The Boston Girl

Actress Lavin, best known for her star role in the 1970s sitcom Alice, is an ideal narrator for Diamant’s portrait of Addie Baum, a turn-of-the-century girl born to immigrant parents in Boston. Set in the 1980s, the story is framed as an oral history in which Addie describes to her granddaughter her coming of age in the 1910s and 1920s. We journey through the immigrant experience, the joys of adolescent friendships and first romantic “assignations” (as Addie puts it), the sadness wrought by the 1918 influenza epidemic, and the struggles of pioneering women in the workplace. Lavin nails the notoriously difficult Boston accent as she brings Addie to life with marvelous wit and wisdom, showcasing the heroine’s innate playfulness as well as her gutsy perseverance. Lavin’s performance sparkles throughout. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect pairing of novel and narrator. A Scribner hardcover. (Dec.)