Customer Reviews

The New City: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The New City examines the tenet that people's behaviour and attitudes can be radically altered by the environment in which they live. Newton has been designed to foster harmony between races and discourage crime but this environment cannot overcome the deep-rooted prejudices and suspicion, which once aroused, set the main characters and on a roller-coaster to disaster, and lead the city to the brink of anarchy. The strength of the novel lies in the steady and inevitable build up to the disintegration of the lives of the main characters, brought about by a combination of events and their own distorted perceptions.

The New City is a bleak forecast that the worst of what is primitive in human nature can overcome a civilizing environment. Some of the characters do have better impulses but are not strong enough to overcome them. The book seems to suggest that they never would be but a more optimistic judgement would be that maybe human nature is not yet ready for the New City.

I recommend this book as a thoughtful and, as the story progresses, a compelling read.

I live about twenty minutes away from Columbia, Maryland, the real "New City," founded in the 1960s by the visionary James Rouse. (In fact, I bought this book there). While this has no bearing on the story, it certainly makes it a more enjoyable read. I would note, however, that you can probably pick out some obvious parallels between the fictional Newton and the real Columbia. Any sucker for detail will be enthralled by Amidon's references to events in the 70s, neighboring communities in Maryland, and his vividly defined characters. However, his thorough writing does not plunge the story into pithy, irrelevant facts - you're given what you need to know and a whole lot more to truly understand the story. I've never seen a white writer do such an excellent job of rendering black characters - or treating his teenage subjects as something more than shallow, blithering idiots. I hope to see this studied in high school English - or even History classes - one day, as it's an excellent time capsule from the summer of 1973.

Amidon depicts the city of Newton as a man made utopia of modern society. Which seems rather far fetched, however most of the story is based loosly around the real attitudes and events of real life pseudo utopia of Columbia, MD. The interest level of the book becomes exceedingly high when you know every street that is refered to in the novel and the racial struggles that are still present to this day. The detail of the book does often tangent a little off the main plot line, but is usually brought back in due course. The relationship between as the characters at times seems incestuous, but so are the relationship in the world of Columbia, MD. If you live in suburban Maryland this is a must read, even if you are not the story is intriguing enough to make this hard to put down.

I throughly enjoyed reading this book. I'm one of those people who likes the 70's (and lived through most of it) so I enjoyed the pop culture references, which weren't essential, but helped to give the novel a little bit of atmosphere. The plot itself is intricate, and I was taken off guard by everything that happened. I liked the characters, even though most of them were really flawed. (I think I liked Teddy the most, even though he's extremely nerdy and a bratty little rich boy, he's very funny and charming in a weird way.) I loved reading about all the aspects of planning the city and the founders' idea of an utopian community, where racism or class distinctions don't exist. Very fascinating story with a killer ending. Even though it's been over a year since I read the book, I still wonder about the characters, and what they would be doing now, etc. I heartily recommend it to everyone.

From page one, The New City had me hooked. It took me all of two days to finish this 445 page masterpiece. It is my firm belief that The New City is one of the most important American novels around... people will catch on in time if they have not already. The plot is bold and clearly written, never failing to surprise and grip the viewer. Amidon deals with important topics such as race, class, and trust in an intelligent and passionate way. This novel consumed me... it had me reading it until the early hours of the morning. Remeber the name Stephen Amidon -- it's going to be around for a while.

This is a fantastic book. Exciting. Brilliantly written. Great characters. This is the book Thomas Hardy would have written if he lived through the seventies. If you are looking for literary fiction that is actually about something, The New City is your book.

The New City is a fascinating story of the ironies inherent in a planned community, one that is supposed to be free of the troubles typical of suburbia in the 1970s. It is a thoughtful story, with well-drawn characters and a suspenseful plot, touching on the subleties of racism, the Vietnam War, and so-called "tolerant" people. I found myself reading faster and faster trying to get to the end. I would highly recommend this book.

I came upon this book by chance and was amazed when I read it. Who is this guy and why don't we hear more about him? The New City is literary fiction of the highest order. The plot is gripping, the characters complex and fascinating, and Amidon writes like a dream. By focusing on the lives of three families in the summer of 1973, he manages to tell the story of our nation during that turbulent time. More please.

The New City is a compelling and readable novel, dealing with the lives of real individuals, caught in a situation beyond their control, but often times forced by events of their own creation. The story is set in 1973, and the author frequently reminds us of this by reference to topical events and songs. As it develops, one begins to sense impending disaster, but we are unable to forecast exactly what will occur until the final pages.

Well written in places with some narrative momentum, but this book has lots of problems. It is supposed to be a period piece/historical novel about the 1970's, but the references are just sprinkled in every 2 or 3 pages and don't really have anything to do with the plot -- could have been set in almost any era. Second, the two teenage boys around whom the plot revolves act very implausibly for boys of their age. I must say I did like the portrayal of the Vietnam veteran character (I am one) -- nicely balanced. Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full is a better look at the same subject.