Book Review: The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street

Who doesn't scream for ice cream? It's one of my favorite desserts and we always keep some stocked in our freezer. Running out of ice cream is like a travesty in our house. When I first heard about The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman, I knew I had to check it out, especially since there were Jewish elements involved. While the length didn't appeal to my book club and the genre didn't fit my book blog, I was looking for a reason to put all my other reading aside for it. (I have to prioritize with all the reviewing I do.) Then I got an opportunity to interview Susan Jane Gilman for The Jewish Food Experience blog and thought that now would be a good time to give the book a whirl (or perhaps a swirl, in this case).

In 1913, little Malka Treynovsky flees Russia with her family. Bedazzled by tales of gold and movie stardom, she tricks them into buying tickets for America. Yet no sooner do they land on the squalid Lower East Side of Manhattan, than Malka is crippled and abandoned in the street.

Taken in by a tough-loving Italian ices peddler, she manages to survive through cunning and inventiveness. As she learns the secrets of his trade, she begins to shape her own destiny. She falls in love with a gorgeous, illiterate radical named Albert, and they set off across America in an ice cream truck. Slowly, she transforms herself into Lillian Dunkle, "The Ice Cream Queen" -- doyenne of an empire of ice cream franchises and a celebrated television personality.

Lillian's rise to fame and fortune spans seventy years and is inextricably linked to the course of American history itself, from Prohibition to the disco days of Studio 54. Yet Lillian Dunkle is nothing like the whimsical motherly persona she crafts for herself in the media. Conniving, profane, and irreverent, she is a supremely complex woman who prefers a good stiff drink to an ice cream cone. And when her past begins to catch up with her, everything she has spent her life building is at stake. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

As soon as I opened the book, I was immediately drawn in to Malka's world. She narrates the story through her 75 year-old voice and personality (as Lillian), so there's a lot of wit and humor that wouldn't have been prevalent if she narrated it throughout the time she was coming of age. She uses the word "darlings" to address her audience, and I just love that for some reason. It makes me feel like I'm talking with a long lost relative.

Susan really did a lot of research that comes out in all the detail she uses throughout the story. I really felt like I was right there and could practically taste the ice cream Lillian was selling. It made me want to go back in time to when my grandparents were growing up. I also enjoyed reading about how businesses came about before the Internet existed. (This is coming from someone who doesn't get what people did at work before computers existed.)

Malka/Lillian ranks up there with Wally Lamb's Dolores Price (from She's Come Undone) on my well-developed and incredible characters list. I could easily see them being friends if they were part of the same story. I had to keep closing the cover to make sure I was still reading a book, as Malka/Lillian felt so realistic. Susan wasn't afraid to put her flaws and imperfections out there and allow her to be seen as an unreliable narrator upon whom I could still rely. I hated to love her, honestly. She reminded me of myself in some ways and of people I know in other ways. And she was so easily sympathetic, even when she was at her worst behavior. The only critique I have is that there were too many names to keep track of and I forgot about some people and their significance to the story after a while. However, this didn't detract from my enjoyment in the slightest.

Aside from that, the story had a Forrest Gump feel, as it spanned over a long period of time and incorporated the characters into real historical events, as well as incorporated celebrities and politicians into a fictional story. The other reason is because it was a well told and compelling story that I could easily enjoy on the big screen. I was sort of casting it into my head, but because it spanned so much time, it was hard to stick with one actor. I could see June Gable (who played Estelle on Friends) as 75 year-old Lillian as she's narrating the story. I also pictured Mayim Bialik playing Lillian in her 30s and 40s. I pictured Ty Burrell as a middle-aged Albert ("Bert").

The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street, overall, is an incredibly written book that is giving me a book hangover the way a delicious ice cream cone gives me an ice cream headache. Well worth devouring, in either case. As Lillian might say, "Darlings, how is it that you haven't read this yet?" Well, if your beach bag is full and you don't have the space for the hardcover version, have no fear...it will be available in paperback July 7th. So grab your favorite ice cream flavors and be prepared not to leave your favorite reading chair for a while.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review. Visit the Jewish Food Experience blog to meet Susan.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."