Manhattanhenge Archives

Open City

by Teju Cole

Julius is a Nigerian-German in his last year of a psychiatric residency at an NYC hospital. His walks through Manhattan offer a stress release, as well as a chance to make sense of a recent breakup and other events in his life. Along the way he interacts with people from all walks of life. This is very much a character study, best for readers who don’t need a plot to propel them along.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

by Kathleen Rooney

A friend talked me into reading this after she shared that every member of her diverse book club loved this—the twenty-somethings and the sixty-somethings. That got my attention. It's the last day of 1984, and 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish takes a walk in late-night Manhattan, on a very specific mission. As she walks, she reflects on the life she's lived, the people she's known, and where things began to go wrong. This reminded me of J. Courtney Sullivan's The Engagements because of the strong women at the center of each.

Time After Time: A Novel

by Lisa Grunwald

On December 5, 1937, Joe first meets Nora, a beautiful woman who seems to have appeared out of nowhere in the concourse of Grand Central Terminal. She seems a little disoriented; her dress is endearingly out of style. But she’s witty and warm and fun, and Joe is instantly smitten. There’s just one problem: when Joe tries to walk Nora home, she vanishes, seemingly into thin air. When he calls the number she gave him, well, that’s when things get really strange. Don’t worry, readers, he’ll see her again, and puzzling out the how, where, and why it’s so complicated is half the fun of reading. This novel inventively combines history, mystery, and love story, and Manhattanhenge. A must-read for fans of The Time-Traveler’s Wife and The Masterpiece; it also has interesting parallels to A Gentleman in Moscow.

Manhattanhenge

Open City

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Time After Time: A Novel

a gateway

to reliable joy this summer

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th