Memoirs are a go-to genre for me. I usually feel they are the most engaging form of the autobiography, but this one just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps it was the format, or maybe the writing style, but I found myself disengaged and generally apathetic - which is unfortunate, because clearly this was written about and from a treasured place. I did find that the chapters focused on a particular family held my interest a bit more than others; they provided a glimpse into what I think I had expected of the book.

The author did create a vivid urban pastoral landscape, I just feel that, for me, some of the story was lost in the architecture.

Sincere thanks to Net Galley & NYU Press for this digital advanced readers copy.

~👩🏻‍🦰

*typically, we choose not to rate memoirs as they are a subjective experience that we feel inappropriately objectively rating. However, as required by Net Galley, we have allotted a star-rating system.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this gushing love letter to Bank Street in NYC's Greenwich Village. The author Donna Florio grew up on the street and shares details abotu the diverse tenants of Bank Street. This was a fun read learning about the rich history of the famous inhabitants and events that occurred on this iconic street. I can't wait to visit this street next on my next trip to the Big Apple. A must-read for anyone who loves NYC.

I didn't finish this. It simply didn't hold my attention. Maybe at another time it would but I didn't enjoy it enough to continue

What a wonderful history of Greenwich Village thru the ages! Such an interesting cast of characters that created a wild and crazy family. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories, even had to google a few I didn’t recognize. Worth reading.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in the review are my own. Thank you NYU Press.

Donna Florio paints a picture where you’ll feel as if you were there. A clever look at the historical Bank Street.

In her book, ‘Growing up Bank Street’, Donna Florio brings the place to life with her reminiscences of the people who lived there and the changes she witnessed. She presents an affectionate and colourful snapshot of the individuals she encountered and the life experiences that she witnessed. All in all a very interesting social history and an enjoyable read. Recommended.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Donna Florio, and New York University Press for a copy of this novel*

Growing Up Bank Street details Donna Florio's life growing up in a small apartment building in Greenwich Village during the turbulent 60s and 70s. Having also grown up in NY but on the Upper West Side, I absolutely loved this book. Her memories and vignettes are so colorful that you can see the characters in your head. Normally memoirs are not a preferred genre, but this book is written exceptionally well.

Florio writes about a time long forgotten, where the "weirdos" and "vagrants" were free to roam the streets of the village and were accepted as normal. But also, how closely knit a community of people living in the same building can become. 63 Bank Street is filled with characters and families, and her descriptions of those who live in her building are some of my favorite parts. She also does a brilliant job describing how your childhood shapes who you become. Though her life would not seem "normal" to those who did not grow up in such an environment, to her, it was.

All in all, a fabulous book about a not so recent time, where a little girl grew up among artists, opera singers, vagrants and the mentally ill. I devoured this book because it was just so much fun to read!

What an amazing time and place to grow up! NYC has been becoming to gentrified and homogenized the past 30-40 years. It's sad. I took my daughter on a tour of all the places and told her their remarkable histories 15 some years back. So sad to see how it's changed. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about NYC's golden age. I wish more of the old folks would write their memoirs of the good old days. Amazing life Ms. Florio! Thanks for writing it down and sharing it!

I really enjoyed Growing up Bank street as I read the book I could vividly see the buildings the people, I could feel the story. It didn't feel like reading more like going on a sightseeing your with the author.
It felt real, honest and insightful.

growing up bank street is a memoir about a neighbourhood that shaped, educated, & nurtured a young girl into & through adulthood in NYC's thriving greenwich village. however, this isn’t simply a biography of her own life: it’s a detailed description of all of the lives that have been intertwined with hers over her impressive 60 years on bank street.

florio serves as a bit of an elusive, omnipresent narrator. her snippets about her personal life are rare & you learn about her in the context of the people she brings to life in her pages. her extensive knowledge of the stories, secrets, & people of the neighborhood lead you believe that the walls MUST have talked. the book is meticulously researched with integration of well-known pieces of history with her own experiences & those collected from neighbors, all wrapped up in a tapestry of stories that are colorful & lively. the book felt conversational & intimate, like i was sitting in florio's apartment catching up on the neighborhood tea.

with every new character & storyline introduced, i kept thinking to myself: how can so much history, so much action, so much gossip, so many generations, so many interconnected lives... exist in the span of 6 blocks?! all i can say is, wow humans are fascinating & florio serves you a whopping dose of interesting.

A very intriguing book! I enjoyed these glimpses of life that was so different from my own! The little stories were fun and the photos added a lot.

The stories about famous - and not-so-famous people were fascinating. What an interesting place to live!

I found this a little tedious and somewhat boring! Too many details, and very scattered. I understand she was telling us about the people on the street, but she kept scattering the years. I got bored, but pushed thru. Some details about interesting people over the years, but maybe not enough story!

While reading this book. I was intrigued by the history of Bank Street and Greenwich Village. However, I think I'm one of those readers that prefers fiction to nonfiction. I enjoyed learning about the author's life experiences but felt I would have liked to know more about her. I think this was intentional on the author's part and that she wanted to make this book more about other's stories than her own. She did an amazing job showing the reader glimpses into the world of Bank Street from 1955-present day. In addition, she researched how Greenwich Village and Bank Street came to be. Some of her research was done by interviewing residents that were quite a bit older than her. Bank Street was a place you were either born into or found when you were looking for a place where people from all walks of life were accepted. Donna grew up feeling like her Bank Street neighbors were family. She lived quite the bohemian childhood and was a child opera singer at The Metropolitan Opera House, where she often performed with her mother. Plenty of larger than life personalities moved in and out of her building. Many famous names were interwoven into the book as this one of a kind neighborhood drew actors, musicians, poets, writers, artists, journalists, performers and social and political activists. People of varied religions, political views, sexual orientations, class, gender and race mixed together. It was a wonderful place to land if you felt unaccepted wherever you came from. Just some of the names mentioned who called Bank Street their home for a period of time were Christopher Plummer, Sid Vicious, Charles Kuralt, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Langston Hughes, Auntie Mame, Lauren Bacall, Alan Arkin, Lena Horne, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Billy Crystal , Frank McCourt, Billie Holiday and George Gershwin. Donna was star struck by the writers and poets, as reading and writing were great passions of hers. She is a gifted storyteller. However, there were so many stories of various residents in her building who impacted her life that it became a bit challenging to keep track of them all. I do believe native New Yorkers would be very interested in this book. 3.5⭐️ out of 5⭐️ Thank you to @netgalley and @nyupress for the free e-version of this book in exchange for an honest review. #bookstagrammer #bookrviewer #netgalley #goodreads #memoir #booksandmrdarcy #withhernosestuckinabook❤️📚

This was a fun and almost too-good-to-be-true memoir, and I ate up every wild story. Donna Florio is a masterful and engaging storyteller, outlining all the stories of her many neighbors on Bank Street. If you've ever lived in NYC before, I think you'd especially appreciate this memoir about the Village. Thank you for the copy and for allowing me to review it!

Very entertaining, informative book about a block in NYC Greenwich Village. The stories of famous and everyday people who were part of the author’s childhood and adulthood are interesting, well told. A truly delightful read.

I love a good NYC story and this didn't disappoint! Cameos by famous people, dancers and just the regular denizens of NYC were in abundance. My major issue was that I wish it was chronological, it would have been easier to follow and piece together her life story if it was. I don't know her and it wasn't a conversation with her so I felt like a lot of the labor to follow the thread was on me. .

This memoir is such a beautiful, tender and heart breaking love letter to an incredible part of New York City. Donna Florio’s writing is so fluid, and her sense of humor and warmth resonate in these pages. Greenwich Village has undergone so many transformations over the years, and has seen so much change and uncertainty. The fabric of the community remains strong, undaunted, and resilient, despite the fact that the neighborhood has now priced out nearly everyone in the city. Florio writes of this city street with clarity, love and humor. This memoir resonated so strongly with me, especially right now in the midst of a pandemic that has been yet another battle for the people of Manhattan (and around the world). This was a wonderful breath of fresh air, and a reminder to never, ever count out NYC. There is no place like it.

What a terrific book....an insight into the many lives who lived in Greenwich Village on Bank Street
Donna Florio did an excellent job unfolding this story. I felt I was right in the neighbourhood experiencing all the colourful escapades.
I so enjoyed reading about all the people, their lives, and antics.

Very entertaining, informative book about a block in NYC Greenwich Village. The stories of famous and everyday people who were part of the author’s childhood and adulthood are interesting, well told. A truly delightful read.

As much as I wanted to like this one, it was ultimately a DNF for me. I typically get about 1/3 of the way through a book before I decide to give up, but this wasn't the book for me.

2/5 Stars