The Colossus of New York: a City in Thirteen Parts.The Colossus Colossus - (A huge and ancient statue on the Greek island of Rhodes). 1. New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : A City in Thirteen Parts by Colson Whitehead Colson Whitehead (full name Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead) is a New York-based novelist. In 2002, he received a MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as the MacArthur "Genius" grant. Doubleday, October 2003 $19.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-385-50794-1 Considering the title of the book, there is an expectation of something grand and towering. But what you get with The Colossus of New York is a minimalist approach. Short takes on such well-known New York venues as Broadway, the Brooklyn Bridge, Coney Island, the Port Authority and Times Square. Those familiar with Whitehead's quirky style from his previous books, particularly John Henry Days (Doubleday, May 2001), will not be surprised by his penchant for summing up a moment or an image in a few words. Some of the things you've noticed--why there's no snow on the sidewalk grates, the gusts of wind in the canyons of tall buildings--Whitehead observes and gives new meaning. In his vernacular, his peculiar perspective, a subway is a "vehicular library." The Cyclone ride on Coney Island is a "loop of ribbon lifted by the breeze." Central Park is a place where "softballs shuttle, Frisbees wobble wobble /wob·ble/ (wob´'l) to move unsteadily or unsurely back and forth or from side to side. See under hypothesis. wob·ble n. 1. and epithets hurtle hur·tle v. hur·tled, hur·tling, hur·tles v.intr. To move with or as if with great speed and a rushing noise: an express train that hurtled past. v.tr. ." Rather than generalities on "Rain" and "Morning," which areas amusing as they are common, it might have enhanced his theme to include something on Harlem, the Bronx, of Bed-Stuy. And drivers in this city that he dearly loves would have certainly enjoyed brevities on traffic jams and alternate side of the street parking. --Reviewed by, Herb Boyd Herb Boyd is the editor of the anthology The Harlem Reader. |
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