The Last Night at the Ritz (Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust Rediscoveries)

Elizabeth Savage wrote and published her novel, "The Last Night at the Ritz" in 1973, which is a fact worth noting when reading it today. It has been reissued as part of the "Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries" series. Events in the early 1970's to which Savage alludes are as much at a "remove" from the reader as the feelings that are expressed by the unnamed narrator to those events. "Ritz" is a cool book on the surface with a fair amount going on with the characters. Unfortunately, I couldn't establish a lot of connection with the characters, and their problems left me somewhat cold. Now, that doesn't mean "Ritz" is a bad book; it isn't at all. It's just a little like reading a book about the natives of some Pacific Island; you close the book after finishing it and say, "oh, that was interesting". And then go on with your day.

The main characters - two former college roommates at an unnamed coed college in Maine - meet up in Boston for a visit. The "unnamed narrator" - who I will refer to as "UN" - has a tangled past with her roommate and the roommate's husband of 30 or so years. They all attended college together in the late 1930's and the husband, like many of his contemporaries went into service in WW2. He came back to a bride and a job in the publishing industry in Boston. They had two sons together, who, by the early 1970's were part of that disaffected generation - my generation - tangling with the societal mores of the time, as well as the ever-present Vietnam War draft. The sons of Gay and Len were a tangential - but important - part of the story because their lives affected those of their parents.

The narrator, Gay, Len, and several others - (including an old lover of the "UN") drink. They drink a lot. That was fairly common in that generation. I grew up in a house with an open bar and parents who hosted a lot of cocktail parties. The drinking in the book begins early in the day in question and actually harkens back to the drinking in the birth families of Gay and the "UN". Gay and Len's relationship problems aren't helped by the free-flowing liquor, which seems to prevent the honest communication these two so badly need.

In the question sheet geared for book clubs in the back of the book, the first question asks if the "unnamed narrator" used hindered or increased the reader's enjoyment of the book. I didn't like it because I felt removed - again with the word "removed" - from the characters' presence. It was as if I was watching "UN" observing the action with a studied eye. She never really seemed to join in the action, and so, neither did I. I've never read anything by Elizabeth Savage, so I don't know if this was a devise she commonly used in her fiction.

I really wish the Amazon rating system would use a Three-Star rating as "neutral"; not good, not bad. Because that's why I'm giving "Ritz" a three star review; I'm glad I read it but I'm not sure I'll remember it a week from now.

This edition is a re-issue as part of Nancy Pearl's Book Lust. It's the same book with book group material put around it. There's an additional reading bibliography that fails to put this book into the context of the other feminist works of it's time, and the suggested discussion questions are inane and simple minded in the way that makes students hate literature. It elevates technique over content, which is the worst reason to read.

The story itself is the sort that Sylvia Plath admirers will like and reflects The Bell Jar, written 10 years earlier. Since the book is 30 years old, it's impact isn't as interesting today, especially since it relies on the reader knowing what was going on in the US in the 1970s for the emotional impact of the big "secret". If you aren't familiar with Boston or the Ivy League colleges, you'll miss quite a bit.

THE LAST NIGHT AT THE RITZ by Elizabeth Savage is the fourth reissued book published in Nancy Pearl's "Book Lust Rediscoveries" series which I have followed since the first installment A GAY AND MELANCHOLY SOUND. In style and theme LAST NIGHT AT THE RITZ and A GAY AND MELANCHOLY SOUND bear some resemblances though "Ritz" is a shorter novel and at least as much about the narrator's friends as herself.

The book is set in the late 1960's and the main characters who have been friends since their college years are all around fifty at the time. In a rambling yet readable fashion the narrator fills the reader in (eventually) on the important events that have shaped she and her friends since college.

In her introduction Nancy Pearl compares the setting to that of MAD MEN and I see the comparison not only for the heavy drinking and cigarette smoking the characters indulge in but also for the many instances in which things are not quite as they first appear. The book has many great quotes though I have to admit some of the references the author makes do not connect with me. The unnamed narrator and her friend Gay were English majors and books and writing make up a very important part of their lives.

I do appreciate Nancy Pearl's new series. I am pleased to see that Amazon apparently plans to continue this series releasing a different reissued title about every two months complete with an introduction by Pearl, discussion questions and suggestions for further reading. In the pipeline to be published in the next six months are THE COWBOY AND THE COSSACK, ONE MINUS ONE and THE LION IN THE LEI SHOP.

This was a great disappointment. I love Boston, the old, real Ritz and thought the plot sounded interesting.
And it is. But the writing is clunky, the reader is as well. I couldn't finish it.

... and fans of good story telling.

A Must for any Book Club. This is a compelling read that I didn't put down until the last page.

FABULOUS introduction. This is a perfect slice of life for anyone who enjoys the work of interior pieces and would make a interesting play.

The novel was fascinating for me as I am now the same age as the main characters (50+) and the story is set 50 years ago. I have stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Boston once on business 20 years ago and was immensely impressed with it's elegance.

The only thing I would have added would be a review at the end full of spoilers that would provide some insight to the novel that one person alone wouldn't have. Also a complete biography on the author and one page reviews on her other books.

KIRKUS REVIEW: Another one of those almost Happy Endings? Close to it although on slightly more sophisticated terms than those of that nice old couple in Montana. A little younger too -- on the right side of middle age -- taking place when Gay and her oldest and closest friend (she tells the story) meet for a drink at the Ritz in Boston (Boston is nicely observed -- then and now) even though Gay never has anything stronger than Dubonnet. After all she's the neat, prim, temperate one, always a little disapproving of all those drinks and all those lovers even if there had only been really one that mattered. Elizabeth Savage tells their stories with considerable guile in a forward and backward and sideways reprise (quite sideways -- intimating here, concealing there). The story is attractively managed to make the most of those sentimental recognitions of the girl you once were and the woman you might be and it's surely, ever so surely, simpatico.

This story was an interesting look into relationships, loyalty, betrayal, fidelity and secrets both kept and revealed. The protagonist in the story organizes a "last" dinner for herself, her best friend from college, Gay and Gay's husband, Len. Len's assistant and an author that is a client of Len's also end up coming along. What was intended to be a dinner where the unnamed protagonist is planning to reveal some secrets, actually turns into secrets being revealed to her by her friends. I enjoyed the observations of the different characters and flashbacks to their college days, but at times I found the writing hard to follow and found myself having to re-read pages over again because I kept feeling like I had missed something. Did I like the book? Yes. Did I love the book? No.

I enjoyed this book. Nancy Pearl's picks are always good reads.

A friend suggested this book and I read it. I enjoyed it, but don't have a lot to say about it other than that it was a pleasant and interesting read. It did touch on some forgotten memories (e.g. dorm rules). If you have an awareness of Boston, you will, I think, find you can place yourself in a number of the settings that are presented in this book.