<![CDATA[Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat]]>

false <![CDATA[Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat]]> 1099537 3 Clarinetist Ike Morphy, his dog Herbie Mann, and a pair of pigeons who roost on his air conditioner are about to be evicted from their apartment on West 106th Street, also known as Duke Ellington Boulevard. Ike never had a lease, just a handshake agreement with the recently deceased landlord; and now that landlord’s son stands to make a killing on Apt. 2B. Centering on the fate of one apartment during the height of New York’s real-estate boom, Ellington Boulevard’s characters include: the Tenant and his Dog; the Landlord; the Broker, an out-of-work actor (whose new profession finally allows him to afford theater tickets); the Broker’s new Boyfriend, who composes a musical about the sale of 2B—“I’m so single/can’t commingle/I have no covenant or trust./Is there no one I can lien on if this boom goes bust?” There’s also the Buyer, a trusting young editor at a dying cultural magazine, who falls in love with the Tenant; the Buyer’s Husband, a disaffected graduate student; and the Buyer’s Husband’s Girlfriend, a children’s book writer with a tragic past. With the humor and poignancy that made Langer’s first novel, Crossing California, a favorite book of the year among critics across the country, Ellington Boulevard is an ode to New York. It’s the story of why people come to a city they can’t afford, take jobs they despise, sacrifice love, find love, and eventually become the people they never thought they’d be—for better and for worse. 1086411 22 1 2008 Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat total:140|5:20|4:47|3:56|2:13|1:4| 140 486 250 45 4 1 false false Sun Feb 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 02 09:57:16 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 08:51:36 -0800 2008
. . . a real estate career primer;

. . . a (man/dog) love story; and

. . . a warm and satisfying, mildly quirky modern novel.

One reviewer called this book predictable---but that didn't diminish its fun for me. It is well written an...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 13:21:16 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 21:15:50 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 18:36:50 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 09:02:28 -0700 2009
Very similar to his previous novels Crossing California and The Washington Story. Almost too similar... in the e...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 18:40:56 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 18:49:53 -0700 2009
I found "Ellington Boulevard" to be less successful that the prior novels. Langer attempts a ...more...]]> 0 1 false false Mon Feb 25 20:01:08 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 20:01:50 -0800 2008 i need to restart it.]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 17 21:54:15 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 05 15:20:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 09:12:52 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 10:15:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Sep 04 21:25:41 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 11:58:44 -0700 2009
but whoa, it was pretty surreal to read this account of what's changed. it's very surface...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 12:09:49 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 10:07:55 -0800 2008
Ellington Boulevard showcases Langer's talent...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 08:58:24 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 09:08:57 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 16:18:53 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 16:19:57 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 14 11:12:26 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 11:12:26 -0700 2009 http://books.kenficara.com/2008/10/ellin...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 05:14:36 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 05:18:29 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Sep 27 16:35:24 -0700 2009 Wed Nov 18 18:30:13 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Oct 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 03 13:18:30 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 07 18:16:16 -0700 2008 This book had a lot of interesting relationships between characters and every character was connected in some way. It was cool, it was easy to keep the characters separate, but it wasn't earth-shattering and I don't think it really made much of a blip on my own personal ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 07:01:20 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 07:12:54 -0700 2008 AFTER FINISHING:
I really enjoyed the basic plot set-up of the book--real estate in New York and all the players.

I liked all the characters and I think L...more...]]> 4 0 false true Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Feb 21 11:05:28 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 07 08:49:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jan 30 16:28:39 -0800 2008 Tue Aug 05 07:17:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 10:12:24 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 10:17:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 18:48:18 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 28 18:53:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1099537