Paisley Mischief is a delightfully droll satire set in the most exclusive private men's club on New York's Park Avenue. The Avenue Club is a place where rich banker-types meet in easy camaraderie and no one wears trunks in the pool, because when you're the right sort of person, you're supposed to have nothing to hide.

When a famously brash movie producer applies for membership, long-simmering tensions at The Avenue rise to a boil. Who is Max Guberstein and where did he come from? Why does he want to join and most important, will he get in? These are the questions on everyone's mind, but it's left up to Dante Penfield, the club president's feckless nephew, and his resourceful roommate Audrey to figure out the answers.

Offering an inside glimpse into the preppy world, this tightly plotted comedy rolls like a freight train toward its ingenious conclusion. Paisley Mischief is reminiscent of the best drawing room comedies with its hilariously drawn characters and their highly incompatible views of the world. You will be charmed!

Sent to me in return for a review.

This is the story circulating around exclusive “The Avenue” “Gentleman’s Club” in New York where the male members use it, often daily, to eat their epic meals, drink their drink and play their squash. There are several sub-plots, only one of which is to do with Max Gubenstein and his attempt to join The Avenue (although his brash, movie producer Jewishness seems to be working against him). The other sub plots also included trying to work out who wrote the scandalous novel Paisley Mischief, where everyone recognises themselves; Max’s assistant Cecil trying not to get fired and therefore have to return to England and his appalling fiancé Penelope; Dante, friend of Cecil, the Chairman of The Avenue, newly appointed member of the a;pproval board; nephew of Puff Penfield; stuck in the middle of everything; and the matter of the ownership of a certain cottage and certain Spite Pole.

In the beginning I thought the book was perhaps trying too hard to be self-aware/self-ironic/clever [I cant pinpoint anything specific without quoting whole sections of the book, which I wont], but I soon settled down into the rythmn and we went happily off together after that. You can easily imagine that the actions of the characters, where many of them have the money to be focussed on things that the rest of us can only fantasise about (or watching programs like "Real Housewives of......"). This is a form of class statement, where Americans and their money have replaced the British and their class system (and where the plebs win as much as the 1%).

So in summary: getting past the apparent self awareness, this is a funny, light read, nicely distracting. Some people have made comparisons with Wodehouse etc, but since I havent read any of those I cant confirm if these comparisons are correct

I recorded a copy of this book from LibraryThing inexchange for an honest review.

This is a perfect little satirical novel. The loathsome characters and high society facades are reminiscent of The Great Gatsby set in modern New York. I loved the little mysteries and tricks to tie everything up at the end. This was a very well thought out book.

Quick, simple read that had me mentally giggling as I tried to figure out what shenanigans would happen next. ( )

Treading the social machinations of the wealthy forming the base structure of a novel is a well worn path. Pretty much at any point time when authors have been writing a good deal of the literature discussed the goings on of the gentry. Prototypical of those sorts of novels are comedies of manners where much of the intrigue is a direct consequence of the arcane social rules that are the real subject of the book. When the American wealthy appear in these satires they are generally cast as buffoons too incompetent to follow the social rules or obnoxiously brash, ignoring the social mores because they believe their power places beyond the consequences of dramatic social reprobation.

In a sign of the aging of money in America Paisley Mischief carries on the tradition of casting the wealthy americans in the role of the buffoon, and the brash new money upstart but the book is equally populated with what old money american gentry. While this is hardly the first book to examine the nature of new money and old money in america - where truly old non-american money is largely absent.

In the New York of Paisley Mischief new money now means movie money. In the case of Paisley Mischief this trope takes the form of one Max Guberstein. Max is a Hollywood producer who made is own way and now for mysterious reasons is setting out to join the prestigious and exclusive Avenue Club. Who unsurprisingly want nothing to do with a man of such low character.

Meanwhile, in the B plot a book of the same name as the book under review, Paisley Mischief, has been released that reveals all sorts of embarrassing shenanigans of the fine folk of the Avenue Club. Now that so many secrets are out in the open everyone suspects well everyone else and out for revenge against whomever wrote the book.

Both plots are linked in more ways then one but are at the outset tied together through the room mates Cecil Biddle and Dante Penfield. Cecil is the Mr. Guberstein's assistant and is determined to help Max get into the Avenue club. Which will guarantee him a precious letter of recommendation from Max opening all the right doors to join the less formally defined but equally exclusionary club of the Hollywood elite. Conveniently, for the plot, Dante is both a member of the Avenue club and nephew to the head of the club one Wallace "Puff" Penfield.

Everyone wants something and everyone can get it if they just figure out whose palm to grease and the proper way to proceed with the greasing. Most of the action in this story takes from classic tropes of comedies of manners. Generally in one way or another most things happen because one party is trying to not follow the social rules in a way that causes one character to judge the character differently than they would if their true character was revealed. Although not always an explicit hiding of identity all of the moments of deception do involve putting on a metaphorical mask.

I enjoy comedies of manners. Paisley Mischief succeeds at being such a novel. But it didn't seem to really have a point of view. No real stance on all the posturing was successfully communicated. Manners books are by necessity about petty things but the good ones also communicate something larger about society or about human nature. The book was a fun read and I broadly enjoyed it but ultimately came away feeling dissatisfied by the lack of larger message. ( )

Overall a fun read and interesting look at what goes on behind closed doors. A bit hard to follow with several characters having nicknames and going between their true name and these nicknames. ( )

This book was simple and kept me interested, however if you want a complicated plot with highly developed characters I would look elsewhere. This is a good beach book. ( )