If I had sat down to write this blog post 50% in to City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, I would have said it was a disappointment. However, the last third of the book made me understand why it has made so many “best of” lists this year. Too much time in this LONG novel was spend on Vivian’s early years in New York, shortly after dropping out of Vassar and moving in with her theater-owning Aunt Peg. However, Gilbert more than redeems the story in the last part of the story. I really enjoyed this one in the end, and it’s worth reading the too-long beginning to reach the meatier and more interesting last third.