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A Novel
by Jessica Anya Blau
From the author of the "delightful" (New York Times Book Review) Mary Jane, a new novel of found family, growing up, and the best and worst of the 1980s, revolving around San Francisco's most exclusive department store, I. Magnin.
Nineteen-year-old Zippy can hardly believe it: she's the newest and youngest salesgirl at I. Magnin, "San Francisco's Finest Department Store." Every week, she rotates her three spruced-up Salvation Army outfits and Vaseline-shined pumps; still, she's thrilled to walk those pumps through the employee entrance five days a week as she saves to buy something new. For a girl who grew up in a one-bedroom apartment above a liquor store with her mother and her mother's madcap boyfriend, Howard; a girl who wanted to go to college but had no help in figuring out how; I. Magnin represents a real chance for a better and more elegant life. Or, at the very least, a more interesting one.
Zippy may not be in school, but she's about to get an education that will stick with her for decades. Her fellow salesgirls (lifetime professionals) run the gamut from mean and indifferent to caring and helpful. The cosmetics ladies on the first floor share both samples and advice ("only date a man with a Rolex"); and her new roommate, Raquel, an ambitious lawyer, tells Zippy she can lose ten pounds easy if she joins Raquel in eating only every other day. Just when Zippy thinks she's getting a handle on how to be an adult woman in 1985, two surprises threaten both her sense of self and her coveted position at I. Magnin.
Set in the Day-Glo colors of 1980s San Francisco, Shopgirls is an intoxicating novel of self-discovery, outrageous fashion, and family both biological and found.
"The story is somewhat predictable, but Zippy is a delightful character, and it's a joy to watch her find herself. Added to the mix is a colorful cast of supporting characters, including an older roommate who convinces Zippy to kiss men at bars and try a zany diet she invented. Readers will be smitten with this totally '80s romp." —Publishers Weekly
"A quirky fairy tale with a vibrantly realized setting and a wonderfully outrageous twist." —Kirkus Reviews
"Zippy is all heart and unforgettable. What shines the brightest is Blau's dazzling world building of 1980s San Francisco. The women of Zippy's world—her roommate, coworkers, mother, and customers—bring to life the extremely varied expectations for women in the era, creating an altogether beautiful pastiche." —Booklist
"Bestselling Blau writes an optimistic coming-of-age story that includes a host of eccentric characters and depicts life in San Francisco in the 1980s, focusing on social class, AIDS, and workplace politics. A sweet story set in a simpler time, with a happy ending." —Library Journal
"The exclusive department store where our wide-eyed and big-hearted protagonist, Zippy, finds her calling—and herself—exudes a timeless feel made all the more nostalgic for knowing that so many places like this have become the stuff of history in our fast-fashion, online world. A lovely exploration of a young woman becoming her own person against a backdrop of fraught times with a gentle sex and the city vibe." —Kim van Alkemade, author of Orphan #8 and Bachelor Girl
This information about Shopgirls was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jessica Anya Blau was born in Boston and raised in Southern California. Her novels have been featured on The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and NPR, and in Cosmo, Vanity Fair, Bust, Time Out, Oprah Summer Reads and other national publications. Jessica's short stories and essays have been published in numerous magazines, journals, and anthologies. Jessica co-wrote the script for Love on the Run starring Frances Fisher and Steve Howey. She sometimes works as a ghost writer and has taught writing at Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College, and The Fashion Institute of Technology. Jessica lives in New York.
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