the mazie that emerges as a result is multifaceted, complicated, contradictory, and ultimately very human. people who knew her as a person and people who only knew her through her words. although joseph mitchell wrote about this "queen of the bowery" in one of the pieces from Up in the Old Hotel, mazie's supposed intentions to write her own memoirs never came to pass, so attenberg had to create them herself, giving her a life and a voice through an imagined diary and a chorus of other characters people whose lives she touched, who were fascinated by her, who loved or envied or hated her. saint mazie is an unforgettable character who, ironically, is based on a real-life person who was nearly forgotten. Jami attenberg has written historical fiction!!Īnd it's a brassy, sassy novel full of heart and humor but also some really lovely vulnerable moments.
And if you can't see why these streets are special, then just go home already. If you can't see the beauty in the dirt then i feel sorry for you. Mazie's rise to "sainthood"-and her irrepressible spirit-is unforgettable.
Inspired by the life of a woman who was profiled in Joseph Mitchell's classic Up in the Old Hotel, Saint Mazie is infused with Jami Attenberg's signature wit, bravery, and heart. Who was Mazie Phillips, really? A chorus of voices from the past and present fill in some of the mysterious blanks of her adventurous life. Then, more than ninety years after Mazie began her diary, it's discovered by a documentarian in search of a good story. If Mazie won't help them, then who? When she opens the doors of The Venice to those in need, this ticket-taking, fun-time girl becomes the beating heart of the Lower East Side, and in defining one neighborhood helps define the city.
Addicts and bums roam the Bowery homelessness is rampant. When the Great Depression hits, Mazie's life is on the brink of transformation. But her high spirits mask a childhood rooted in poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holds her dearest secrets. It's the Jazz Age, with romance and booze aplenty-even when Prohibition kicks in-and Mazie never turns down a night on the town. Meet Mazie Phillips: big-hearted and bawdy, she's the truth-telling proprietress of The Venice, the famed New York City movie theater.
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