The New Yorkers

by Cathleen Schine

Book Overview

Schines brilliantly funny new novel revolves around one city block in Manhattan. In her book, as in life, canine companions compel their masters to go outside of themselves, to take part in the community they live in, to make friends, and, sometimes, to fall in love.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374221839
• ISBN13: 9780374221836
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Great Read.

Great read, just sit back and enjoy the angst and silliness of people in this block in NYC.

Charming, well-written story

This was a sweet story, simply told, about a group of New Yorkers and how they interact and affect one another: Jody, a cheerful woman in her late 30s who should be played by Meg Ryan in the movie version; Jamie, a charming gay restaurateur; Everett, an aloof but well-meaning bachelor; Simon, a social worker whose heart is in Virginia; Polly, a young woman with an especially commanding voice; and George, Polly's feckless but lovable brother. The book follows these characters' emotional growth and relationships over the course of a year. I enjoyed this book immensely, despite its slow pace. And it didn't really matter, because it's the kind of novel you want to savor. I was sorry when it ended.

Witty Love Letter to the Dogs of New York and Their Owners

Every block of New York City has a story or two or three to tell. Cathleen Schine has selected an upper West Side street near Central Park and lets us move into the apartments of the dog lovers and dog haters who inhabit this not very pretty and terribly dirty piece of Manhattan. You don't have to have any particular feelings about dogs to love this story of New Yorkers who interact and co-exist in their neighborhood. Each has a story to tell and some are poignant, some are witty, but all are endearing in their own special way and will captivate the reader. Schine has enabled us to pull a chair up to a window and peek into these different lives and observe a year in which they play out their daily rituals. Jody, the self-proclaimed spinster, decides to get a cat and make her spinsterhood complete. Instead, she is charmed by an aging pit bull mix she christens Beatrice. Everett, an aging 50-something male still bitter over his divorce, has one great attribute---a smile that lights up an area and draws women to him. Polly, a demanding 20-something, is wallowing in the misery of a love affair gone wrong and not yet ready to move on from her former boyfriend's rejection. When she moves into the neighborhood, she finds a dog abandoned in the closet and names him Howdy. She then manipulates her brother to share expenses with her. Brother George is stumbling through life while viewing himself as a child prodigy still searching for his area of expertise. By the end of the year, you just know that things will work out well for George. Simon, the lonely and asocial social worker, lives the year solely for the joy that the month of November gives him. Can his life ever encompass more than one month of fox hunting in Virginia? Doris is a schoolteacher who hates dogs and the messes they are depositing on her street. She dedicates her life to ridding the neighborhood of canines and goes to battle with Jamie, the gay restaurant owner who welcomes dogs and their owners into his café. Schine gives us memorable characters and a story that excels with their personalities and foibles. There are people you will take to heart and people you will love to hate, but each is a magnificently drawn creation that contributes to this compelling read. Comforting and cozy, this is a feel-good love letter about New Yorkers and people everywhere who search for love in their humdrum, everyday existence.

A Great Read- Could not put it down!

What a charming summer read. I started the book and read it in one day laying on the couch. I was transported to New York City and the block on the upper west side where the charm of the connections pets make for people, comes alive. The novel is so sweet and each character is rich. I think it would be a great "new york " movie shot in the style of the old Tom Ewell/Marilyn Monroe movie "The Seven Year Itch". My book group is reading it too and I know everyone will love it.

I'd give it 10 stars if they'd let me

Simply put: I adored this book. It is funny, elegant, beautifully observed, lovingly rendered and utterly satisfying--a valentine to New York City. If you are a Laurie Colwin fan (especially if you hold HAPPY ALL THE TIME very dear) then you'll love THE NEW YORKERS. What a pleasure. I recommend it to everyone.

Laugh Out Loud Funny --- and Touching

This book is about people, about the Upper West Side in New York City, and about the effects of dogs on people. I am a person, I lived a dozen years on the Upper West Side, and dogs have profoundly affected me, so I feel comfortable in saying that the book is "truer" further along that list (i.e., truer about dogs on people, a bit off on people, somewhere in between on the Upper West Side). Yet, true or not, the stories in the book are heartwarming and, at times, very, very funny. Schine tells her stories by switching between the perspectives of her different characters, and sometimes reporting their stream-of-conciousness thoughts, which provides opportunities for humorous contradictions, foibles, and slice of life moments. If you're familiar with Armistead Maupin's "Tales of the City," this is sort of an east-coast, 21st century version. "Delightful" would be my single word description.