
Saint Mazie
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Tavia Gilbert
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By:
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Jami Attenberg
Meet Mazie Phillips: big hearted and bawdy, she's the truth-telling proprietress of The Venice, the famed New York City movie theater. 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. But her high spirits mask a childhood rooted in poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holds her dearest secrets.
When the Great Depression hits, Mazie's life is on the brink of transformation. Addicts and bums roam the Bowery; homelessness is rampant. 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.
Then, more than 90 years after Mazie began her diary, it's discovered by a documentarian in search of a good story. 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.
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. Mazie's rise to "sainthood" - and her irrepressible spirit - is unforgettable.
©2015 Jami Attenberg (P)2015 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
A little tedious
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Would you listen to Saint Mazie again? Why?
I may have to listen to this one again some day!What was one of the most memorable moments of Saint Mazie?
There are many enjoyable moments but many unexpected moments too ~What about Tavia Gilbert’s performance did you like?
The narrator was excellent - she has a very smooth voice and I enjoyed her performance very much!Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
The story was gripping and I had a hard time putting the headphones down!Wonderful!
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The narration and set up of the book takes time to understand. Lots of diary entries and dates, different voices and time frames jump around. After a while it makes sense--but it takes about an hour or two of listening before this happened.
Be aware, the summary is misleading. This is not a flapper, roaring 20's, spunky good time story. Instead, the focus is on poverty, gambling, criminals, domestic abuse, infidelity, heavy drinking, drugs, and people who live on the edge or who have just given up on life. This, at times, is balanced out by depictions of families and individuals that care for, help and support others.
Quite the cast of unusual engaging characters troop past on the streets of the Bowery in NYC in the first half of the 1900's. To me, it is difficult listening--a heart breaking, disturbing, and sad story. Recommended only if you are interested in a visit to a completely different world. In the end, I'm glad I listened to this tale of an unlikely "saint".
A Rough Gritty Story Of A Hard Life
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Good character study
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Drop by for coffee Maizie!
I'm Missing Mazie
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Amazing flawed NYC depression Savior
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Ok the LES of Manhattan in the first half of the twentieth century. The narrator has clearly never heard a New Yorker or a Yiddish inflected Jewish speech pattern. The book follows brassy street personalities, but this narration is all in an over-enunciated American stage English accent that honestly comes across as judgmental towards the subject.
Really inappropriate narrator
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