^Okay, I need to expand my reading list. Sorry to hear you got the boot. I hope you can get it fixed. I've been needing to pick up a new flag anyway, so . . . time to peruse your book selection as well. 
Just finished this one, and I have to say it's the most St. Louis-centric novel I've ever read.
Most of the action happens Downtown. City Museum, Washington Ave., City Garden, Mansion House Center (The Misery Towers), and of course the Arch all feature prominently. Most neighborhoods get a shout-out, and local quirks are on full display (what high school did you go to?). Tons of local landmarks, businesses, and institutions are included. One of the main characters is a Bosnian immigrant who made it big in real estate.
Be warned, though: The author does not paint a pretty picture of St. Louis. He praises the architecture, but violent crime and it's impact on the average Joe is greatly exaggerated. If your civic ego is easily bruised, you might want to avoid this book. But if you enjoy dark humor and wry social commentary, check it out!
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Most of the action happens Downtown. City Museum, Washington Ave., City Garden, Mansion House Center (The Misery Towers), and of course the Arch all feature prominently. Most neighborhoods get a shout-out, and local quirks are on full display (what high school did you go to?). Tons of local landmarks, businesses, and institutions are included. One of the main characters is a Bosnian immigrant who made it big in real estate.
Be warned, though: The author does not paint a pretty picture of St. Louis. He praises the architecture, but violent crime and it's impact on the average Joe is greatly exaggerated. If your civic ego is easily bruised, you might want to avoid this book. But if you enjoy dark humor and wry social commentary, check it out!
Interesting biography of a most interesting St. Louisan: Rosemary Woodruff Leary.
Some blurbs from St. Louis Magazine:
" The life of Rosemary Woodruff started off fairly typically for a girl born in St. Louis in 1935 and raised in South City. Her dad worked on the levees; her mom was, for a time, a secretary at Anheuser-Busch. Woodruff grew up playing in Carondelet Park before dropping out of school"
" Yes, as you might presume from Woodruff’s married name, she wed Timothy Leary, the Harvard psychologist who helped popularize LSD and coined the slogan "turn on, tune in, drop out.” She also helped him escape from prison, which led to the couple hiding out in Algeria with the Black Panthers".
"Rosemary and a different lover sneaking back into the U.S., growing “cannabis seeds sourced in Afghanistan on a 200-acre farm in the backwoods of Missouri,” and later spending a night at the Chase Hotel, “where they gorged on room service and luxury bedding.”
Trippy! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... e=hs_email
Some blurbs from St. Louis Magazine:
" The life of Rosemary Woodruff started off fairly typically for a girl born in St. Louis in 1935 and raised in South City. Her dad worked on the levees; her mom was, for a time, a secretary at Anheuser-Busch. Woodruff grew up playing in Carondelet Park before dropping out of school"
" Yes, as you might presume from Woodruff’s married name, she wed Timothy Leary, the Harvard psychologist who helped popularize LSD and coined the slogan "turn on, tune in, drop out.” She also helped him escape from prison, which led to the couple hiding out in Algeria with the Black Panthers".
"Rosemary and a different lover sneaking back into the U.S., growing “cannabis seeds sourced in Afghanistan on a 200-acre farm in the backwoods of Missouri,” and later spending a night at the Chase Hotel, “where they gorged on room service and luxury bedding.”
Trippy! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book ... e=hs_email