She resists any plot twist or final revelation to provide a tidy psychological explanation for Mazie Phillips-Gordon sainthood.'- Washington Post Attenberg also sidesteps many of the pitfalls of the form: no day-by-day plodding through the decades, no unedited research notes masquerading as dialogue. proves her chops as a historical novelist by perfectly capturing Mazie's jazz-age voice, which ranges from clipped and vulgar to melancholy and lyrical. 'Attenberg is a nimble and inventive storyteller with a particular knack for getting at the heart of outsized characters.

Thanks to the wonderful Jami Attenberg (with an assist from the legendary Joseph Mitchell) Mazie does live on, an actual 20th century New York City saint.'- NPR often ebullient tale about the simple pleasures of a working life. 'Boisterous and compassionate.'- O Magazine You'll love this smart, touching novel that brings her world to life.'- People 'Tender-hearted and loose-living, Mazie is the unlikely guardian angel of New York City's Depression-Era down-and-outs. Attenberg takes Mitchell's witty, colorful piece and spins it into something equally lively and new.'- New York Times Book Review 'Full of love and drink and dirty sex and nobility. Mazie's rise to 'sainthood'-and her irrepressible spirit-is unforgettable. Inspired by the life of a woman who was profiled in Joseph Mitchell's classic Up in the Old Hotel, Saint Mazie is infused with Jami Attenberg's signature wit, bravery, and heart. Who was Mazie Phillips, really? A chorus of voices from the past and present fill in some of the mysterious blanks of her adventurous life. Then, more than ninety years after Mazie began her diary, it's discovered by a documentarian in search of a good story.

If Mazie won't help them, then who? When she opens the doors of The Venice to those in need, this ticket taking, fun-time girl becomes the beating heart of the Lower East Side, and in defining one neighborhood helps define the city. Addicts and bums roam the Bowery homelessness is rampant. When the Great Depression hits, Mazie's life is on the brink of transformation. But her high spirits mask a childhood rooted in poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holds her dearest secrets. It's the Jazz Age, with romance and booze aplenty-even when Prohibition kicks in-and Mazie never turns down a night on the town. Meet Mazie Phillips: big-hearted and bawdy, she's the truth-telling proprietress of The Venice, the famed New York City movie theater.

Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg