"Classic account of life in 1920s NYC told through the interwoven lives of handfuls of ordinary people. It flicks from scene to scene, more like a film than a book."
"A short novel written in the 1950s watching the main character come apart as his luck and his family desert him. Powerful work from one of the greatest writers."
"Dealing with class/racial issues in 80s NYC the story charts the downfall of a more likeable version of Gordon Gecko. One of my favourite books, but avoid the dreadful Tom Hanks film version"
"Told in the first person, this is an often amusing account of the pleasure and pain of enjoying being young and consuming too much in NYC in the early 1980s."
"Three stories set in the past, present and future with some common threads (such as Walt Whitman) running through the plots and characters of each. From the author of The Hours."
"Set around a school on the Upper West Side. It tells four stories through four seasons. There's a different character at the centre of each, with the others not far away."
"An amusing tale about the comings and goings of different ethnic groups in the Lower East Side in the 1980s through some strong and interesting characters"
"Tells the story of three friends and their families in the run up to 9/11, dealt with in an interesting way. Great writing to have so many really strong characters but to make us like them all."
"Not strictly about New York but this is a great story about a Sportswriter, Frank Bascombe, who works there. His life unravels over one Easter weekend but he comes out stronger on the other side."
