The Princess of 72nd Street by Elaine Kraf Paperback Book 9780241715277

A cult classic A high and a comedown at once a paroxysm of sex and booze and above all colour wryly funny it is also devastating The New YorkerAn unforgettable portrait of a smart sensitive yet deeply troubled young woman fighting to live on her own termsI dont need LSD for things to look prettyEllen is an artist living alone on New York in the 1970s She is beset by irritating exboyfriends paint pigment choices and occasionally by radiances episodes of joyous reckless unreality during which she becomes Princess Esmerelda a brightlydressed star ruling over her kingdom of West 72nd Street Yet there are those around her particularly the men in her life who are threatened by this incarnation and wish to curtail the giddy freedom it brings her A rhapsodic work of exuberant invention and deadpan humour The Princess of 72nd Street sees female liberation and mental health through new eyesWith an Introduction by Melissa BroderOne of literatures hidden gems demands a place on your bookshelf right next to Plath and Ditlevsen Sarah Rose Etter