I just know everyone is going to like this book more than I did. It’s cute, inventive, fun, and humorous – with a great New York setting. It’s not a romance, but the plot is something of a Cinderella story about a doorman who falls in love with a wealthy socialite. While I was confident the book would have a happy end, getting there was a little too painful for me.

When Kevin Doyle starts his job as a doorman at the exclusive 840 Fifth Avenue, he feels as if he has failed. His mother has just died, and she was the only one who truly believed in his art career. His uncle is president of the doorman’s union, and his father is also a doorman. It’s a plum job, but it’s not what he wanted to do with his life.

One of the first tenants he notices is the outrageous Cornelia Lord. Cornelia has a wealthy father who owns a banking company, but they have never been close, and he considers Cornelia difficult to manage. She often does crazy things and winds up with her picture in the tabloids. She has long had an obsession with inventor Nikola Tesla, and she used most of her own money to build a museum dedicated to his work. Her father doesn’t even know about the museum, but he considers her obsession with Tesla to be unhealthy. Cornelia’s father has a right-hand man, Tucker Fisk, who is very ambitious. He has made himself indispensable to Cornelia’s father in both his business and personal life, and his ambitions include marriage to Cornelia.

For much of the book, the focus shifts back and forth between Cornelia and Kevin as they pursue their separate lives. All the while, the reader can see that the two are on a crash course and are destined to come together. Eventually, their two lives connect in an amazing way. To give away details about this would be a huge spoiler, but suffice it to say their interactions make the title of the book a very appropriate one. Kevin and Cornelia then go through a painful separation, but it culminates in a spectacular happy ending that is one of the most imaginative that I have ever seen.

The main characters are fun, and we do get to know them as the book progresses. Cornelia in particular is well-developed. But this is first and foremost a plot-driven novel. If you are looking for a romantic novel that is different and inventive, this could be the book for you. I found myself laughing often, particularly at the characters’ thoughts. This is just one example from the self-depreciating Kevin, as he is speaking to his art instructor:

Kevin felt outclassed in their exchange, as he always did. Max had gone to art school in Europe. He used words like “deconstruct.”

The New York setting is also very enjoyable, and the peek into the lives of the super-rich (but also often snobbish and pathetic) is interesting. Gilson himself is apparently from that set, so much of the book has an “insider” feel.

This probably sounds like a Desert Isle Keeper review, and I have no doubt that for many readers that’s just what Crazy for Cornelia would be. But while I enjoyed the setting, characters, and many aspects of the plot, I found much of the book upsetting, and even excruciating. The fact that Cornelia’s father doubted her sanity and placed her in the care of unscrupulous mental health professionals was so bothersome to me that it was tough to enjoy the book. I had a very similar reaction to Judith McNaught’s Perfect, which is a favorite with many readers. When characters have to go through severe agony and unjust oppression before their joyful ending, it just gets to be too much for me.

Let me assure you, this book does have a happy ending, and the slimy Tucker Fisk gets exactly what’s coming to him. But this book is all about the process of two people from completely different worlds coming together; It’s not really about two people falling in love. You might say it’s more Sleepless in Seattle than When Harry Met Sally. Is it the book for you? I encourage you to try it and find out. Even if you find yourself upset by the some of the subject matter, you are quite likely to enjoy the rest of the plot.