The New York Times has recently published a list of 25 novels set in NYC, published within the last 100 years, where the city is more than just a backdrop or even a "character" in the story -- it is the story, NYC is intertwined with the plot.
These are books that, simply put, couldn't have taken place anywhere else.
Believe it or not, some big titles are missing -- no Gatsby, nothing by Edith Wharton. Sadly Slaves of New York was not included either but the author, Tama Janowitz (a previous Mr NYC interviewee) was mentioned (with a photo) since her 1980s Brat Pack colleagues Jay McInery's 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City was included (my review of the movie version of it can be found here).
This list is very interesting, and it includes commentary by the various critics who chose the titles. Lists like this are inherently flawed and infuriating, but at least they remind you that there are lots of good books about NYC that you should put on your shelf -- or load onto your Kindle.
One big inclusion is Don DeLillo's 1997 masterpiece Underworld. That is a great NYC novel but so much more -- its an epic sweep of an Everyman living through the second half of the 20th century while history unfolds around him and occasionally touches him. For me, it's not just a novel, or a great novel, or a great NYC novel -- it's a state of mind, a raising of consciousness, a story that makes you look at the world and history differently. I'm glad to see it on this list but Underworld is sui generis, like all great work. The same way that NYC is a city bigger than its population and its borders, Underworld extends beyond the story on its pages.
The story of Flatbush is the story of Brooklyn and NYC as a whole -- how a Dutch village turned into a suburban oasis before transforming into an urban hub.
Flatbush is a city within a city within a city -- and one of the most diverse neighborhoods in NYC.
In recent years, part of the it was renamed Little Caribbean, recognizing its history as a welcoming refuge for Caribbean immigrants.
The latest episode of the Bowery Boys tells the story of Flatbush and its amazing history. It shows how Flatbush, like the city as a whole, is always changing while keeping its history never vanishes.
About a year-and-a-half ago I blogged about one of my favorite movies -- Jim Jarmusch's 1991 classic Night On Earth. Set in five taxicabs in five cities around the world on one night, it's a funny and heartwarming look at the interactions and fleeting relationships that cabbies and their passengers develop.
The movies takes place in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki. The NYC story is about a guy trying to get from Manhattan back to Brooklyn and is picked up by a German immigrant -- who can barely drive. Along the way they find the guy's sister-in-law walking the streets, and craziness ensues. The German cabbie was played by the great Armin Mueller Stahl, and his passengers were the brilliant Giancarlo Esposito and Rosie Perez.
Recently Giancarlo and Rosie, who are both in big shows right now, gave a joint interview where they talk about the first movie they did together -- Spike Lee's 1989 classic Do The Right Thing -- and then Night on Earth.
Nothing better than two great actors reminiscing about two great movies they made more than 30 years ago -- and showing that talent and superior work at truly timeless.
At the risk of being gauche, allow me to quote myself: a couple of years ago I described this blog as a "pastiche" or "a collage, a repository for memories, a collection of favorite things, a funhouse of nostalgia, a love letter to the past and future, a work of art, a self-contained world that invites you to visit a while and become absorbed in."
You might also call it a scrapbook.
In its way, Mr NYC is a digital scrapbook, roughly defined as a document of precious memories, a collection of souvenirs and mementos, and an opportunity to channel one's inner artist.
Scrapbooks need not be literal books full of pieces of paper and objects of one's past or journey thru life. They can be, more metaphorically speaking, things like diaries or autobiographies or videos -- or blogs like this one -- anything that captures and makes sense of the past and provides tea leaves for the future.
I recently encountered two examples of metaphorical scrapbooking, both of which fascinate me: a new exhibit about Lou Reed at the NYPL that is a collection of his papers, recordings, and various nickknacks, showing the work and evolution of this great and influential NYC musician; and a new novel by, of all people, the actor David Duchovny that is based on his memories of growing up in NYC.
This exhibit and this novel are, in a way, scrapbooks of these two very different NYC artists -- as is this humble blog.
When Anne Frank wrote her diary hiding out in that apartment in Amsterdam or when Marco Polo dictated his memories of China while literally imprisoned, these two people who would otherwise be lost to history instead were made immortal. They told their stories, they recorded and "scrapbooked" their lives, and in doing so not only made us better understand their times and adventures (told both from the perspective of two people who were literally trapped) but made us understand that the world was a greater place, and the human spirit more indomitable, than we could ever imagine.
Scrapbooking is a great start.
