It took me until the very last days of the season to discover the book that was my favorite read of the summer, and among my favorite reads of the year so far: The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine. It tells the stories of a group of residents living on a nondescript block on New York's Upper West Side whose lives intersect because of the dogs they own. In a Q&A with the author in the back of the edition I had, Schine cites Trollope as a favorite writer. It's easy to see his influence in the way that Schine manages to turn the Big Apple into a small country village by focusing on the daily, small-scale intricacies of a microcosm within the city.
The New Yorkers is the kind of book that had me anxious to race through it yet wanting to pace myself so that I wouldn't come to the end too soon, and it left me thinking about its characters even when I wasn't reading it. As a novel, I think it has an obvious appeal for many: dog lovers, city-dwellers, and fans of You've Got Mail, since it's easy to imagine Joe Fox walking Brinkley somewhere on the periphery of its pages. I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that it would appeal to Barbara Pym fans, since its structure and tone are some of the most Pym-like that I've come across in contemporary fiction. A bold statement, I know, but the small daily hopes and tragedies of its characters make The New Yorkers worthy of the comparison. The end of the novel feels a bit too perfectly tied up, but that's a very, very minor flaw in an otherwise lovely book.
I love the idea of this book! I definitely talk to my neighbors far more now that I have a dog. It really brings people closer together, knowing that you have that common interest. Also, it's amazing how small New York can feel sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI agree, having a dog is such an easy way to feel like you're part of the neighborhood!
DeleteThis sounds just perfect. I am a Cathleen Schine fan after reading Fin & Lady. She is such an interesting writer. I'd love to read all of her novels one day.
ReplyDeleteI had actually already started this book when I read your post about Fin & Lady, but didn't make the Cathleen Schine connection until later on. Just one more reason to put that one on my To Read list.
DeleteIt sounds really sweet. I live in a dog friendly neighborhood with dog parks and lots of fancy dog shops and even a famous Dog School and it makes my heart so happy when I see the dogs being walked up and down my street.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I've been meaning to tell you. I finished the book, The Queen. It was really well done and well researched. It was written in favor of the royal family, of course. But it's not the official bio. The official biographer will not be chosen until after the Queen's death (according to this book). And one neat thing I learned is in regards to her husband, Prince Phillip. He loves to google random things. Whenever he discovers something new through googling, he runs to the Queen to tell her all about it. That made me smile.
What a great random fact about Prince Phillip! It sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to try it next time I'm in the mood to read a biography.
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