from 1929-1934 and they are look back at the New York of that time period. I myself haven’t been to New York but I just loved reading about how it was back then, the art, the streets, just the whole vibe of New York in the 30’s and how it was to be a young lady then.

The diary is found when the author, Lily Koppel comes downstairs in her apartment building to find a pile of old steamer trunks headed for the dumpster. The journalist in her just won’t let her walk away and she proceeds to start digging through them. She finds many things but the most important is the little red leather diary of Florence’s. Lily reads the diary and feels such a connection with Florence. Ultimately she decides that she has to find out if Florence is still alive and finds that she is. What ensued from that investigation is what I imagine will be a lifelong friendship for these two women and of course, this novel.

The book itself is a series of diary entries from Florence and then an elaboration on what surrounded those events by Lily as related to her by Florence. There are also photos spread among the pages and I felt they really added to the overall novel. It’s always great to see the person you’re reading about; it made it easier to relate to Florence in the story. Florence was such a character; very outgoing, popular and very intelligent. She was way ahead of her time, I think she would have fit in so well as a young woman of today. We are transported back in time to the 30’s and the world through young Florence’s eyes;at times I could picture myself there. Florence was able to experience art and books and the life of New York. She travelled and had high dreams for herself. She was an independent woman especially for her time. She was also a woman conflicted in her feelings on men and women although ultimately she marries and has children.

I definitely found myself caught up in the pages of this book. Florence was a girl who I would have liked to have been. Curious and willing to take risks as a young woman and get out and live her life. There wasn’t anything she wasn’t interested in; she loved books, art, photography, drawing, music and horses. Florence thought that nobody would be interested in her story but that’s just not true. Even in her diary she questioned this…’What makes a person great? What makes a life significant?’ (pg 235, The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel). Years later with Lily she says ‘”Where did all that creativity go? If I was true to myself, would I have ended up living this ordinary life?” (pg 298, The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel). I don’t think in any way that Florence lived an ordinary life and I think much of her creativity is also revealed in the pages of this book. The Red Leather Diary shows us that everyone’s life is worth something in the telling of it.

For myself, I would love to make a find like the steamer trunks and delve into them reliving lives past. How absolutely fascinating! It also makes me wish that my grandparents had left something like this behind. They grew up in the old country though, very poor and even paper was something hard to come by. Still, to think of all the stories that they probably had to share with me. Sadly, mine all passed on when I was young but it should make us stop and think about all the wonderful tales that the elderly very likely have to share with us. If you enjoy memoirs or are interested in the New York of the past, then this is a book you should pick up.

Book Club Girl had a chat last week with author Lily Koppel and Florence even popped in to chat also-it was terrific! You can listen to that chat here. You can also visit Lily Koppel’s blog here and there is even a website just for the book itself here. Be sure to visit!
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Comments

  1. Great review of a great book. I think I found Florence so fascinating because her life was so different from my parents’ lives and they are her contemporaries.

  2. Hey Dar, Thanks for giving me a heads up on this book! Since I am from NY I should probably be interested in this book, Huh?
    I will add it to my list.

  3. Finding a steamer trunk would be so fun wouldn’t it? I won this book a few months ago but haven’t read it yet. Now after reading your great review I see that I have an enjoyable read to look forward to!!

  4. What an amazing review…I must read this! Coincidently, I’ve just started following a blog called Bear Swamp Reflections (bearswampreflections.blogspot.com) who just bought an old photo album and has been posting the pictures in it, musing about the three women in it. I am completely entranced.

  5. Hello, I've just landed here thanks to Sandy, after visiting bearswampreflections.

    This book sounds fascinating; thanks for the review. I'll check out my library.

    Back to your blog to have a look around – love your little dog. We call ours our Furkid :>) LBx

  6. I have this on my TBR List. It’s great to see another very positive review.

  7. I was looking at this book yesterday, wondering whether to order it from the library and ended up not doing it, now I wish I had. May have to go and order it now. I like the fact it is set in New York in the 30’s . I love reading about New Yorks history and reading enjoyed reading The Interepretation of Murder also set in New York.

  8. I have seen this book around now, and it does sound interesting. And like all book i can’t know before i try 🙂

  10. The book sounds absolutely fascinating and charming Dar. Thanks for the review. I really want to read this one.

  17. I read another review of this book that was also complimentary. I think that I would really like this book and have put it on my wish list. Great in-depth review!

  19. Kathy, I thought the same thing about Florence. She lived a life even back in the 30’s that was so different even from how some of us live now.

    Wendy, yes you would probably really enjoy it then as you’d be able to recognize the places, etc.

    Staci, I’d love to find old trunks like that. I could spend hours going through old stuff like that. It would be absolutely fascinating.

    Sandy, I checked out that blog but have to go back and look further. It looked really interesting. Thanks for letting me know about it.

    Coccinella, thanks so much for popping in. I hope you will again. My little dog is a sweetheart for sure!

    Joy, I’d be interested in your thoughts on this book.

    Viv, if you like reading about New York then you’d probably like this book. I enjoyed reading about how things were back then especially for the people who had more money.

    Everyone else thanks for stopping by, reading my review and leaving me some comment love. I appreciate it. If any of you have a chance to read this book, please pop back and let me know.

  20. Oh my goodness this book sounds good!! I LOVE this time period and I love the writers that came out of it, so I think this book would give a fascinating look into the New York life. My grandparents grew up in the West (well, grandma did) and were rather poor as well. My grandma still has a lot of pictures and letters and other artifacts from her childhood that I love looking through.