John O'Hara

Originally published in 1935 and an immediate bestseller, "BUtterfield 8" was inspired by a news account of the body of a beautiful woman washing up on a Long Island beach. Her death was never resolved, but O'Hara seized upon the tragedy to imagine her down-and-out life in New York City in the early 1930s.

Butterfield 8

Caught up in the fast life of 1930s New York City, Gloria Wandrous becomes tragically involved with a married man.

can definitely see why this was considered scandalous in the 30s—the characters were fairly interesting and i enjoyed the multiple story lines that occasionally crossed paths. i also enjoyed o’hara’s use of stream of consciousness in the 3rd person…it was a bit long winded at times but insightful when considering characters’ internal dilemmas, rash decisions, and general harsh judgement

spoiled this for myself with less than 30 pages left but i think it would’ve been a bit more impactful otherwise (tho possibly still fairly predictable)

really appreciate it being risqué for it’s time, added half a star for that alone. not a bad way to end the year

༺ kat ༻

can definitely see why this was considered scandalous in the 30s—the characters were fairly interesting and i enjoyed the multiple story lines that occasionally crossed paths. i also enjoyed o’hara’s use of stream of consciousness in the 3rd person…it was a bit long winded at times but insightful when considering characters’ internal dilemmas, rash decisions, and general harsh judgement

spoiled this for myself with less than 30 pages left but i think it would’ve been a bit more impactful otherwise (tho possibly still fairly predictable)

really appreciate it being risqué for it’s time, added half a star for that alone. not a bad way to end the year

Butterfield 8

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