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    The Colossus of New York
    The Colossus of New York
    The Colossus of New York
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Colossus of New York

    Written by Colson Whitehead

    Narrated by Colson Whitehead

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In a dazzlingly original work of nonfiction, the award-winning novelist Colson Whitehead re-creates the exuberance, the chaos, the promise, and the heartbreak of New York. Here is a literary love song that will entrance anyone who has lived in-or spent time-in the greatest of American cities. A masterful evocation of the city that never sleeps, The Colossus of New York captures the city's inner and outer landscapes in a series of vignettes, meditations, and personal memories. Colson Whitehead conveys with almost uncanny immediacy the feelings and thoughts of longtime residents and of newcomers who dream of making it their home; of those who have conquered its challenges; and of those who struggle against its cruelties. Whitehead's style is as multilayered and multifarious as New York itself: Switching from third person, to first person, to second person, he weaves individual voices into a jazzy musical composition that perfectly reflects the way we experience the city. There is a funny, knowing riff on what it feels like to arrive in New York for the first time; a lyrical meditation on how the city is transformed by an unexpected rain shower; and a wry look at the ferocious battle that is commuting. The plaintive notes of the lonely and dispossessed resound in one passage, while another captures those magical moments when the city seems to be talking directly to you, inviting you to become one with its rhythms.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 4, 2008
    ISBN9781440796708
    The Colossus of New York
    Author

    Colson Whitehead

    Colson Whitehead was born in New York City in 1969 and graduated from Harvard College in 1991. He has written four novels, including the Pulitzer-Prize-nominated ‘John Henry Days.’ He has written for, amongst others, The New York Times, Salon and The Village Voice.

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    Reviews for The Colossus of New York

    4/5

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    • 2/5
      I listened to the audiobook read by the author, and it got old pretty fast. Whitehead is clever with words, of course, and there are some witty observations and one-liners here. It really isn't about New York, however, it's about the people who live there as Whitehead peeks into their heads to convey their thoughts. It rings true, but that doesn't make it particularly interesting. As a 1- or 2-page piece in a magazine published monthly, perhaps it wouldn't seem so droning and repetitious.
    • 3/5
      If you are from or have visited NYC for a length of time, the observations in these essays would certainly be familiar. Yet, the first essay, The City, might be universalized, and with slight modification, could even be my own. Name a sandy beach near you and you will recognize your days spent there in the Coney Island essay. But New York City is definitely unique and the essays pay homage to its particularities very well. Here are my favorites:

      The City, the first essay, serves as an introduction. It is so New York! And yet it could be my own city, where I have lived the longest.

      Rain in which the challenges of dealing with rain may be more urgent without a car in the big city; nevertheless they are universal.

      Broadway, Is metaphor for the city: hopes and disappointments; brilliance and decadence; beauty and squalor. And both exciting and boring.

      Times Square that iconic place. Is that an angel up there; or, is it a 40 foot can of soda? What time is it in Tokyo - oh, there it is. See the ticker tape of the world! Kitschy glitz capital of the world!

      Declarative sentences and sentence fragments make up the rhythm of this book of essays, which eventually got too much for me, like eating candy. Otherwise, it is 3.5/5
    • 5/5
      The Colossus of New York sort of did for me what I thought Teju Cole's Open City was going to do....take me on an insider's tour of the incomparable metropolis and make me feel like I am right there. It's short on specific landmarks, but long on the heart and soul of the city. It's a rapid transit ride, with vignettes of the people and places flashing by through the window; or maybe an extended jazz composition with riff after riff after riff just taking your breath away; or a cocktail party with really interesting people where you just can't decide which conversation to follow. I've only been an occasional visitor to NYC over the years, never a resident nor a hopeful immigrant with an address on a crumpling piece of paper clutched in my pocket, but still I recognize so much of essential Gotham in Whitehead's musings---the magic, the tragic, the grime and the beauty, the hopes and the failures, the excitement and the ennui; it's all part of the music, and not just in New York. This is the kind of book that makes me want to meet the author over drinks or dessert.
    • 5/5
      Achingly clever.
    • 4/5
      This is an amazing, literal interpretation of the scenes of NYC. The sections are like poetry thanks to the author's beautiful weaving of words. He tells the story of places and scenes in New York through the eyes of all kinds of people. Since I read some of this while in NYC, I could sense the reality of his words and how he elevates ordinary experiences into a harmony of the city. It is a song for the city that he obviously loves. A must read for anyone who loves NYC and even for those who don't. You will feel the heartbeat of the city in his lovely prose.
    • 4/5
      Many laughs of recognition; insight, though? I'm no more a New Yorker than I ever was.
    • 5/5
      Whitehead captures the overall ambiance of New York through his flowing writing style... I've read this over and over again, and it allows me to revisit the amazing city I moved away from.
    • 5/5
      I find the title essay falls squarely into that category of "things written by others that are so good I am consumed with envy and wish I'd written them myself." You may be less envious than I, but I feel sure you'll enjoy it just as much.