Review: Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York

Going into Town: A Lover Letter to New York, by Roz Chast

I was browsing  through my local bookstore today when I picked up this illustrated book.

So I looked inside, and saw it was more a love letter to Manhattan. As a native of upper Manhattan, born and reared, I was OK with this, but wanted to see how much attention my neck of the woods received. When I say upper Manhattan, I mean upper Manhattan -- I grew up on 207th Street -- and that part of the borough is ignored so much it often is cut off on maps of the city.

I started perusing the book, chuckling over a number of drawings and observations. Then I got to this comment about the city's crowded streets, "The main drawback is getting stuck in a herd of out-of-towners, who, for some reason, always seem reluctant to cross against the light." I looked at the next page and saw this.

See that frustrated person shouting? That's me. Seriously. I am that guy. I may be older, with less hair, but otherwise, that's me.

So I bought the book.

Totally worth it.








This book is funny, mostly true, and a nice homage to the city and its people and places. The drawings are wonderful, often with little inside jokes or asides. If you're an out-of-towner, you might even learn something about the city and its people. If you're a native, you'll get a new appreciation for the greatest city in the world.

Even if my part of town was, once again, ignored.