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The Ghost of Greenwich Village    by Lorna Graham Amazon.com order for
Ghost of Greenwich Village
by Lorna Graham
Order:  USA  Can
Ballantine, 2011 (2011)
Softcover, CD, e-Book

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* *   Reviewed by Bob Walch

'Sometimes Eve felt a stab of pain that if ghosts existed, why couldn't it be her mother who came to her? But she and Donald had settled into a mostly harmonious rapport. Like many twosomes, they enjoyed a remarkable knack for maintaining equilibrium. When one despaired, say, over being dead, the other extolled the silver lining of not having to put up with telemarketers. And when the other grew angry about street noise, for instance, the first might gently remind about the pleasures afforded being able to stroll a museum.'

Eve Weldon's mother lived in New York City in the sixties when Greenwich Village was a hotbed of artists and writers. So when Eve follows her mother's footsteps and moves from Ohio to Manhattan, she hopes to discover a similar creative environment. What she actually finds, though, is a so-so writing job on a morning news show called Smell the Coffee and a ghost in her apartment.

While Eve is trying to make her way in a very competitive environment and find some clues about her mother's past, Donald Bellows, the Beat Generation writer who haunts her accommodations, wants the young woman to help him complete his life's work. Of course, their conversations also touch on Donald's beatnik past when the Village was a completely different place.

Eve's attempt to make her own way in the big city while also ghost writing for a ghost means there's a lot on Eve's plate. Although at times she seems a bit naïve for a woman her age, Eve does persevere, although she might have been happier living back in the sixties as her mother did.

Nevertheless, this warm tale of self-discovery, with its decidedly supernatural flavor, is a book that you'll discover easy to get into. While Eve Weldon is a likeable heroine, I found her cantankerous roommate much more interesting. They make an unusual odd couple and one, I think, you'll enjoy spending some time with.

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