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The Party Upstairs
The Party Upstairs: A Novel | Lee Conell
9 posts | 9 read | 10 to read
An electrifying debut novel that unfolds in the course of a single day inside one genteel New York City apartment building, as tensions between the building's super and his grown-up daughter spark a crisis that will, by day's end, have changed everything. Ruby has a strange relationship to privilege, having grown up the super's daughter in the basement of an Upper West Side co-op that is full-on gentrified, and getting more so with each passing year. She wasn't economically privileged herself, but her close childhood friendship with the daughter of wealthy tenants named Caroline, and the mere fact of living in a lovely neighborhood, close to her beloved Natural History Museum and just across the park from the Met, brought with them certain real advantages, even expectations. Naturally Ruby followed her dreams and took out large student loans to attend a prestigious small liberal arts college and explore her interest in art. But now, out of school for a while, she is no closer to her dream job, or anything resembling it, and she's been forced by circumstances to do the last thing she wanted to do: move back in with her parents, back in the basement apartment of the building. And Caroline is throwing one of her parties tonight, in her father's glorious penthouse apartment, a party Ruby looks forward to and dreads in equal measure. With exquisite narrative control, The Party Upstairs distills down worlds of wisdom about families, great expectations, and the hidden violence of class into the gripping, darkly witty story of a single fateful day inside a single Manhattan co-op. Told from the alternating perspectives of the super, Martin, and his daughter, Ruby, as they are obliged, one way or another, to interact with the various species of inhabitant of the little ecosystem of their building, the novel builds from the spark of an early morning argument between Martin and Ruby to the ultimate conflagration that results by day's end. By the time the ashes have cooled, the faade that masks the building's power structures of dominance and submission will have burned away, and no party will be left unscathed.
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Smartypants
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Panpan

Don‘t do it! Just walk away. Unless you enjoy stories about bribery with a rhinoceros head. I was too far in to DNF. Worst 10 hours of life.

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LisaLovesToRead
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Pickpick

This was a quick read, but it still covered some deep topics. On a side note, I assumed incorrectly that the author was a male & I was impressed with how insightful it was into the female psyche. Then when I got to the “about the author” section, I shook my head & caught myself. I used to regularly check that prior to beginning a book, but it‘s a little harder with e-books. Ha

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Sparklemn
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Pickpick

I enjoyed the alternating chapters between the father/super and daughter. Definitely want to visit the Museum of Natural History in NYC after reading this. #librofm

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Litsi
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Pickpick

The super‘s girl & the penthouse family‘s girl who grew up together realize that they‘ll lead different lives. The super knows that no friendliness or charity will change the basement/penthouse relationship. Conell shows the emotions of a parent whose self-respect & need to provide collide daily. Penthouse girl uses the NYC skyline as her backdrop while the super‘s girl struggles beneath it. A portrait of entwined, but parallel lives.

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MicheleinPhilly
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Bailedbailed

I had such high hopes for this but it really is just a tremendous bore. Thankful I borrowed from the library instead of purchasing. 👎🏼

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Lauren.Archer
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Pickpick
Sparklemn Love single day stories 😻 4y
74 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Jemgirl2014
Bailedbailed

I was so excited about this one but my mind checked out because this book is boring. I gave up after the first chapter.

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BookNAround
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Today‘s #JulyARC will be released on 7/7.

keithmalek I'm baffled as to why they gave away the ending in the description. 4y
keithmalek The cover is similar to one of my all-time favorite books, Moonwalking With Einstein. 4y
BookNAround @keithmalek Maybe they thought people wouldn‘t pick up on the less than subtle wording? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 4y
63 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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lowellette
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Pickpick

An upstairs/downstairs look at a modern NYC apartment building with the building super‘s family mixing with the rich socialite tenants. Lee Cornell creates some really interesting situations to ponder. A great book club pick.