The Zonderling
-
- $6.99
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
“A hilariously funny, compact volume about a hotel’s denizens that delivers well-aimed zingers—a winner.” — Kirkus Reviews
Like scores of career girls before her, Heather Baumhauer leaves behind small-town life in the Midwest to find adventure and an exciting job in New York City. But when her apartment plans fall through, she worries that her dream is over before she’s even tasted a real New York bagel. Enter The Zonderling, a one-hundred-year-old residence for women. Finding it miraculously affordable, Heather moves in and quickly befriends Jennifer, a financial analyst, and Emily, an aspiring actress.
But life at The Zonderling is not without its complications. From antiquated rules (no men allowed!) to shared bathrooms (never enough toilet paper) to cantankerous neighbors (tenants since the Nixon administration), Heather must learn to adapt to life both inside and outside the confines of an old-fashioned residential hotel in this comedy about what it truly takes to make it in New York.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Amusing yet clich d, Niebruegge's first novel provides a glimpse into the lives of those living in a historic New York City boarding house. Wisconsin transplant Heather Baumhauer arrives in New York to find her cousin Christina gone, leaving Heather stranded with no place to live and no way to get home. An Internet search leads her to the Zonderling, a safe and affordable boarding house for women. The historic (fictional) Zonderling was a project for the Altruistic Army, opened as a soup kitchen for young working women in 1905, and now it is a dorm-like community where Heather moves in to begin her new life. Heather's story is short and predictable; the other inhabitants of the Zonderling are introduced and take center stage. A cartoon portrait of city life with stock characters fills the pages, including the naive, wannabe actress from the Midwest, the jaded, unofficial "cruise director" of all things Zonderling, the resident crank with entitlement issues, and the overprotective mother who watches too much Dateline. With an abrupt and unsurprising outcome, readers are left wanting for more. (BookLife)
