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Loisaida -- A New York Story
by
Marion Stein (Goodreads Author)
One sweltering night, in a neighborhood on the cusp of change, boy meets girl. If they'd only gone home together, they might still be alive.The core of this gritty, only in New York-story was inspired by real events - a beautiful, aspiring dancer slain, her corpse dismembered, possibly fed to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park. The psychotic roommate has confessed, but a...more
Paperback, Trade Paperback, 304 pages
Published
October 2nd 2010
by Caradeloca Press
(first published July 16th 2010)
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I liked this book a lot and had trouble putting it down. This included reading it well into the night, before I fell asleep. This also brought with it nightmares. I don't wish to turn anyone off to this well written tome about the late's 80's east village NYC. This book is thick with character development as chapter to chapter, we switch perspectives to unravel a tragic and dark saga, filled with tragic and dark souls. The author does such a wonderful job taking you down this path, that there ar...more
"Loisaida" can be viewed two ways. As a work of literary or general fiction, which was the authors intent, or as a mystery.
As a work of literary or general fiction, "Loisaida" is excellent. Written from the point of view of different characters and constantly switching from one character to another is an approach that can be difficult for the reader to follow, but I didn’t find this to be a problem because Stein’s characters are finely drawn when first introduced. Despite having a large cast, ke...more
As a work of literary or general fiction, "Loisaida" is excellent. Written from the point of view of different characters and constantly switching from one character to another is an approach that can be difficult for the reader to follow, but I didn’t find this to be a problem because Stein’s characters are finely drawn when first introduced. Despite having a large cast, ke...more
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
This is one of those gritty urban Social Realist dramas with a liberal bent that I'm never quite sure what to do with; for although I acknowledge that there's a large crowd out there who love this kind of work, I myself am not the biggest fan, yet don't wish people to think this book is poorly written just...more
This is one of those gritty urban Social Realist dramas with a liberal bent that I'm never quite sure what to do with; for although I acknowledge that there's a large crowd out there who love this kind of work, I myself am not the biggest fan, yet don't wish people to think this book is poorly written just...more
Set in Manhattan’s Alphabet City in the late 1980s, Loisaida's plot features dubious activities from incest to cannibalism, via violence, drug abuse, sex and insanity.
In the aftermath of the Tompkins Square Park Riot, the Lower East Side is as vivid and intoxicating a character as any of the story’s other players. Police brutality, disease and addiction are everywhere, along with greed, gentrification, housing conflicts, racial and social tensions, prostitution and every other kind of vice.
Laude...more
In the aftermath of the Tompkins Square Park Riot, the Lower East Side is as vivid and intoxicating a character as any of the story’s other players. Police brutality, disease and addiction are everywhere, along with greed, gentrification, housing conflicts, racial and social tensions, prostitution and every other kind of vice.
Laude...more
If for nothing else, read it to get a full sense of what New York City used to be (crime-ridden, grimy and immensely interesting) as opposed to the white-washed boring, gentrified piece of crap it's become. Made me nostalgic for the home I used to have.
I found it a little hard to get into at first with the changing voices and viewpoints - for the first few chapters it read more like a series of interlinking short stories than one coherent piece.
However, once the links between the characters became established I was completely drawn into this world of the sleazy side of New York in the 1980s.
This book seems to have gained something of a cult following, largely I think,because of the way it crosses different genres so successfully. It is essent...more
However, once the links between the characters became established I was completely drawn into this world of the sleazy side of New York in the 1980s.
This book seems to have gained something of a cult following, largely I think,because of the way it crosses different genres so successfully. It is essent...more
In a moment, I'm going to say a couple of things about this book that you may or may not believe. It doesn't matter. I'm going to say them anyway because I'm convinced they are true. We'll get to that though...
I initially bought this book as a present for someone else. I had no intention of reading it because I thought it was simply a bargain price thriller. Having poked around the Amazon forums for a few months, however, I started to see references to Loisaida which made me think that, actually...more
I initially bought this book as a present for someone else. I had no intention of reading it because I thought it was simply a bargain price thriller. Having poked around the Amazon forums for a few months, however, I started to see references to Loisaida which made me think that, actually...more
I finished reading Loisaida -- A New York Story a few weeks back. Even though this book takes place prior to 9/11 I still found myself thinking about 9/11 while reading the story and I'm not sure why.
The characters and the locations seemed to jump out at me fully formed and together they seemed to define what is NY to me, not having ever been there. The different types of people, both good and bad, their styles and personalities; all are conveyed with a true, discerning eye.
I won't go into the...more
The characters and the locations seemed to jump out at me fully formed and together they seemed to define what is NY to me, not having ever been there. The different types of people, both good and bad, their styles and personalities; all are conveyed with a true, discerning eye.
I won't go into the...more
Wow. What a gritty, evocative story, written in a style every bit as good as Patricia Cornwell's or James Patterson's. Stein has created such multifaceted characters that even as you hate them, you root for them. This book is a masterpiece in forcing the reader to not only accept, but understand, the grey areas in life. Amazing.
I actually deleted this off my kindle after the first few chapters because I found it so upsetting to read. But I later came back to it after running out of things to read. Not to be a spoiler but the book comes together in more ways than one as it progresses. Recommend.
A great book - and I don't mean a great, self-published cheap Kindle book, I mean a great book full-stop. The story is told from multiple perspectives and points of view, and the author has total control over all these voices. The subtitle, "A New York Story" is perfect, because the multiple voices seem like a chorus for the city. Because of these shifts in view point, the book seems initially slightly scrappy, and all over the place, but careful reading reveals every section has a part to play....more
A nonlinear, multi-perspectival tale of murder set amidst the backdrop of the Tompkins Square Park riot in New York's Lower East Side during the late '80s. A lyrical ode to life lived outside the mainstream.
Excellent. See my review at swellsbennett.blogspot.com.
A beautifully evoked story of life and death in New York in the Eighties. I think I should have been listening to Lou Read whilst reading it.
Gritty and immersive.
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Marion’s careers have included crisis clinician, teacher, tarot card reader, grant writer and temp. Her story Pogo was published in Gordon Lish’s legendery literary magazine,The Quarterly, long, long ago. More recently she was a featured storyteller on a WBAI radio broadcast. Her novel, Hungry Ghosts was shortlisted for the 2009 International 3-Day Novel Contest.
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Nov 09, 2012 02:18pm