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Lazarus Man
In this electrifying novel, Richard Price, the author of Clockers and a writer on The Wire, shines a light in every corner of New York City.Boom! A June morning on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem. Suddenly, where a five-story building had stood is nothing but fuming low hills of rubble, the cars parked in front pancaked and coated in ash. Sirens. Havoc. Confusion. Destruction. And people missing.Richard Price, our greatest chronicler of the city today, describes the effect of the disaster on the outer and inner lives of a rich and compelling group of characters. Anthony Walker is pulled from the rubble and, miraculously, survives, to find himself inspired by a religious sense of mission. Royal Lyons, who owns a failing funeral parlor, discovers a new lease on life. And Mary Roe, a hard-bitten NYPD detective, embarks on a personal quest to find a man who is missing.Price's first novel since the bestselling Lush Life presents a bravura portrait of a community on the edge of disintegration. Rich with indelible characters and incredible drama, Lazarus Man is a compelling work of suspense and social vision by one of our preeminent writers.
- GenresFiction
352 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 12, 2024
About the author
Richard Price
217 books785 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Also writes under the pen name Harry Brandt
A self-described "middle class Jewish kid," Price grew up in a housing project in the northeast Bronx. Today, he lives in New York City with his family.
Price graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1967 and obtained a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from Columbia. He also did graduate work at Stanford. He has taught writing at Columbia, Yale, and New York University. He was one of the first people interviewed on the NPR show Fresh Air when it began airing nationally in 1987. In 1999, he received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.
Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy. In his review of Lush Life (2008), Walter Kirn compared Price to Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Price's first novel was The Wanderers (1974), a coming-of-age story set in the Bronx in 1962, written when Price was 24 years old. It was adapted into a movie in 1979, with a screenplay by Rose and Philip Kaufman and directed by the latter.
Clockers (1992) was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It has been praised for its humor, suspense, dialogue, and characterizations. In 1995, it was made into a movie directed by Spike Lee; Price and Lee shared writing credits for the screenplay.
Price has written numerous screenplays, of which the best known are The Color of Money (1986), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, Life Lessons (the Martin Scorsese segment of New York Stories) (1989), Sea of Love (1989), Mad Dog and Glory (1992), Ransom (1996), and Shaft (2000). He also wrote for the HBO series The Wire. Price was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the fifth season of The Wire. He is often cast in cameo roles in the films he writes.
Price also wrote and conceptualized the 15 minute film surrounding Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.
Additionally, he has published articles in the The New York Times, Esquire Magazine, The New Yorker, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and others.
Also writes under the pen name Harry Brandt
A self-described "middle class Jewish kid," Price grew up in a housing project in the northeast Bronx. Today, he lives in New York City with his family.
Price graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1967 and obtained a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from Columbia. He also did graduate work at Stanford. He has taught writing at Columbia, Yale, and New York University. He was one of the first people interviewed on the NPR show Fresh Air when it began airing nationally in 1987. In 1999, he received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.
Price's novels explore late 20th century urban America in a gritty, realistic manner that has brought him considerable literary acclaim. Several of his novels are set in a fictional northern New Jersey city called Dempsy. In his review of Lush Life (2008), Walter Kirn compared Price to Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Price's first novel was The Wanderers (1974), a coming-of-age story set in the Bronx in 1962, written when Price was 24 years old. It was adapted into a movie in 1979, with a screenplay by Rose and Philip Kaufman and directed by the latter.
Clockers (1992) was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. It has been praised for its humor, suspense, dialogue, and characterizations. In 1995, it was made into a movie directed by Spike Lee; Price and Lee shared writing credits for the screenplay.
Price has written numerous screenplays, of which the best known are The Color of Money (1986), for which he was nominated for an Oscar, Life Lessons (the Martin Scorsese segment of New York Stories) (1989), Sea of Love (1989), Mad Dog and Glory (1992), Ransom (1996), and Shaft (2000). He also wrote for the HBO series The Wire. Price was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on the fifth season of The Wire. He is often cast in cameo roles in the films he writes.
Price also wrote and conceptualized the 15 minute film surrounding Michael Jackson's "Bad" video.
Additionally, he has published articles in the The New York Times, Esquire Magazine, The New Yorker, Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and others.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 5, 2024
Richard Price writes of the City he knows. In Lush Life, it was the lower East Side, where he lived at the time. Far as I know, he now lives in Harlem. As with other authors, he sets his story pre-2016 which avoids the changes wrought in that year.
The Lazarus Man is Anthony Walker, who is extricated from the rubble of a building that leveled itself 36 hours previously. The miracle of his being found alive sets off a media frenzy, and he finds another version of himself "blessed" (it is complicated) with the ability to inspire hope in those who listen to him. I did not for one minute forget that his words were forged by Price. What makes Price such a compelling writer is his ability to create characters that jump off the page and stand in front of you. With a few phrases, he creates an entire history and the personality that has been molded by it. The entire community is here, even the victims of the building's collapse as their stories are encapsulated in a memorial, similar to the New York Times's feature on the 911 victims, "The Lives They Led."
Another area in which Prince's talent reigns is dialogue. Years ago I had the privilege of being present at a lunch with him when he recounted the first table read of his first screenplay, in which his dialogue was informed by his experience as a novelist. After reading for what seemed an eternity, Robert deNiro looked up and asked "Am I still talkin' here?" It changed how Price's approach, and his novels and screenplays reflect his snappy, cinematic repartee.
Need I say, highly highly recommended.
The Lazarus Man is Anthony Walker, who is extricated from the rubble of a building that leveled itself 36 hours previously. The miracle of his being found alive sets off a media frenzy, and he finds another version of himself "blessed" (it is complicated) with the ability to inspire hope in those who listen to him. I did not for one minute forget that his words were forged by Price. What makes Price such a compelling writer is his ability to create characters that jump off the page and stand in front of you. With a few phrases, he creates an entire history and the personality that has been molded by it. The entire community is here, even the victims of the building's collapse as their stories are encapsulated in a memorial, similar to the New York Times's feature on the 911 victims, "The Lives They Led."
Another area in which Prince's talent reigns is dialogue. Years ago I had the privilege of being present at a lunch with him when he recounted the first table read of his first screenplay, in which his dialogue was informed by his experience as a novelist. After reading for what seemed an eternity, Robert deNiro looked up and asked "Am I still talkin' here?" It changed how Price's approach, and his novels and screenplays reflect his snappy, cinematic repartee.
Need I say, highly highly recommended.
May 19, 2024
Maybe this is like Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey with less religion. Or perhaps Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent or Graham Greene's It's a Battlefield with less politics. In any case, it's the sort of novel I like, that is, a novel where the consequences of an unexpected violent event ripple outward, causing unexpected drama and surprising changes in the lives of characters who find themselves tangled up in the wreckage, both metaphorical and literal.
The novel also does something that I feel, in this day and age, is very daring, which is
Price is one of those writers who have one foot in the crime genre and the other in something more serious. He has come out every few years with an interesting-sounding novel that gets good reviews (like Clockers), but life is too full of books. I never got around to reading him until now, because I am still, today, so enthusiastic about the long-gone TV series “The Wire” (to which Price contributed) that, if I saw that the third key grip on episode five of season two had written a novel, I would add it to my endless “to-read” shelf.
I had this novel on my Kindle while living through one very long and aggravating day of air travel. My endorsement adds the following context: I also had a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel that I was supposed to read for the book club, and a very serious non-fiction book about why the place I live now is a miserable hellscape. I neglected those worthy books to read this one, simply because this book does what a good novel should: it held me with compelling characters, good writing, and believable plotting all the way through to a satisfying conclusion. I welcomed all of these because they held my attention through too-crowded airports, too-small economy class seats, overpriced airport food, and finally lost luggage.
I also think it evoked its setting (2008 Harlem) very well, was fun to read, and kept the pages turning all the way to the end. What more can you ask of a writer?
I received a free advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
The novel also does something that I feel, in this day and age, is very daring, which is
Price is one of those writers who have one foot in the crime genre and the other in something more serious. He has come out every few years with an interesting-sounding novel that gets good reviews (like Clockers), but life is too full of books. I never got around to reading him until now, because I am still, today, so enthusiastic about the long-gone TV series “The Wire” (to which Price contributed) that, if I saw that the third key grip on episode five of season two had written a novel, I would add it to my endless “to-read” shelf.
I had this novel on my Kindle while living through one very long and aggravating day of air travel. My endorsement adds the following context: I also had a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel that I was supposed to read for the book club, and a very serious non-fiction book about why the place I live now is a miserable hellscape. I neglected those worthy books to read this one, simply because this book does what a good novel should: it held me with compelling characters, good writing, and believable plotting all the way through to a satisfying conclusion. I welcomed all of these because they held my attention through too-crowded airports, too-small economy class seats, overpriced airport food, and finally lost luggage.
I also think it evoked its setting (2008 Harlem) very well, was fun to read, and kept the pages turning all the way to the end. What more can you ask of a writer?
I received a free advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
June 7, 2024
The world’s movement is rarely felt by the life forms who live on its shoulders. Ancient prophecies speak of a shift that will lead humanity to falter & require the species to change direction; to make better choices & understand that their existence is insecure & easily eliminated. Supposing that the threat is not said in jest, one may ask what the purpose of such a reset would be. Will the forest dwellers feel relief? Will the concrete scurrying rats feel free? The world functions by default, without anything but the axis; life on Earth is a blessing, one which many human beings seek to shed.
When I requested this book, I had no concept of what I would find inside. This might be a silly thing to admit but, I did not regard the title as profound insight into the plot, nor did I seek to decipher the colour scheme of the cover art to mean more than what they were—a reflection of choice.
Inadvertently, I found myself reading this novel perturbed by its approach. While a more studied reader will have further criticism of the stylistic approach that the author has taken when presenting the narrative with characters whose lives are both specific & ambiguous; my review will focus primarily on the time count, the hours it took me to realize that this book wasn’t as long as I felt like it was.
In essence, this is a story about despair. The author introduces the reader to Anthony, a man whose past is riddled with drudgery. This first chapter promised a great saga with lore to confound the reader & I anticipated the story to play a rhythmic fiddle when enunciating the malaise that accompanied Anthony. However, this was not to be.
Price’s novel incorporates the perspectives & realities of a slew of different characters & though, at first, Anthony appears to be an ideal narrator—a character worthy of following, ever so despondent as he is—the story’s shift tumbles over the heads of those whose chapters were less riveting, one from the other.
It is not easy to incorporate so many perspectives into a single story. While the main driver of circumstance is the destruction of the apartment complex, each character reflects deeply about their feelings regarding events & people whom the reader never knows. These instances are beneficial in building the realism that Price offers the reader but, while perusing the chapters, it was difficult to engage fully with characters whose value to the story remained hidden.
Anthony reappears in the later portion of the book as the titular Lazarus man, having been found beneath the rubble of the building, it appears that he was there for days. Yet, in truth, the shock that Anthony experiences led him to wander back into the building in the hopes of finding purpose, a calling, or the door that would lead him to the end. There is a great deal of time that can be spent reflecting on the build-up of this revelation however, I feel great frustration now as I did then.
Though the story is well-written in the traditional sense, the story itself is of no interest to me. Rather, the plot was filled with individuals whose lives were riddled with anger & grief but, while reading about the slow progressing days of their lives, I was acutely aware that my days were passing me by.
More often than not, I found myself wanting to toss away the book & be done with it. I could not understand how such a story could feel like such a drag. Herein lies my main issue; this is not a story to be told in the traditional sense. The modern era of visual aids, such as documentaries films & series, remind readers that the slow progression of the redundant events in this plot, would have felt far mor engaging & interesting had they been coloured by film.
This is not a stance I am averse to adopting. Arguably, all stories need to be told a certain way for them to be appreciated as they should. In the case of these characters, one may find the hours slowly ticking by without any sensation of thrill that often results from reading a good book.
The telling—the transmission of this tale—felt stilted & dull. Not all stories need to feature speeding cars & lightning bolts but, at some point one must ask what the purpose is in rehashing the same sentient patter of the life that is lead by each character.
Each character is dealing with an infidelity; their faith has faltered, they are engaged in a sexual relationship with a less than desirable person, they are experiencing financial insecurity, & they have found themselves in the environment of the apartment collapse.
At face value, their experiences are altogether human & though perhaps less than intriguing, they are lives led by individuals & they contribute to the whole of existence. Rather, perhaps a reader who has more patience than I do will find the dreadfully slow-moving chapters that are the middle portion of this book, easier to consume.
My main qualm with this book was that it wasn’t for me. I have met readers in my life, happy to consume a book because it was a book & they needed nothing further than a story & so, they read it. Readers who may connect with this approach will appreciate this story.
In reality, nothing much happens throughout the entire book. The police officer is searching for a man whose wife died in the collapse—she finds him & he’s just a man grieving the loss of his loved one. Anthony lies & acts holier than thou, & is able to continue doing so because he’s not the first, nor will he be the last.
Yet, with each character one is left wondering what the point is. What is the story trying to say about life in New York City? What is the author’s goal when presenting readers with a slice of life rather uninspiring to those who may not be living life in the same way?
Is the reader meant to feel pity for the characters who miss their loved ones or for whom family is the collection of stray pebbles? Which part of the plot highlights the earnest truth about a life sheltered by grief? Is the narrator Anthony or Mary? Does it matter if Anthony is lying to gain praise or should a person be honest to a fault if they wish to speak on salvation?
What is perhaps most odd of all is that by the end of the story, the conclusion sets nothing to right. In some ways, the reader plays the omniscient being who watches the gastric incision take place from the amp theatre, safe from splatter. In this way, the reader is able to watch poverty, praise, sorrow, love, loss, disenfranchisement, gentrification, justice, & cheating, scramble through the lives of others without adopting any value to these experiences.
I wonder whether a deeply sensitive reader might not appreciate this stance more than a reader who, like me have walked the roadway of these realities & have little care for the clinical view they may offer a privileged reader who cares naught for the consequences of these experiences.
I have spoken ad nauseum about how tired I felt while reading this book. The cold approach it took to present a cast of characters who lived within the confines of the same community was unnecessary. There is a possibility that I am wrong & that Price saw something in this approach that I have not, having spent more time with the faces that remained in shadow than I have reading about them.
Regardless, the final product left much to be desired & though the writing was enticing & the stylistic choice of vernacular well-placed, the plot itself felt dense, while vapid of any gooey elixir.
Ultimately, the plot wraps up the storylines with enough detail to highlight that life goes on. The photographs, sexual encounters, the rambling & raving, the family business & youthful hope, the changing neighbourhood & tumultuous flow of life, weave a tapestry that is daunting & humble, leaving readers with no fond feelings of gladness for the continuation of life but rather, joy accompanied by the end of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, & Richard Price for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
When I requested this book, I had no concept of what I would find inside. This might be a silly thing to admit but, I did not regard the title as profound insight into the plot, nor did I seek to decipher the colour scheme of the cover art to mean more than what they were—a reflection of choice.
Inadvertently, I found myself reading this novel perturbed by its approach. While a more studied reader will have further criticism of the stylistic approach that the author has taken when presenting the narrative with characters whose lives are both specific & ambiguous; my review will focus primarily on the time count, the hours it took me to realize that this book wasn’t as long as I felt like it was.
In essence, this is a story about despair. The author introduces the reader to Anthony, a man whose past is riddled with drudgery. This first chapter promised a great saga with lore to confound the reader & I anticipated the story to play a rhythmic fiddle when enunciating the malaise that accompanied Anthony. However, this was not to be.
Price’s novel incorporates the perspectives & realities of a slew of different characters & though, at first, Anthony appears to be an ideal narrator—a character worthy of following, ever so despondent as he is—the story’s shift tumbles over the heads of those whose chapters were less riveting, one from the other.
It is not easy to incorporate so many perspectives into a single story. While the main driver of circumstance is the destruction of the apartment complex, each character reflects deeply about their feelings regarding events & people whom the reader never knows. These instances are beneficial in building the realism that Price offers the reader but, while perusing the chapters, it was difficult to engage fully with characters whose value to the story remained hidden.
Anthony reappears in the later portion of the book as the titular Lazarus man, having been found beneath the rubble of the building, it appears that he was there for days. Yet, in truth, the shock that Anthony experiences led him to wander back into the building in the hopes of finding purpose, a calling, or the door that would lead him to the end. There is a great deal of time that can be spent reflecting on the build-up of this revelation however, I feel great frustration now as I did then.
Though the story is well-written in the traditional sense, the story itself is of no interest to me. Rather, the plot was filled with individuals whose lives were riddled with anger & grief but, while reading about the slow progressing days of their lives, I was acutely aware that my days were passing me by.
More often than not, I found myself wanting to toss away the book & be done with it. I could not understand how such a story could feel like such a drag. Herein lies my main issue; this is not a story to be told in the traditional sense. The modern era of visual aids, such as documentaries films & series, remind readers that the slow progression of the redundant events in this plot, would have felt far mor engaging & interesting had they been coloured by film.
This is not a stance I am averse to adopting. Arguably, all stories need to be told a certain way for them to be appreciated as they should. In the case of these characters, one may find the hours slowly ticking by without any sensation of thrill that often results from reading a good book.
The telling—the transmission of this tale—felt stilted & dull. Not all stories need to feature speeding cars & lightning bolts but, at some point one must ask what the purpose is in rehashing the same sentient patter of the life that is lead by each character.
Each character is dealing with an infidelity; their faith has faltered, they are engaged in a sexual relationship with a less than desirable person, they are experiencing financial insecurity, & they have found themselves in the environment of the apartment collapse.
At face value, their experiences are altogether human & though perhaps less than intriguing, they are lives led by individuals & they contribute to the whole of existence. Rather, perhaps a reader who has more patience than I do will find the dreadfully slow-moving chapters that are the middle portion of this book, easier to consume.
My main qualm with this book was that it wasn’t for me. I have met readers in my life, happy to consume a book because it was a book & they needed nothing further than a story & so, they read it. Readers who may connect with this approach will appreciate this story.
In reality, nothing much happens throughout the entire book. The police officer is searching for a man whose wife died in the collapse—she finds him & he’s just a man grieving the loss of his loved one. Anthony lies & acts holier than thou, & is able to continue doing so because he’s not the first, nor will he be the last.
Yet, with each character one is left wondering what the point is. What is the story trying to say about life in New York City? What is the author’s goal when presenting readers with a slice of life rather uninspiring to those who may not be living life in the same way?
Is the reader meant to feel pity for the characters who miss their loved ones or for whom family is the collection of stray pebbles? Which part of the plot highlights the earnest truth about a life sheltered by grief? Is the narrator Anthony or Mary? Does it matter if Anthony is lying to gain praise or should a person be honest to a fault if they wish to speak on salvation?
What is perhaps most odd of all is that by the end of the story, the conclusion sets nothing to right. In some ways, the reader plays the omniscient being who watches the gastric incision take place from the amp theatre, safe from splatter. In this way, the reader is able to watch poverty, praise, sorrow, love, loss, disenfranchisement, gentrification, justice, & cheating, scramble through the lives of others without adopting any value to these experiences.
I wonder whether a deeply sensitive reader might not appreciate this stance more than a reader who, like me have walked the roadway of these realities & have little care for the clinical view they may offer a privileged reader who cares naught for the consequences of these experiences.
I have spoken ad nauseum about how tired I felt while reading this book. The cold approach it took to present a cast of characters who lived within the confines of the same community was unnecessary. There is a possibility that I am wrong & that Price saw something in this approach that I have not, having spent more time with the faces that remained in shadow than I have reading about them.
Regardless, the final product left much to be desired & though the writing was enticing & the stylistic choice of vernacular well-placed, the plot itself felt dense, while vapid of any gooey elixir.
Ultimately, the plot wraps up the storylines with enough detail to highlight that life goes on. The photographs, sexual encounters, the rambling & raving, the family business & youthful hope, the changing neighbourhood & tumultuous flow of life, weave a tapestry that is daunting & humble, leaving readers with no fond feelings of gladness for the continuation of life but rather, joy accompanied by the end of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, & Richard Price for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2024
The novel follows the lives of four diverse individuals in the aftermath of a building collapse in East Harlem in 2008. Anthony found alive in the rubble of the building. Felix a young man with a camera. Royal who runs a funeral parlour. Mary a veteran city detective.
This is a street-level story depicting the characters actions and reactions after a five-storey tenement collapses killing at least six people. With vibrant street scenes and fully fleshed out characters, Richard Price has once again taken us to a place where we needed to go, despite our apprehension and concern for our safety. In a sense, this is a story of community, personal growth and taking care of our own. I loved all of the characters, especially Anthony, Mary and Felix. I was rooting for them all the way! 5 out of 5 stars!
This is a street-level story depicting the characters actions and reactions after a five-storey tenement collapses killing at least six people. With vibrant street scenes and fully fleshed out characters, Richard Price has once again taken us to a place where we needed to go, despite our apprehension and concern for our safety. In a sense, this is a story of community, personal growth and taking care of our own. I loved all of the characters, especially Anthony, Mary and Felix. I was rooting for them all the way! 5 out of 5 stars!
April 25, 2024
Lazarus Man is Richard Price's tenth novel. Like his others, it is set in New York City. The novel follows the lives of several people impacted by the tragedy of a building collapse in East Harlem. Price's novels have a good sense of drama and scene (which makes sense as he also writes for television). In this novel, the scenes move so quickly it seems like the writing is better suited to television. And, like a good Seinfeld episode, most of the characters are utterly human and often unlikeable. And most are keeping secrets - some more than others. The reveal is a good, slow burn. I struggle with Price always centering his stories around black and brown folks though and it's distracting.
Thank you to NetGally and the publishers for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGally and the publishers for the ARC.
May 5, 2024
By far the gentlest and most soulful of Richard Price’s books, this is a quiet profile of four characters whose lives are upended by the collapse of an apartment building. It��s a book of small, intimate scenes, quiet conversations, good intentions, and full of forgiveness and grace. And the book is often so funny, but its humor is grounded in the sadness of everyday life. Not much happens in the book, yet it adds up to something so consequential. In many ways, this book has nothing to do with plot - it’s all about small revelatory moments that take their time revealing themselves.
Richard Price is so generous towards his characters, with such empathy, and this is such a sweet, beautiful novel.
Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the advance review copy.
Richard Price is so generous towards his characters, with such empathy, and this is such a sweet, beautiful novel.
Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the advance review copy.
July 18, 2024
As a big fan of author Richard Price's TV work, such as "The Night Of" and obviously on "The Wire," I was primed to click with "Lazarus Man" in it's similar exploration of how various people interconnected to one another deal with a shared aftermath.
The novel, similar to the aforementioned shows, has a slice of life quality that makes it interesting to drop in and check on what these people are up to. And there are some great turns of phrases, to boot ("the whole experience turning into a hallucinating block party" or "not knowing how to soothe their outraged hearts other than through petty gestures of annihilation.")
*Thanks to the publisher, the author and netgalley for an ARC of this book
The novel, similar to the aforementioned shows, has a slice of life quality that makes it interesting to drop in and check on what these people are up to. And there are some great turns of phrases, to boot ("the whole experience turning into a hallucinating block party" or "not knowing how to soothe their outraged hearts other than through petty gestures of annihilation.")
*Thanks to the publisher, the author and netgalley for an ARC of this book
May 6, 2024
Though 'Lazarus Man' shares many of the preoccupations of earlier Price novels (specifically the close cultural anthropology of New York neighborhoods, the creaky machinery of politics and law enforcement, and the glue of human relationships which hold it all together), it has a looser and jazzier feel. This may be because there is relatively little at stake in the freewheeling plot, with much more attention paid to the ups and downs of its characters' lives, and Price's continued honing of a voice that is both world-weary and refreshingly hopeful. A rich delight.
May 2, 2024
There's nobody better than Price at evoking the NYC that I knew back in the 80s, even tho this outing is set 20 years or so later. This time, the story felt a bit skimpy - more like a novella than a full blown novel. Read an advance copy, forthcoming Nov '24.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews