The Colossus of New York

'Pitch-perfect . . . Utterly authentic . . . The Colossus of New York is quite simply the most delicious thirteen bites of the Big Apple I've taken in ages' Washington Post

In a dazzlingly original work of non-fiction, the author of The Underground Railroad recreates the exuberance, the chaos, the promise and the heartbreak of New York. Here is a literary love song that will entrance anyone who has ever lived in, visited or dreamed of the greatest of American cities.

A masterful evocation of the city that never sleeps, The Colossus of New York captures the city's inner and outer landscapes in a series of vignettes, meditations, and personal memories. Colson Whitehead conveys with almost uncanny immediacy the feelings and thoughts of longtime residents and of newcomers who dream of making it their home; of those who have conquered its challenges; and of those who struggle against its cruelties.

Whitehead's style is as multilayered and multifarious as New York itself: there is a funny, knowing riff on what it feels like to arrive in New York for the first time; a lyrical meditation on how the city is transformed by an unexpected rain shower; and a wry look at the ferocious battle that is commuting.

The Colossus of New York is a remarkable portrait of life in the big city. Ambitious in scope, gemlike in its details, it is at once an unparalleled tribute to New York and the ideal introduction to one of the most exciting writers working today.