Summer at Tiffany

Summer at Tiffany is a charming story written by Marjorie Hart about the summer of 1945, when she and her best friend, and sorority sister, Marty leave Iowa for life in the big city- New York City. They found a great apartment (with a couch on wheels) and even greater summer jobs (the first female pages at Tiffany and Co.) and had themselves the most memorable summer of their lives full of diamonds, movie stars and midshipmen.

This is no tale of epic romances or nail-biting action. Hart simply puts on paper the enchanting memories of a summer long ago. It’s a great look at how America used to be: when a sandwich and a drink cost 15 cents and the subway cost a nickle, stores were closed on Saturdays because of the war, and cafe society was filled with velvet booths and twenty-five peice bands.

It was an interesting time to be in New York as well because of the war. Marjorie and Marty were there to welcome back the Queen Mary with 14,000 servicemen and women aboard and also were in Times Square when it was announced that the Japanese had surrendered. Hart eloquently wrote about that moment bringing it to life with great description of the scores of people squeezed into Times Square and observing that “no one was a stranger in that crowd…” It was really incredible to read how involved everyone was in helping the war effort. Small efforts were made by everyone every day- it was a part of their normal lives.

During the week, they lived glamour and fun at Tiffany & Co., where the uniforms were “elegant shirtwaist style in an aqua-blue silk jersey with black leather shoulder bags for deliveries.” Movie stars such as Judy Garland and Marlene Deitrich floated through the store throughout the summer, and Marjorie and Marty were free to admire the diamonds, crystal and china adorning the shelves and become chums with the salesmen on the floor. And on the weekend, Marjorie and Marty explored the city- restaurants, dances, dates…and the subway. They also took their first trip to the beach, where they fell asleep, awoke with sunburns and found that they had missed the last bus to the city but were luckily able to hitch a ride with a couple of amused poilcemen.

Hart writes with great wit, energy and youthful enthusiam. You can tell she had a blast writing and remembering all that happened to her during those couple of months all those years ago. The pace of her storytelling is just right and she kept my interest from the first word to the last. Hart does a great job of bringing the reader into the moment and experiencing the excitement of being young in a big city. She includes letters she wrote to her family in Iowa during her summer in the city and they provide further proof as to the great culture shock she must have experienced that summer. If you’re in the mood for something light and cheeful, this is the book.