Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir

Wednesday Martin, Ph.D.

2015

New York: Simon & Schuster

Reviewed by Iris Faith D. Rojas

A woman born and raised in Michigan marries a man from the Upper East Side and moves
in that neighborhood situated in the borough of Manhattan in New York City where uber-rich
people live. Wednesday Martin, with her background in anthropology and primatology, relates her
struggles in fitting in and adventures as she tries to be familiar with the beliefs and practices of
this entirely different group.

Enticed with the culture of motherhood in Upper East Side and as someone who wants to
learn how it is to be a Manhattan mother, Martin explores their world by immersing herself and
doing what they also do. The book Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir is supposed to be how
motherhood is in a different locale.

It starts with a brief life story of Martin and as this book is a memoir and she is the main
character, setting off her background seems a good start for the readers to know what her
limitations and biases may be. As stated by Monaghan and Just (2000), an ethnographer, who is
the instrument of data collection in anthropology, is a unique individual, the product of unique
upbringing and education, replete with all the psychological predispositions that constitute any
human being.

The book is divided in eight parts. The first chapter, Comme Il Faut (French for as it should
be) is about Martins search for a place to settle down in Upper East Side. In chapter two, Playdate
Pariah, she describes the competition and hype for nursery schools and setting up playdates for
her son. Chapter three, Going Native: Mommy Wants a Birkin, is about her beginning to think
Upper East Side and wanting a Birkin bag just like everyone else. The fourth chapter, Manhattan
Geisha, is about the exercise trend in their neighborhood and womens effort in keeping
themselves fit. In chapter five, A Girls Night In, she narrates the experience she had in an event
by an influential person and how women are spending so much to make themselves beautiful.
Chapter Six, A Xanax And A Bloody Mary: Manhattan Moms On The Verge Of A Nervous
Breakdown, enumerates and explains the anxieties Manhattan mothers have. In the seventh
chapter, A Rainy Day, Martin tells an unfortunate happening in her life and her realizations as she
gets through it. And lastly, Chapter Eight, Summary Fieldnotes, includes her conclusion and
reflection on the six-year fieldwork on the Upper East Side.

Almost every chapter has fieldnotes and its helpful most especially in the first chapter so
the readers can have proper vision of the world they are entering and maps are just what every
dystopian book fans look for. Martin successfully gave vivid descriptions of how apartments look
like and how her social status is a criterion in obtaining that place, how absurd and competitive
nursery schools are, how beautiful Birkin bags are and how its an indication of social class in that
neighborhood, how evening events are, how women spend so much for making themselves
beautiful, and how there are divisions even in working out, e.g. cults of Physique 57 and Soul
Cycle. She totally let us have an inside look of a world inside a world.

It was impressive the way she utilized primatology well by comparing these mothers
actions with the primates. For example, she linked dominance displays of Mike, a chimp in Jane
Goodalls Gombe troop with the supremacy displays of certain women over other women. It is
trying to tell that humans evolved from primates and there are similar biological factors that
produced parallel behaviors and actions.

The book is a good read but there are still criticisms to be pointed out.

Albeit her effort in consulting people from other fields like ecology, psychology, and
literature, comparing group behaviors with the culture of certain tribes, and of course, putting up
her own interpretations, theres still something missing. That approach is a great contribution to
her book though. But is it really bothersome and hard to socialize with these elite women?
Accounts from them regarding Birkin bags or plastic surgery or dress-to-kill outfits can be of so
much advantage in understanding their culture more. It lacks the in-depth interaction with the
people Martin is studying.

We must take into consideration that the personalities of the people an anthropologist
studies, particularly in a place as huge and diverse as Upper East side, are not all the same. What
if Martin just incidentally interacted with high-profile women that she neglected other groups that
may exist in that world. It is not necessary to also include their lifestyle but it is, out of courtesy,
important to specify that everyone doesnt act the same as her subjects. Generalization is never a
good thing.

Sure it is humorous and interesting during the first few pages. Theres still fascination of
what itll be like in their society. However, as the book progresses, rather than having particular
attachment with the mothers or being familiar with the unfamiliar (as what anthropologists role
is), Martins anger and bizarre perspective on Manhattan mothers is taking over. It became room
for expressing her insights and emotions. Its a memoir so it can be understandable but if this is an
anthropological piece, then it is quiet problematic. Theres constant question of why these women
have resort to their obsessions and where it all rooted from as the pages of the book are flipped.

It is not clear whether this is the authors approach as a writer and social critic or another
juicy inside read of the one percent of the society just with long immersion period and first-hand
experience.

Nevertheless, we shall still take credit of the years in fieldwork and an experts excerpt on
several occurrences around. People can have different opinions and it is to be acknowledged.
Primate of Park Avenue: A Memoir is a well-thought and well-written book that deserves to be
read by everyone interested.

References

Monaghan, J. and Just, P. (2000). A Dispute in Donggo: Fieldwork and Ethnography. Social and

Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction. p.6