44 Charles Street is set in an artsy district of New York. Francesca, the main character, loves art and is living out her dream as co-owner of a gallery in which she helps new artists get a start. However, her business and life partner wants out. He helped her get the gallery going for five years, and now, seeing that it still isn’t making money, he wants to return to his law career. He wants to sell the house and gallery and start a family.
Francesca lets him go and finds a way to keep her life in the home she loves. The tenants she rents rooms to turn out to be quite a variety of people. They learn to love each other as family, through thick and thin.
I like how the author portrays a variety of personalities in the story, and how they interact. Their backgrounds, desires, and expectations. The ways they care for one another.
This book is written in an older style, from the point of view of the author as she tells the story. We as readers catch glimpses into the feelings of characters as told by Steele. This is different from recent writing styles in which authors write only from the point of view of one character in each scene.
Personally, I don’t mind this older writing style. It’s easy to follow, and the settings, characters and story line are interesting. Steele portrays well the life, values, belief systems and cultures of the time. 44 Charles Street could lead to a great discussion for a book club.
