Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with a copy of Cecily Von Ziegesar’s latest novel, Cobble Hill, in exchange for an honest review.
In tony NYC neighborhood of Cobble Hill, four very different middle-age couples find their lives intersecting.
Stuart is a has-been rockstar who is struggling with his wife Mandy, a former groupie, who has become mysteriously ill. When a lice outbreak happens at his son’s elementary school, Stuart meets Peaches, the attractive nurse. Peaches is stunned by Stuart, whom she has been obsessed with for years. Even Peaches’ husband, Greg, a mild-mannered music teacher, has a man-crush on Stuart, although this turns complicated when he suspects that his wife has been cheating with her crush. Best-selling British author, Roy and his magazine editor wife, Wendy, are recent additions to the neighborhood. Roy meets Peaches at a local bar that is owned by the eccentric, and often MIA, avant garde artist Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s husband Tupper is an inventor, who feels disconnected from his wife and is having trouble coming up with a new product.
Von Ziegesar is famous for the Gossip Girl books. I never read the Gossip Girl books, but I was a fan of the television series, and I was pleased to see the same type of humor in Cobble Hill. Much like Gossip Girl, Cobble Hill makes New York City another character and I love how the story has such a strong sense of place. Who doesn’t adore New York City?
Cobble Hill explores adults in a mid-life crisis. Three of the main couples are raising children, yet often the lines are blurred between adult and teenage behavior. The adults unleash their inhibitions, acting-out as if they have nothing to lose. It very much reminded me of the 1997 film, The Ice Storm, where a massive storm prevents travel, keeping several parents overnight at their “key party",” where they let loose, while the teenagers are stuck with their friends. Von Ziegesar shows us teenagers who witness aspects of their parent’s behavior, such as using marijuana, excessive drinking, and kissing other people, and how this impacts them. At one point a child’s life is in immediate danger due to poor parental choices. It’s horrific.
Overall, I enjoyed Cobble Hill. Being a similar age to the adult characters, I could relate to the feeling of wanting to have the freedom to make reckless choices, like a teenager, but I could also definitely see the enormous consequences of some of their actions. I liked living vicariously through them, until it became obviously harmful.
The ending wrapped up a little too neatly, maybe a little too sweet as well. It ended with a theme of everyone loving the eccentricities and imperfections of their neighbors. It’s a nice idea, but I’m not sure it fit with the overall tone of the novel. Although there was plenty of humor, I felt the negative behavior of the adults became increasingly dark and less humorous as the story progressed. I’m not sure that the message in the end was the big take-away from the story. Cobble Hill was much heavier than the ending conveyed. I think Von Ziegesar sold herself short with the ending, which minimized the meat of the story.
One more minor thing that bothered me was this running situation regarding a serial killer. A serial killer was on the loose and the news story captivated the imagination of several characters. I kept anticipating this to actually impact the story, but it was never bigger than something on the news. I felt this was akin to Chekhov’s Gun. I kept waiting for it to go off and was disappointed when nothing happened.
These issues are small, as I definitely enjoyed Cobble Hill. Von Ziegesar has crafted intriguing characters and plonked them down in one of my favorite cities. I was game for Cobble Hill and I look forward to her next novel.
