Open City
Ranked #45 in New York City, Ranked #62 in New York — see more rankings.
Along the streets of Manhattan, a young Nigerian doctor doing his residency wanders aimlessly. The walks meet a need for Julius: they are a release from the tightly regulated mental environment of work, and they give him the opportunity to process his relationships, his recent breakup with his girlfriend, his present, his past.
But it is not only a physical landscape he covers; Julius crisscrosses social territory as well, encountering people from different cultures and classes who will provide insight on his journey—which takes him to Brussels, to the Nigeria of his youth, and... more
But it is not only a physical landscape he covers; Julius crisscrosses social territory as well, encountering people from different cultures and classes who will provide insight on his journey—which takes him to Brussels, to the Nigeria of his youth, and... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Open City from the world's leading experts.
Leo Hollis It’s a series of walks around New York, and is one of the most powerful books on living in a city that I’ve read in a long time. (Source)
Robert Eaglestone In the novel, migration is closely related to the theme of looking in the city, and of blindness. (Source)
Amy Waldman It’s about a solitary narrator who goes on walks through New York. 9/11 keeps resurfacing, indirectly and almost allusively, in really interesting ways. (Source)
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