In Elaine Kraf's witty, sardonic novel The Princess of 72nd Street , the Princess Esmeralda is sure of her royalty, her seizures of "radiance," and her domain--Manhattan's 72nd Street from Central Park West to Riverside Drive. On the other hand, Ellen (who shares a body with the Princess) has trouble coping with an ex-lover, his psychiatrist, an ex-husband, dining out, putting just one color on her canvases at a time, and trying to keep a radiant Esmeralda from being arrested. She has even taken to propping up large signs to remind the Princess that MONEY IS THE MEANS OF BARTER and DON'T LET STRANGE MEN INTO YOUR APARTMENT. The Princess, however, can be most persuasive: she wants to remain a princess. If only she could learn to control the radiances, retain the wonderful feelings, remember what happens...
As an avid reader I sing praises of this novel. The main character is so bizarre that she is more human than can be designed. She enters our sense of reality. The descriptive passages of the dementia episodes coined as "radiance" are curious and unaffected. They are truly honest and are not drooling with the need to sympathize rather the crisp allure of the otherness. Please read!!!
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