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A review by steller0707
The Colossus of New York: A City in 13 Parts by Colson Whitehead
3.0
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
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