Illustrations by Emily Carpenter, design by Jon Glick
Anything can and does happen in New York. Some are improbable, like the person stepping on a rat and getting a sort of skateboard ride, or having Sting sit down beside you at a club show. I've never been to NYC but have friends there and have, of course, visited virtually many times via the screen, most recently an upscale area hosting the show "Only Murders in the Building". I'm leaning toward thinking I'd be more at home in the "In the Heights" area, however. I do have friends who frequent NYC and based on their stories and photos would have to say this book captures the reality, good and bad, and humor nicely.
It definitely does an excellent job of capturing random moments, both in words and artwork. To be honest, I was probably more captivated by the seemingly always in motion, colorful, diverse illustrations. The colors and vibes seemed to almost jump out at you at time. The accompanying blurbs/captions were often humorous and to the point, whether capturing street scenes or riding the subway. It was definitely interesting to discover that having a bladder of steel might be a must qualification for subway operators. And, oh, my, the stories from the woman involved in pest removal. Rats! Let's just say, rats seem to be a dominant thread of NYC memories.
Oddly enough, while negative memories were frequent shares, that actually made the book all the more powerful. Heaven only knows there are plenty of commercially prepared raves about not just NYC but just about any local. The negatives somehow seemed to blur into a blurred memory of mixed feelings. Maybe a sense of "Yeah, we got rats. So what? They're our rats." Overall, of course, the book is positive, maybe not quite a love letter to New York City but definitely a positive remembrance. I mean, even Sully doing an emergency landing on the Hudson River was somehow initially momentarily viewed as an "Are they filming a movie?" scene. Yes, definitely only in NYC could a large passenger plane landing on a major river be seen as just another movie scene. Thanks #NetGalley and #ChronicleBooks for the unpredictable virtual tour. I still want to hear more about Molly Jong-Fast's haunted childhood home, of course.
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