By Carol Simone
Reviewed for The Whole Life Times by Lorrie Kazan
In The Goddess of 5th Avenue, Ms. Simone presents a world of strong women, who even when weakened or removed from their power, still maintain some level of command and determination. The novel is well-paced and leads the reader on a modern-day journey from disillusionment to compassionate love.
The message is not to resist life’s dark forces and small deaths but to realize that they’re part of the process in which the soul’s reclamation proceeds. Like the goddess Innana, one may sink into the underworld before the light is fully revealed but the light always exists—if only in fragments—until it ultimately dawns. This is the heroine’s journey to wholeness and redemption of the feminine, complete with spirit guides, shape shifting animals, beloved mentors, a shadow goddess, and ultimately the discovery of the shining spirit, Quan Yin.
Billie Bartholomew, an upper middle class New York girl, suffers defeat and degradation, most particularly in the form of childhood sexual abuse, and manages to transform herself into not only a functioning human being, but one who makes a difference in other people’s lives. She becomes a psychotherapist who administers to other ailing souls.
Though Ms. Simone writes with fluidity and grace, her style has far more telling than showing and I found myself anxious to get through what for me seemed like a predictable story, while at the same time able to easily imagine a readership actually enjoying her work.
This tale of finding one’s self, includes soul sisters, portrayed realistically by Billie’s actual sister, who frees herself from the family bondage through the use of her voice, (in this case singing), women mentors, such as her hippy aunt Lillian and even a street goddess, Maria of a Thousand Flowers, to embody her shadow self. It didn’t work for me but others may find it inspiring.
Hayden Publishing, 2001
