The Bloombergs, (Barely) Fictionalized

Posted on May 31, 2011

AP / Amy Sancetta

Georgina Bloomberg takes show horse Don Cesar over a jump at the American Gold Cup in Moreland Hills, Ohio, in 2006.

It’s an old cliché that new writers should write about what they know, and by all appearances Georgina Bloomberg, daughter of Mayor Mike and professional equestrienne, has done just that in her debut novel, “The A Circuit.” Read along as she doesn’t try very hard to convince a New York Times reporter that her first book is much of a departure from her life during her obligatory interview with the Gray Lady—one of few she granted for the occasion.  —KA

The New York Times:

Written in the breezy, gossipy style of easy-to-read teenage fiction, the novel returns, again and again, to the peculiar burdens of being the child of a billionaire. In the opening pages, Tommi walks past a group of fellow riders in the catty Westchester horse show circuit, who stare at her in riveted recognition. “Tommi didn’t remember their names, but she guessed that they probably knew hers. That was the trouble with being in her family. Everyone knew who you were whether you liked it or not.”

After a particularly rough riding session, a fellow rider torments her with a crack about “Daddy’s money.” Tommi is crushed. “It never got any easier to take,” she thinks to herself. “Who needs to learn to ride when her father owns half of New York?”

Those scenes were borrowed from her own life, Ms. Bloomberg said. “I see myself a lot in that,” she said. “When I was growing up, I got a lot of, ‘Oh, well, she bought the nicest horse, so of course she’s going to win.’ And I dealt with a lot of that.”

Ms. Bloomberg said she did not seek her father’s permission to write the book.

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