The Good People of New York [Paperback]

Thisbe Nissen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2002

When Roz Rosenzweig meets Edwin Anderson fumbling for keys on the stoop of a Manhattan walk-up, the last thing on her mind is falling for a polite Nebraskan–yet fall for him she does. So begins Thisbe Nissen’s breathtaking debut novel, a decidedly urban fairy tale that follows Roz and Edwin as they move from improbable courtship to marriage to the birth of daughter Miranda–the locus of all Roz’s attention, anxiety, and often smothering affection.
As Miranda comes of age and begins to chafe against the intensity of her mother’s neurotic love, Roz must do her best to let those she cherishes move into the world without her. On crowded subways, in strange bedrooms, at Bar Mitzvahs, in brownstone basements and high school gymnasiums, Nissen’s unforgettable characters make their hilarious and wrenching way–and prove, indeed, that good things thrive in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gracefully shifting her focus from short story to novel, Nissen John Simmons Short Fiction Award winner (Out of the Girls' Room and into the Night) weaves a charming tale with candid humor and a sharp eye for detail. Spirited and feisty Roz Rosenzweig and idealistic Nebraskan Edwin Anderson are as unlikely a couple as Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in The Way We Were, but somehow they end up tying the knot in 1970s New York City. They have a daughter, Miranda, but the marriage falls apart by the time she is in fifth grade. Newly single Roz vows to "be the fabulous mom-who's-more-like-a-friend-than-a-mom mom" but has a hard time squelching her irrepressible Jewish-mother instincts. Miranda, a precociously sexy near-teenager, sometimes plays along with Roz and sometimes rebels she is particularly peeved when her mother starts dating her orthodontist. At school, Miranda proves to be a budding drama queen, and as she gets older, becomes entangled in a series of prickly relationships. She could sometimes use her mom's help as she fumbles audaciously through adolescence, but is too proud to admit it. Roz, concurrently coming of age, tentatively attempts to become the focus of her own life. Nissen's descriptions of life in New York in the '70s and '80s are spot-on, and she clearly loves the novel's characters even the least likable are sympathetic and forgiven their foibles. Astute characterizations and smart, snappy dialogue anchor an honest, funny portrayal of an inevitably heartbreaking but loving relationship. Agent, Eric Simonoff. (May 30)Forecast: Equipped with a stellar set of blurbs (from Charles Baxter, Ann Beattie and Chris Offut, among others), a fetching subway-inspired jacket and an enticing title, this engaging debut work has a good chance of differentiating itself from countless similar New York coming-of-age novels.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When loud, confident Roz Rosenzweig meets quiet, Nebraska-born Edwin Anderson at the party of a mutual friend, sparks fly. Their courtship eventually becomes a marriage, producing the couple's only child, who quickly takes over the focus of the narrative. In Miranda, Nissen has created a perceptive and empathetic portrait of an intelligent girl who is a little too eager to grow up. A crew of secondary and tertiary characters keeps the action lively and acts as a chorus for Roz and Miranda. New York City, with its high schools, bars, cabs, and walk-up apartments, is also a significant character. From the opening scene on a front stoop to the closing scene at a dinner party in a Brooklyn brownstone, the sights, sounds, and smells of a large city are evocatively described, as are Roz's and Miranda's movements around the city. Readers who enjoy Elinor Lipman and the late Laurie Colwin will welcome Nissen's first novel, which follows up an award-winning story collection, Out of the Girls' Room and into the Night. Recommended for public libraries and all contemporary fiction collections. Kerie Nickel, St. Mary's Coll. of Maryland, Leonardtown
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Anchor; First Anchor Books Edition edition (May 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385720610
• ISBN-13: 978-0385720618
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,987,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Nebraska goy looking for meshugenah (wacky)Jewish girl, August 4, 2001

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Good People of New York (Hardcover)

That could have been the ad that resulted in the pairing of New Yorker Roz Rosenzweig and Edwin Anderson - and the result is this marvel of a book by Thisbe Nissen. From the first page, I was smitten with the couple and the writing, which is as smart, sassy, funny and quick-paced as New York itself. A sample bit, as Roz and Edwin are driving home to meet his family, including mother Esther, very early one morning: Edwin said....."Esther's up and at 'em by five. She'll probably have breakfast made already."... "Oh, good lord" Roz moaned. Edwin:"Probably not best to take the Lord's name in vain around her either, especially at this hour of the day." Roz: "Jesus, I forgot.".... "Jesus, we're in trouble" Edwin said to the sky. One more thing about this delightful novel: if you've ever read and enjoyed the late writer Laurie Colwin's books you'll definitely find similarities here, as this is somewhat a comedy of manners, a thinking person's guide to the intricacies of the human heart, full of style and wit.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Writing style great, story mediocre, October 20, 2006

By 

lisatheratgirl "lisatheratgirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Good People of New York (Paperback)

I don't know why, but the Iowa Writers' Workshop produces some of the best writing in America, and as far as style goes, Thisbe Nissen is no exception. Her phrasing is beautiful--a memory that aches like a death, for instance. Her dialogue is good. Where the novel falls down is the story and characters, about two-thirds of the way through. The book simply goes nowhere. Characters who start out being major players drop out and either are never heard of again or briefly described in an irrelevant incident. I thought Edwin was a leading role, it seems all he was there for was to be the father of Miranda. Roz could have gone to a sperm bank. What happened to good friend Fran who was so close to Miranda and at whose party Roz met Edwin? She just disappears. What is the point of that Christmas scene in Nebraska where we get the life story of Kathy and Duane, Shauna and Rod, little Brittney and all the others? To show the contrast with Manhattan? What happens to little Gert, who makes such an impression on Roz, she names her daughter after her? What happens to Miranda's budding acting career? Roz is a lawyer in an interesting field, but we never hear about her work or her clients or her friends. This is one of those books where I finish the last page and ask myself what this was supposed to say to me.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good People, Good Enough?, August 23, 2002

By 

Robert Wellen (CHICAGO, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Good People of New York (Paperback)

I'd been waiting for this paperback for a long while. I thought the book sounded fascinating. And indeed, parts of it are. Feeling generous, I gave it four stars. I found parts of it be not well played (characters fade away--time shifts too quickly). In other parts of the book, I was geniunely moved by the characters and their traumas. There is a sense of growth--particularly in Roz and Miranda (Roz most of all, who becomes just a wonderful person--we see that Miranda is missing out during her rebellious years). Other plot twists I might have done without, but still, that is how life isn't it? We can't pick and choose what happens. Nissen seems to have drawn on some of her real life (as she hints at in her acknowledgements) and it may well be unfair to judge her twists and turns, particulalry if they are real. PErsonally, I liked Edwin and Darrin a great deal and would ahve liked to hear more from them. At it's heart, this is a story about mother and daughter. Being neither a mother or daughter, I might not be the best to comment on this book--however, in the end (and I Loved the END) they are indeed good people. And it is a good, but not great, book.