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Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat
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 has 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 apartment 2B.
Centering on the fate of one apartment before, during, and after the height of New York’s real estate boom, Ellington Boulevard ’s characters include the Tenant and His Dog; the Landlord, a recovered alcoholic and womanizer who has newly found Judaism and a wife half his age; the Broker, an out-of-work actor whose new profession finally allows him to afford theater tickets he has no time to use; the Broker’s New Boyfriend, a second-rate actor who composes a musical about the sale of 2B ( “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 taken to writing bawdy faux-academic papers; 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.
Centering on the fate of one apartment before, during, and after the height of New York’s real estate boom, Ellington Boulevard ’s characters include the Tenant and His Dog; the Landlord, a recovered alcoholic and womanizer who has newly found Judaism and a wife half his age; the Broker, an out-of-work actor whose new profession finally allows him to afford theater tickets he has no time to use; the Broker’s New Boyfriend, a second-rate actor who composes a musical about the sale of 2B ( “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 taken to writing bawdy faux-academic papers; 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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
10 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
About the author
Adam Langer
16 books100 followersAdam Langer is am editor, journalist, author, playwright, filmmaker and podcast producer.
He lives in New York City.
He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
March 14, 2022
When I heard Adam Langer was writing a third novel, I hoped it would be a continuation of the wonderful characters we met in Crossing California and Washington Story. Those books ended in the 1980's and I have wondered how they would "age".
Well, Langer moved his fiction from Chicago to New York, and introduced us to a new crew of characters, who interact around an apartment on the Upper-Upper West Side. And, "interact" they do. One of the joys of a Langer novel is the intersection - often in odd ways - of various characters.
The first reader review of the novel gives a better description of the book than I can here.
Though ALL the writing is fine, I'd like to praise Langer's portrayal of "Herbie Mann", Ike's dog. The last chapter - The Life of Mann - almost had me in tears with it's brilliance.
Thanks, Adam, for another glorious read.
Well, Langer moved his fiction from Chicago to New York, and introduced us to a new crew of characters, who interact around an apartment on the Upper-Upper West Side. And, "interact" they do. One of the joys of a Langer novel is the intersection - often in odd ways - of various characters.
The first reader review of the novel gives a better description of the book than I can here.
Though ALL the writing is fine, I'd like to praise Langer's portrayal of "Herbie Mann", Ike's dog. The last chapter - The Life of Mann - almost had me in tears with it's brilliance.
Thanks, Adam, for another glorious read.
September 20, 2025
Now I’m not even gonna pretend to understand the world of semi-rent controlled rental property, not to mention rampant gentrification, of the 1990s New York. Seems like a product of an endless supply of need and a limited amount of acreage on which to build.
Be that as it may, this is the story of a man (jazz musician) and his beloved dog Herbie Mann, a formerly abused mutt saved from an animal shelter death sentence. They have lived in an apartment in the Roberto Clemente Building, a multi-cultural refuge for the arty types, for quite awhile now. There’s a nearby park for the dog, and he’s pretty much on good terms with all his neighbors. What he doesn’t have is an actual lease agreement. In writing. Although the owner, a kindly jazz fan, has offered to draw him up one several times, he just never got around to it. Coulda, shouda, woulda.
He leaves to take care of his terminally ill mom back in his hometown of Chicago. He returns several months later to find no one he knows left, and people being walked through his apartment by a real estate agent. Seems the owner has died, and his son, wishing to sell the building, has no interest in honoring his father’s informal agreement. Ike Morphy’s apartment is the last detail to be worked out.
From here on, it is an entanglement of literary magazine types, and theater circles, and legal apartment related shenanigans. The dog’s abuser makes a surprise appearance, and an unusual romance begins to unfold. And just so you know, Herbie Mann’s going to be OK.
Be that as it may, this is the story of a man (jazz musician) and his beloved dog Herbie Mann, a formerly abused mutt saved from an animal shelter death sentence. They have lived in an apartment in the Roberto Clemente Building, a multi-cultural refuge for the arty types, for quite awhile now. There’s a nearby park for the dog, and he’s pretty much on good terms with all his neighbors. What he doesn’t have is an actual lease agreement. In writing. Although the owner, a kindly jazz fan, has offered to draw him up one several times, he just never got around to it. Coulda, shouda, woulda.
He leaves to take care of his terminally ill mom back in his hometown of Chicago. He returns several months later to find no one he knows left, and people being walked through his apartment by a real estate agent. Seems the owner has died, and his son, wishing to sell the building, has no interest in honoring his father’s informal agreement. Ike Morphy’s apartment is the last detail to be worked out.
From here on, it is an entanglement of literary magazine types, and theater circles, and legal apartment related shenanigans. The dog’s abuser makes a surprise appearance, and an unusual romance begins to unfold. And just so you know, Herbie Mann’s going to be OK.
January 23, 2014
So, here I am, writing a review about a book about writing reviews- sort of. The novel is a play within novel, and reads like Langer's gem of a story, Crossing California. Every character we are introduced to is somehow found in the story arc of each other characters' lives.
We are first introduced to Ike Morphy upon his returning home to his apartment in New York City after a brief return to his home in Chicago, only to learn that the his apartment is up for sale. Ike's departure means a new buyer's arrival. Ike's departure means that he will have to find a new place to call home in Manhattan, a borough home to upwards of 1.6 million people, and that the place he once called home will be someone else's to call whatever he or she desires. The changing of the tenants ensues, and what takes place in between is a story about stories, both the ones we read and the ones we live on (is there a difference??). We meet composers, an author of fantasy novel, an author of a dissertation deemed by the Ivy League to be not worthy of the Ivy League, journal editors, a playwright, book reviewers and more than a few real estate agents.
This book absolutely consumed me. Workout schedule disappeared, parks and cafes were frequented so that I could savor this one. I did not expect to love it like I did. Honestly, this deserves at least 4.5 stars. But hey, what makes a book good? Is it the writing or the experience of reading it? Is it both? And, how do we define our standards, anyways? Don't look towards Rebecca Sugarman for an answer as she reads "only books that she likes and no longer has the stomach to criticize the books she reads." Liz Fogelson "had built her career on demonstrating how authors did't measure up to their forebears, imagining some idyllic, literary Eden that contemporary authors betrayed." And scene.
We are first introduced to Ike Morphy upon his returning home to his apartment in New York City after a brief return to his home in Chicago, only to learn that the his apartment is up for sale. Ike's departure means a new buyer's arrival. Ike's departure means that he will have to find a new place to call home in Manhattan, a borough home to upwards of 1.6 million people, and that the place he once called home will be someone else's to call whatever he or she desires. The changing of the tenants ensues, and what takes place in between is a story about stories, both the ones we read and the ones we live on (is there a difference??). We meet composers, an author of fantasy novel, an author of a dissertation deemed by the Ivy League to be not worthy of the Ivy League, journal editors, a playwright, book reviewers and more than a few real estate agents.
This book absolutely consumed me. Workout schedule disappeared, parks and cafes were frequented so that I could savor this one. I did not expect to love it like I did. Honestly, this deserves at least 4.5 stars. But hey, what makes a book good? Is it the writing or the experience of reading it? Is it both? And, how do we define our standards, anyways? Don't look towards Rebecca Sugarman for an answer as she reads "only books that she likes and no longer has the stomach to criticize the books she reads." Liz Fogelson "had built her career on demonstrating how authors did't measure up to their forebears, imagining some idyllic, literary Eden that contemporary authors betrayed." And scene.
February 4, 2008
. . . a New York story;
. . . 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 and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
UPDATE: "the morning after." I woke up thinking about this book---a rare occurance for me, particularly since it was a casual read. One of the reasons this book resonated for me is that it says alot about the nature of love and friendship, the nature of work and art. It is all on the surfact; you don't need to dig for any of this, but the more I reflected on the book the more it gave me. Quite a treat.
. . . 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 and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
UPDATE: "the morning after." I woke up thinking about this book---a rare occurance for me, particularly since it was a casual read. One of the reasons this book resonated for me is that it says alot about the nature of love and friendship, the nature of work and art. It is all on the surfact; you don't need to dig for any of this, but the more I reflected on the book the more it gave me. Quite a treat.
July 14, 2008
I am about 150 pages in and I am loving this book. If you have ever dreamed of moving to New York you should read this.
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 Langer fleshed them all out wonderfully.
As the novel continued I felt like the novel was a hostage to what Langer already had in mind. (The way all the characters interconnect and drive the plot--it all seemed a little.....TIDY.)
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 Langer fleshed them all out wonderfully.
As the novel continued I felt like the novel was a hostage to what Langer already had in mind. (The way all the characters interconnect and drive the plot--it all seemed a little.....TIDY.)
February 1, 2011
i started this book based in nyc. i am trying to read some books based here so i can go visit some of the places mentioned.
i need to restart it.
i need to restart it.
August 25, 2021
There's something about reading books set in places you know. When they are done well it feels like putting on a familiar set of clothes that you haven't worn in a long while. Different than what you're used to but at the same time so redolent of comfort and ease.
This is how this story struck me. Picking it up during the throes of yet another horrendous apartment hunt, it gave me some shred of hope while looking for the apartment that will never exist for me in this city in my price range. It really helped me deal with the frequent disappointment that living in NYC affords one. *sigh* Fiction is a respite from life and I loved this book for the interlude it granted me. If you like New York, you might like this book; I certainly did.
This is how this story struck me. Picking it up during the throes of yet another horrendous apartment hunt, it gave me some shred of hope while looking for the apartment that will never exist for me in this city in my price range. It really helped me deal with the frequent disappointment that living in NYC affords one. *sigh* Fiction is a respite from life and I loved this book for the interlude it granted me. If you like New York, you might like this book; I certainly did.
June 11, 2024
4.5 rounded down to 4 stars. It is really good and has a nice pace and a couple of decent twists. However, the book becomes a little too 'tied up' near the end that caused me to roll my eyes a little, but overall I really enjoyed it!
October 31, 2014
You know, giving four stars to a book because it reinforces your prejudices isn't a good character trait. But any book that relentlessly skewers a Tupac-quoting white guy who continuously uses "frickin'" is the bomb in my book. (I said "bomb" ironically, please don't assume that I'm a guy who un-ironically says words like "bomb", "frickin'", "dope", "chillin'" or other asinine words.) And that little parenthetical plea I just pled illuminates one of the themes of the novels - that stereotypes are real if we adopt our behaviors around them. If we fake it, then so it makes us.
We can tell who the good guys are in this book because they are not adopting a false front to deceive. The plot revolves around a flat that is being sold beneath a tenant without a lease. The tenant, Ike; the buyer, Rebecca; the dog, Herbie Mann; and the theater impresario are all hiding their true/former selves not as a disguise, but because it seems life and circumstances have let their true selves go. The characters that explicitly act who they are not, Darrell, the buyer's husband and frickin' grad student; Josh/Joshua the realtor/actor; Mark the seller/asshole; Chloe the editor/fraudster, are seen to be the bad guys as they truly cause destruction to people, and if you think gentrification is bad, destruction to neighborhoods.
Everything is in flux in this novel, people are wanting to become other people, the 106th St. neighborhood is becoming gentrified, the integrity of the literary scene is being destroyed, but Langer doesn't seem this is all bad, because New York has always been about change. But it seems kinda sad that the bad guys mostly get to stay in New York while the good guys leave. That frickin' sucks ass as Darrell might say.
We can tell who the good guys are in this book because they are not adopting a false front to deceive. The plot revolves around a flat that is being sold beneath a tenant without a lease. The tenant, Ike; the buyer, Rebecca; the dog, Herbie Mann; and the theater impresario are all hiding their true/former selves not as a disguise, but because it seems life and circumstances have let their true selves go. The characters that explicitly act who they are not, Darrell, the buyer's husband and frickin' grad student; Josh/Joshua the realtor/actor; Mark the seller/asshole; Chloe the editor/fraudster, are seen to be the bad guys as they truly cause destruction to people, and if you think gentrification is bad, destruction to neighborhoods.
Everything is in flux in this novel, people are wanting to become other people, the 106th St. neighborhood is becoming gentrified, the integrity of the literary scene is being destroyed, but Langer doesn't seem this is all bad, because New York has always been about change. But it seems kinda sad that the bad guys mostly get to stay in New York while the good guys leave. That frickin' sucks ass as Darrell might say.
November 23, 2015
There were parts of Adam Langer’s Ellington Boulevard that I really liked, and other parts that I really didn’t, so I figure that evens out to about 3 stars, right? This is one of those books with a handful of characters who all end up connected in one way or another. A lot of the novel rests on the characters — their actions towards each other propel everything. Basically, anything involving the tenant, the buyer, the buyer’s husband, the buyer’s husband’s girlfriend and the tenant’s dog were all golden (this is how these characters are introduced in the novel). Bad stuff: the obnoxious owner and his girlfriend, the realtor and most of the tertiary characters. Still, the relationship between those first four (and the dog) made the whole novel worthwhile.
The other main character in Ellington Boulevard is the apartment, rented by the tenant, owned by owner, shown around by the realtor, and so on. Music plays a pretty big role, along with theater and New York City itself. The novel tends to meander — it’s definitely not what you would call “action-packed” — but following these various characters around and seeing how their lives interconnect is pretty interesting, if not wildly compelling. The character of Jane Earhart – aka the buyer’s husband’s girlfriend — could have had a novel to herself, where we could have learned more about her past and what drives her decisions in her present.
I’m not making it sounds particularly exciting, but Ellington Boulevard was a good read and it’s easy enough to skim past the dull bits….
The other main character in Ellington Boulevard is the apartment, rented by the tenant, owned by owner, shown around by the realtor, and so on. Music plays a pretty big role, along with theater and New York City itself. The novel tends to meander — it’s definitely not what you would call “action-packed” — but following these various characters around and seeing how their lives interconnect is pretty interesting, if not wildly compelling. The character of Jane Earhart – aka the buyer’s husband’s girlfriend — could have had a novel to herself, where we could have learned more about her past and what drives her decisions in her present.
I’m not making it sounds particularly exciting, but Ellington Boulevard was a good read and it’s easy enough to skim past the dull bits….
July 5, 2009
My first apartment in New York City was on 107th between Columbus and Manhattan, a block away from the apartment around which the plot of Ellington Boulevard turns. And let me tell you, what Langer has written is not so much a novel as a field guide to that neighborhood, from the local dive bar to the nearby entrance to Central Park, and everything in between. It's also something of a Cliff's Notes to the last 10-odd years of real estate in up-and-coming neighborhoods in the city. And it's funny (though not as funny as Langer's earlier novel, set in Chicago, [Crossing California:].
I do have a couple of complaints. First, that the characters, especially at first, seem too typecast - but the book has some surprises in store for us there. Second, including parts from the musical that one of the characters is writing is a gimmick that seems somewhat unnecessary. I think it might work if it were more centrally important to the story, or it could go altogether.
If only there were half-stars.... I think this one, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, probably should get only 3.5 upon reflection. Still, if you haven't read any Langer, you're missing out.
I do have a couple of complaints. First, that the characters, especially at first, seem too typecast - but the book has some surprises in store for us there. Second, including parts from the musical that one of the characters is writing is a gimmick that seems somewhat unnecessary. I think it might work if it were more centrally important to the story, or it could go altogether.
If only there were half-stars.... I think this one, while I thoroughly enjoyed it, probably should get only 3.5 upon reflection. Still, if you haven't read any Langer, you're missing out.
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July 25, 2011Adam Langer hit another home run with this book, his third. What I like best about his books is his ability to create funny, memorable and even touching situations out of seemingly mundane events (man finds himself priced out of his own apartment, couple struggles with finding themselves and pursuing parenthood, aspiring actor struggles to make it and finds himself distracted along the way), as well as his ability to create truly vivid characters. Even if I didn't like all of the characters (and in some cases wished for them a less happy ending than they ultimately got), they still have lived in my mind since I finished the book.
This is the story of several individuals in New York City whose lives intersect in sometimes predictable and sometimes surprising ways. We get into the worlds of real estate, theater, journalism, academia and finance, and I found myself caring a great deal about what happened to these people. This book at times gets a little complicated because there are so many characters, but it is definitely worth a read. And Langer's other books are also well worth a read.
This is the story of several individuals in New York City whose lives intersect in sometimes predictable and sometimes surprising ways. We get into the worlds of real estate, theater, journalism, academia and finance, and I found myself caring a great deal about what happened to these people. This book at times gets a little complicated because there are so many characters, but it is definitely worth a read. And Langer's other books are also well worth a read.
October 31, 2009
A real estate fairy tale set in New York. If I'd ever lived in New York, or Manhattan Valley in particular, I would probably have enjoyed this more, but it's still a good read.
Very similar to his previous novels Crossing California and The Washington Story. Almost too similar... in the early chapters, Ike and Rebecca appear to be adult versions of Muley and Jill. Eventually, I stopped noticing the similarities and just enjoyed the story. A favorite passage, from Ike:
"He loves the sounds of baseball games in Morningside, mah-jongg tiles on 107th Street, playing cards outside the Frederick Douglass Apartments, the subway underfoot, the flutter and clang of the flags atop the Blockhouse -- every bit of it is music."
Fans of his previous novels will appreciate the references to Rovner! and that band's song, "(I Wanna) Soar."
Very similar to his previous novels Crossing California and The Washington Story. Almost too similar... in the early chapters, Ike and Rebecca appear to be adult versions of Muley and Jill. Eventually, I stopped noticing the similarities and just enjoyed the story. A favorite passage, from Ike:
"He loves the sounds of baseball games in Morningside, mah-jongg tiles on 107th Street, playing cards outside the Frederick Douglass Apartments, the subway underfoot, the flutter and clang of the flags atop the Blockhouse -- every bit of it is music."
Fans of his previous novels will appreciate the references to Rovner! and that band's song, "(I Wanna) Soar."
July 31, 2008
Wow, I feel that I just hovered over NYC and a spied on cosmopolitan group of some of its proud citizens. While doing so I could smell the strong scent of the cities ethnic foods, hear the loud noise of its traffic and feel the emotions as its neighborhoods continue change. Adam Langer creates a wonderful tale trip over the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He becomes multiple characters including a dog (loveable Herbie Mann one of the best supporting characters in a novel in my opinion) and a couple of pigeons just trying to survive the sometimes harsh city. In fact, that is what all of Langer's characters are doing, and in the meantime Langer creates a composition and orchestration that makes us want to take the 1st available plane to NYC and discover for what's remaining of it's pure soul. A cynical but sentimental novel that will make you smile and feel someone depressed that we are losing our cities to Starbucks and PotteryBarn.
March 2, 2017
What a glorious read. This book, mostly full of humor but with its share of pathos, concerns Manhattan's continuous uptown gentrification. The neighborhood is upper upper west side (according to real estate broker's description), and the flat in question is on West 106th now called Ellington Boulevard. Towards the end of the book there is a biography of the flat, the ups and downs of the building, the various inhabitants and how long they'd lived there. The characters here are its current tenant, his beloved dog, and the various participants in the sale of the flat. Even the pigeons roosting on the air conditioner's ledge are profiled. At times, Langer has a Dickensian flair for names (e.g., Miles Dimmelow -- says all you need to know about him). But the central character is New York, her charismatic qualities that entice her lovers to pay anything, put up with anything, just to live there.
February 1, 2014
It took me much longer than usual to read this book as I really didn't like it very much. It started well with One, the musician, and his dog returning to New York after the death of his mother to discover that the apartment he has been living in is being sold. The rest of the story revolves around all the different players in this scenario (buyers, sellers, brokers and all their various spouses, coworkers, etc) telling their part of the story. The structure of the chapters is set up to resemble a piece of music or acts in a play which could be interesting but my main problem was I really disliked most of the characters. If this is what people are like in New York, I wouldn't want to live there. Way too many coincidences and intersecting stories to be realistic so the plot soon became as annoying as the people. Writing style was Ok but I kept waiting for it to get better. Never happened.
March 5, 2008
Adam Langer is back! After reading Crossing California and The Washington Story, I eagerly awaited Ellington Boulevard, and I am not disappointed. That's right--I love, love, love this novel that revolves around New York's real estate scene.
Ellington Boulevard showcases Langer's talent in creating characters and then connecting all of them in interesting and wonderful ways.
Quirky characters include:
Rebecca Sugarman, prospective buyer and literary editor; her husband, a foul-mouthed slacker named Darrell; the apartment's current tenants, clarinetist Ike Morphy and his dog, Herbie Mann; Josh, a broker who really wants to be an actor; and the list goes on!
I don't want to spoil the plot. Just prepare yourself for lovable characters, humorous situations, and a very satisfying ending.
3/4/08
Ellington Boulevard showcases Langer's talent in creating characters and then connecting all of them in interesting and wonderful ways.
Quirky characters include:
Rebecca Sugarman, prospective buyer and literary editor; her husband, a foul-mouthed slacker named Darrell; the apartment's current tenants, clarinetist Ike Morphy and his dog, Herbie Mann; Josh, a broker who really wants to be an actor; and the list goes on!
I don't want to spoil the plot. Just prepare yourself for lovable characters, humorous situations, and a very satisfying ending.
3/4/08
September 14, 2009
Langer's first two novels take place in his native Chicago. Following his move to New York, this novel takes place there (although one of the principal characters comes from Chicago).
I found "Ellington Boulevard" to be less successful that the prior novels. Langer attempts a comic novel but confusingly periodically reverts to a more romantic/emotional tone, particularly at the end. Comic novels work best not with real, fleshed-out characters, but with characters built on stereotypes. The author that comes to my mind as the model for this type of fiction is John Mortimer, who wrote a number of comic novels(not including the Rumpole series of stories and novels).
What Mortimer makes work doesn't seem to be present here. In part, that may be because Langer's book just isn't sufficiently comic. I never felt like laughing. Somewhat amusing, yes, but not comic.
I found "Ellington Boulevard" to be less successful that the prior novels. Langer attempts a comic novel but confusingly periodically reverts to a more romantic/emotional tone, particularly at the end. Comic novels work best not with real, fleshed-out characters, but with characters built on stereotypes. The author that comes to my mind as the model for this type of fiction is John Mortimer, who wrote a number of comic novels(not including the Rumpole series of stories and novels).
What Mortimer makes work doesn't seem to be present here. In part, that may be because Langer's book just isn't sufficiently comic. I never felt like laughing. Somewhat amusing, yes, but not comic.
September 29, 2010
throughout this book you follow a cool cast of new york characters as their lives intersect and influence one another. the writing is a bit overwrought for my taste and though there were some densly detailed and heartbreaking scenes that i loved, others just left me wishing the point would arrive already. by the end i really only cared about three of the characters. the rest couldve left the narrative 150 pages prior and i would have been fine with that. i am intrigued enough to check out other books by the author, esp his newest, the thieves of manhattan, since its less than 300 pages, which is exactly how this book should have been printed.
July 28, 2011
I had mixed feeling about this book. It jumped around, but in this case it worked...just like busy New York City where it is set. The characters are well-drawn and very interesting. As the connections between them emerge through their connection - direct or indirect - to Apt 2B in the Roberto Clemente apartment building which is going up for sale after the owner died. One of the tenants is left with an undocumented promise that he would keep Apt 2B for lif, something his some chooses to ignore.. The endings were a bit to wonderful and the background information too overdone, but the writing was great and the truth telling is rich and real.
January 19, 2016
This was huge fun! I read passages to my husband to make him laugh, and he ended up confiscating it and finishing first. Since I am usually reading 5 books at a time, I can be generous.
The parts told from the dog's point of view were so wonderful. I am reading along and boom, all of a sudden I am in the dog Herbie Mann's experience. The characters are all, to some degree, likable. All are memorable. There is a sweet story-in-the-story (and this already is a book-in-a-play! or a play in a book!) called Wizard Girl that I loved.
Every time I visit New York City, I have an urge to live there, and this book only made it worse!
The parts told from the dog's point of view were so wonderful. I am reading along and boom, all of a sudden I am in the dog Herbie Mann's experience. The characters are all, to some degree, likable. All are memorable. There is a sweet story-in-the-story (and this already is a book-in-a-play! or a play in a book!) called Wizard Girl that I loved.
Every time I visit New York City, I have an urge to live there, and this book only made it worse!
April 7, 2008
I really enjoyed this. There is something to empathize with, or at least be compassionate towards, in most of the characters, even the less appealing ones. One of the main characters is a dog; one of the chapters is from his point of view. I liked the way characters, central in their own families and communities, appear peripherally or tangentially in other characters' spheres, connecting them without their awareness. All are searching for identity and love, and (here's the spoiler) most find them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2008
Not the best book ever.
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 seismograph... bizarre metaphor, but whatever.
Point is, I read it, it entertained to some degree, I read it all the way through, and some other people might be interested in it. Just not me.
Overall rating: I give it one big MEH.
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 seismograph... bizarre metaphor, but whatever.
Point is, I read it, it entertained to some degree, I read it all the way through, and some other people might be interested in it. Just not me.
Overall rating: I give it one big MEH.
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September 17, 2009i unwittingly took this novel out of the library that's about the gentrification of the neighborhood i grew up in. the story is pretty good. but the worldview & politics... kinda liberal. mediocre.
but whoa, it was pretty surreal to read this account of what's changed. it's very surface-y -- basically a list of stores and businesses. you can tell the "past" the author's comparing now to is probably, like, when he moved there 10 years ago, which was frustrating. but still, all those references to places-gone brought up a lot of memories/nostalgia/etc.
but whoa, it was pretty surreal to read this account of what's changed. it's very surface-y -- basically a list of stores and businesses. you can tell the "past" the author's comparing now to is probably, like, when he moved there 10 years ago, which was frustrating. but still, all those references to places-gone brought up a lot of memories/nostalgia/etc.
August 5, 2008
I can't say that I was completely satisfied with the latest Adam Langer novel, but I do love his characterization. Though set in New York instead of Chicago's Rogers Park, Langer's characters are believably flawed, and despite this, things seem to end pretty neatly. The novel follows a tenant, landlord, buyer, broker, and the people in their lives as an apartment in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood is shown, bought, and sold. I'd be curious to see an Ellington Boulevard musical...
March 29, 2008
Very comical romp through New York City. It addresses the whole real estate phenomenon which is not only happening in New York, but elsewhere. Affordable housing is hard to come by, and people are being weeded out. Adam Langer does a great job of making the city itself one of the predominant characters. Anyone who has tried to or lives in New York will really like this book, and anyone who hasn't been there will have their curiosity peaked.
May 22, 2008
Dawn has been after me to read Adam Langer, so I was pleased to start with this new book set in New York. Like many books or movies about the intersecting lives of a large group of characters, the accumulated coincidences can be creaky, but there is so much charm in the writing - and the characters' actions are so variously amusing, heart-rending, or reprehensible - that the novel surpasses the occasional shopworn plot element. Plus, there's a dog.
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December 7, 2012I quit about 30-40 pages in. I liked Langer's "Crossing California" well enough (sections, anyway), but I just couldn't get into this one. Part of my disinterest can be chalked up to Langer's habit of describing what people are saying instead of using dialogue and action; many sections feel like summaries for a book Langer will eventually write. Anyway, what with life being precious and fleeting, I didn't want to spend more of it with this novel.
August 30, 2013
I wanted to love this one, I searched hard to find a way to give this book more than two stars, but it is far too uneven and cluttered. At first I found the multiple voices interesting and working well in offering different sounds and rhythms to the narrative, but quickly it became a hinderance and mucked up what the novel was trying to do. Just didn't work and it overshadowed the bit of the narrative that did actually work.
March 12, 2008
Maybe it was because my expectations weren't too high (a book centered around a NYC apartment building sounded an awful lot like a yuppie version of Rent), but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The characters were all sympathetic; there was no clear-cut villain. And Langer pulled off a happy ending without being cheesy, something I have the utmost respect for.
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