It was a tinderbox situation in NYC. White cops shot two black men and there was going to be a large protest one night in late September. A white nationalist bro mob was forming to defend their honor. And all of this was happening on the Upper West Side across from Central Park, one of the best neighborhoods in the city.
Emily and Whit Longworth lived in the most exclusive cooperative in the area. Their apartment took up most of the top floor, and had all the bells and whistles that money could buy. Long ago beautiful Emily had made a deal with the devil to have the most comfortable life on earth. However, in exchange for wealth and exclusivity, she had to put up with her husband, a greedy arms dealer, while she was a closet liberal who did good works on the sly to atone for her lifestyle. She was fortunate that she had taken Justin as her lover, who was an art dealer who lived in their Dakota-like building. To complicate matters, Justin had dealings with her husband who bought a wildly expensive painting that might have a dicey provenance. Meanwhile, Chicky, the Hispanic doorman in their complex, has had a crush on Emily for years, and will do anything she asks, but his own insurmountable problems weigh him down. And all of the action will culminate tonight.
I have not read such a great novel that dealt with the class/race problems of a big city since Bonfire of the Vanities, and I predict that this one will be just as successful. After galloping through this book to see what surprises Pavone imagined for me, I had to read the ending twice to catch the whole nuance-and it was worth it! I think we have a winner.
Reviewed by Donna Ballard
May 20, 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment