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Book Review of The Dollhouse

The Dollhouse
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Journalist Rose Lewin's life is coming unravelled -- her promising television career has ended in scandal, her father's health is deteriorating, and her boyfriend just dumped her to go back to his ex-wife, who wants immediate possession of the Barbizon condo.

While she's juggling all this, she becomes obsessed with the stories of a small group of elderly women, clinging to rent-controlled apartments in what was once the Barbizon Hotel for Women -- a New York institution that was home to models, writers, and aspiring career girls in the 1950s. As Rose tries to puzzle out the hidden stories, the twists get darker and her own hold on rational behavior seems to get more slippery with every turn.

Nicely done, with believable characterizations and some pointed comparisons of the choices women made in the 1950s compared to the ones still being made today.