City on Fire (Hallberg novel)
City on Fire is a 2015 novel by Garth Risk Hallberg, published by Alfred A. Knopf.[1][2][3] The novel takes place in New York City in the 1970s. It is Hallberg's first published novel.[1] Hallberg received an advance of $2 million for the novel, likely the most ever for a debut novel.[2]
| Author | Garth Risk Hallberg |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 2015 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 927 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-35377-9 |
Summary
City on Fire follows the investigation of a Central Park shooting that took place on New Year's Eve during the 1970s.[4]
This book was a New York Times Notable Book and named one of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Vogue,[5] San Francisco Chronicle, and The Wall Street Journal.[4]
Reception
City on Fire received a mixed reception from critics. The novel received praise from Megan O'Grady in Vogue, who called it "the kind of exuberant, Zeitgeisty New York novel, like The Bonfire of the Vanities or The Goldfinch, that you’ll either love, hate, or pretend to have read."[5] Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times described it as "an amazing virtual reality machine," and credited Halberg with an "instinctive gift for spinning suspense not just out of dovetailing plotlines and odd Dickensian coincidences but also from secrets buried in his characters’ pasts."[6]
On the other hand, Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post called it "overhyped" and, more incendiously, "a steaming pile of literary dung."[7] Vincentelli points out that more than a month after publication, the market had not taken to the book despite praise from other publications:
The book-buying public isn't so easily swindled: "City on Fire" lingers at No. 825 on the Amazon sales charts. It can’t even make it up the literary-fiction list, where it's marooned at No. 134.
At The Guardian, Sandra Newman echoed the sentiment of overhype, calling it "a debut of remarkable promise, rather than as the masterpiece that fulfills that promise."[8]
References
- Kakutani, Michiko (5 October 2015). "Review: 'City on Fire,' Garth Risk Hallberg's Novel of New York in the Bad Old Days". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- Doherty, Brian (5 October 2015). "The Unprecedented Garth Risk Hallberg". Vulture. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- Menand, Louis (12 October 2015). "Review of "City on Fire"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- "City on Fire". Knopf Doubleday. Alfred A. Knopf. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- O'Grady, Megan (25 September 2015). "Literary Sensation Garth Risk Hallberg on Writing the Most Anticipated Novel of the Year". Vogue. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- Kakutani, Michiko (October 5, 2015). "Review: 'City on Fire,' Garth Risk Hallberg's Novel of New York in the Bad Old Days (Published 2015)" – via NYTimes.com.
- Vincentelli, Elisabeth. "LIVING Overhyped novel 'City on Fire' is a steaming pile of literary dung". New York Post. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- Newman, Sandra (22 October 2015). "City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg review – a promising debut, but no masterpiece". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2016.