Two New York City novels ...

Here are some thoughts on two new books, both of which are set in New York … 

THE GARGOYLE HUNTERS is a debut novel by native New Yorker John Freeman Gill.  In this

story, set in mid-1970’s New York City, 13-year old Griffin tries to cope with his parents’ dysfunctional relationship and struggles with the expectations of the family’s architectural salvage business. It is fascinating to read about his adventures climbing around buildings as, per his Dad’s direction, he rescues and liberates gargoyles and other sculptures.

Gill, an expert on historic New York buildings, seamlessly educates his readers about facades and construction while cleverly raising questions of greed, decay/demolition and preservation/progress. Also, the father son dynamics will offer a potential starting point for Junior Theme students as this quote illustrates: “just standing beside Dad, the force of him, so often rendered me inarticulate.  His imminent disapproval was a weight I could never quite stop trying to push off me.” THE GARGOYLE HUNTERS is both funny and poignant; it received a starred review from Booklist which also recommended this title “for fans of Donna Tartt and Colum McCann.”

A second novel concerning New York is THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET by Randy Susan Meyers which details the development and ultimate consequences of a Ponzi scheme.  To be honest, I really liked the beginning of this novel and then it started to repeat itself seemingly incessantly (about how Jake would be certain to pay back loans and make good on other irregularities in his investment business) and I was simply not so interested. What he did was wrong and not even based on any clear motivation.  More interesting was wife Phoebe’s reaction to Jake’s betrayal, but it took a long time to really understand or feel empathy for her, also.   

While I do not think that this title will have much appeal for our students, it could work for adult book groups since there are clearly some moral issues to discuss and a spousal relationship to explore (perhaps in tandem with Ada Calhoun's recent New York Times article "To Stay Married, Embrace Change"). Other reviewers have been generally more positive (Kirkus called THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET “compelling… an engrossing emotional journey”) so if the financial industry is of interest to you, pick up a copy and let me know what you think.     

City of Liars and Thieves by Eve Karlin

I found Eve Karlin’s debut historical fiction novel, City of Liars and Thieves, to be fascinating and will recommend it as a possible Junior Theme choice, even though it currently appears to be only available as an eBook. The story is set in 1799 New York City and begins with a young woman, Elma Sands, arriving to help her married cousin run a boardinghouse. Sadly, Elma is later found murdered and questions arise about her romance with a boarder along with speculation about justice and motives when high profile lawyers like Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr become involved in the case. 

The story is based on actual events and includes a description of the courtroom trial for the first recorded murder case in American history. I especially liked the sense of mystery and dread that pervaded City of Liars and Thieves. Mostly, though, I was excited by potential for students to see ties to modern issues like class and income inequality, corruption in politics, corporate greed, and questions related to women’s roles in society.

Just a year or two ago, the New York Times printed a feature story noting how corners were cut in the roughly 200 year old water system described by Eve Karlin. I think that this book will intrigue readers and prompt them to further investigate the rivalry between Hamilton and Burr.