We’re spending the next few months on the Reading Addicts Roadtrip, proving that even if you can’t stretch to travelling the world, you can live and travel vicariously through books! We’ve been on a few travels now but today we’re taking a New York city break through literature as we explore The Big Apple in the books set there.
Throughout the years, and particularly the twentieth century, New York became a buzz place for authors and there are many iconic books set in and around the city. Here we have ten, allowing you to explore all the wonders of New York without leaving your armchair.
Do up your seatbelt, we’re off for a city break through time and through New York City!
The Beautiful and the Damned – F. Scott Fitzgerald
An obvious addition to this list would have been The Great Gatsby, but I’m going for the author’s previous release The Beautiful and the Damned. Set in 1920s New York and focusing on the New York café society during the Jazz Age. Think love, parties, hardship and a bright look at a New York City of the past.
The Beautiful and the Damned US
The Beautiful and the Damned UK
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
Focusing on early 20th century New York, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn looks at Brooklyn through the eyes of an impoverished but inspirational Irish/American adolescent girl. The book looks at poverty, education, love and the American Dream in such a beautiful way it demands its inclusion on any list of books set in New York.
Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
Like the UK, the US is somewhat a country founded on immigration and in Invisible Man we read about a African American man in post-war New York whose colour renders him invisible. The book won the 1953 National Book Award and is a fantastic look at New York history.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote
It’s quite possible you know the movie, but the book is worth a read too! Holly Golightly and the unnamed narrator live in the same brownstone apartments in Manhattan’s East Side and as Holly is a café society girl, this is a fascinating look at New York in times gone by.
Another Country – James Baldwin
Another Country is set in Greenwich Village in the late 1950s and is a fascinating look at interracial relationships, extra marital affairs, race and Nationalism in New York in the 1950s.
A Fairy Tale of New York – J. P Donleavy
A Fairy Tale of New York is a 1973 novel by American Irish author J. P. Donleavy and shows New York through the eyes of Irish American Cornelius Christian who returns to New York after studying in Ireland.
Billy Bathgate – E. L. Doctorow
You might not fancy popping into the Bronx on a real city break, but through literature you can explore the darkest parts of New York City in this award winning novel. Billy Behan is an impoverished 15-year-old living with his schizophrenic mother in the Bronx but he’s about to be utilised by the Mob.
American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis
New York was possibly the centre of the capitalist power trip we saw in the 1980s and Bret Easton Ellis sends that up in brilliant if gory style in American Psycho. This is not a novel for the faint hearted, but it’s an interesting look at the almost religious worship of labels, brands and ‘the look’ that the 80s is best known for, and it all takes place in NY!
Sex and the City – Candace Bushnell
The popular television series set this book’s place in history forever, and it’s a fascinating look at modern (ish) New York and the sexual revolution. A must for fans of New York, and a must for lovers of the television show too.
The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
The final novel on our list, and the one bringing us into 21st Century New York is The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and it looks at the modern threats and issues that New York City faces as a terrorist bomb goes off inside the Met Museum.
We hope you enjoyed our weekend city break to New York, the city that never sleeps. We’ll be back soon for another adventure through literature.
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A great list! Where else are we going?