From Publishers Weekly
Like many, Goodman (French Dirt) moved to New York City in search of a home, a place in which he might feel comfortable and thrive. He found it "against the backdrop of a massive city of unmatchable energy and sheer, brute authority." In this tribute to Goodman's home of three decades, he shares extraordinary events and everyday occurrences, like the theft of his prized bike, a "Raleigh three-speed, English, heavy, black, and one of the most remarkable machines I've ever had. It was no effete, high-strung, ten-speed from Italy or Japan." He mourns the devastation of 9/11, but also celebrates the connections he's made, particularly to Ann Silberling, a Greenwich Village neighbor, one of those cosmopolitan women who "give the place a consistent dignity by their dress, decorum, and demeanor. They demand respect, and by their savvy, grace, and deep understanding of how to encounter New York City, they get it." Sections set outside New York, such as his description of restaurant work in Cambridge, Mass. or a year spent in France, fit awkwardly, a few misses in a thin volume of genuine hits. (Aug.)
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Review
"Wherever he goes, Richard Goodman takes you with him. Those experiences that were once his are now yours, too. In peerless prose, Goodman's A New York Memoir conveys you to a writers' enclave in Soho (where you lose your soul to love), the kitchen of a French chef, your friend Ann's apartment in Greenwich Village--even excursions to Maine and Provence, France. You'll never be the same again now that you've seen and heard and felt and thought with Richard. You'll be surprised at the long, precise reach of your metaphors now. Time-travel has become as supple as navigating New York. Your own life takes on some sort of shape, or promises to. A double life, maybe a multiple life, skating on sentences smooth as glass--that's what you'll get, not just a book. I promise." --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of
Ahab's Wife and Adam & Eve"So much more than an engaging memoir of New York, this is a heart laid bare. One can learn much from this man who feels tender toward cobblestones and old women, nostalgic about a daughter's childhood, frightened at the prospect of dying alone--a rare individual who, with honesty, sensuousness, and keen observation, turns yearning and remembrance into art." --Susan Vreeland, author of Luncheon at the Boating Party and Girl in Hyacinth Blue
"Richard Goodman's rapturous book will make you miss New York City even if you've never been there. It's a highly poetic tribute to a city that, while it can overwhelm you, is still the ultimate city of dreams, an incubator for anyone who's ever fostered a dream of revealing the best in themselves. Richard Goodman's dazzling book made me realize that once you've lived in New York, you can never leave, no matter where you go." --Rebecca Walker, author of
Black White and Jewish and Baby Love"In this tribute to Goodman's home of three decades, he shares extraordinary events and everyday occurrences, like the theft of his prized bike, a "Raleigh three-speed, English, heavy, black, and one of the most remarkable machines I've ever had. It was no effete, high-strung, ten-speed from Italy or Japan." He mourns the devastation of 9/11, but also celebrates the connections he's made, particularly to Ann Silberling, a Greenwich Village neighbor, one of those cosmopolitan women who "give the place a consistent dignity by their dress, decorum, and demeanor. They demand respect, and by their savvy, grace, and deep understanding of how to encounter New York City, they get it." Sections set outside New York, such as his description of restaurant work in Cambridge, Mass. or a year spent in France, fit awkwardly, a few misses in a thin volume of genuine hits." --
Publishers Weekly
