Elizabeth Gilbert und Hans Jürgen Balmes, City of Girls

Life is wild and dangerous. Whoever confides in him upside down gets caught in a vortex of passion and love. So it happens to Vivian, who is sent from the provinces to the big city. Overnight she finds herself in the glamor of New York - in the turbulent forties with musicals, bars, jazz and gangsters. When she makes a private mistake, a public scandal ensues that turns her world upside down. It will take her years to understand him.

The novel, celebrated by the media as a beguiling mix of charm and wit, was on the »New York Times« bestseller list for months after its publication.