Set in New York, The golden spur, is the story of Jonathan Jamieson who leaves Ohio on a quest to find his father. He believes that the man who he grew up thinking of his father was not actually his real father because he is too boring, and wonders if his mother may have had an affair with a painter or some other man, particularly since he was born only 6.5 months after his parents were married. Along the way he becomes involved in New York life, living in a studio apartment with two girls that he meets at the club, the Golden Spur. Although Jonathan's quest for his father was interesting, tracking down people who is mother once knew, what I liked most about the book was the description of life in New York. The ending was somewhat ambiguous.
Just published the once with this cover, I picked my copy up for £1 in a cheap second hand bookshop near Notting Hill.
I do love descriptions of life in New York :).
ReplyDeleteI read her book set in Ohio, Dance Night last year and loved it. I've heard her NYC novels are very good and am looking forward to trying one. I didn't realize that Virago published her--good news as she deserves to be in print. (Or maybe this is one that's OOP?--she wrote quite a few books).
ReplyDeleteEven before I recognized Dawn Powell as a Virago writer, I was intrigued by her Diaries (published by Steerforth Press in 1995, covering 1931-65). I think that's the first time that I ended up buying an author's diaries before I'd actually read a single word of their fiction. Now I actually need to make time for her novels!
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