I love Anna Quindlen and when I saw her new book on Netgalley I scooped it up. Alternate Side is all about a dead end street in New York City and the families that live there. Specifically Nora and Charlie and their fraternal twins, Rachel and Oliver. I guess I was so excited to read this that I didn’t look at the summary when I requested it because I was shocked at the turning point on the block. Something bad happens and the ripples from that event change Nora, her home, her family, her job and her marriage. Basically everything. Through all of this though Nora and Quindlen are writing a love letter to New York City. After the event, and even before, Charlie wants to leave the city. Nora refuses. It is her city. She can’t fathom leaving and being herself somewhere else. This is what I loved most. I loved the characters and the story but because I love NYC so much I basically loved all the praise towards it. So beautifully written. However, I hate this cover. The whole location of the book revolves around Nora living on a dead end street in New York City. A lot of the plot surrounds this. And yet the cover, what I assume to be a street diagram, does not display a dead end street anywhere. It could be a road map to anything. I do not like it. One bit.

This was not my favorite title by Anna Quindlen but, no matter what, I always appreciate her style. She writes real characters. This is a story about a neighborhood in Manhattan that experiences an event that changes everything. Worth a read, but not amazing.

Nora and Charlie Nolan have been married almost 25 years. Their kids are Rachel and Oliver, twins who are away at their respective colleges. The Nolans own one of the brownstones on a dead end block in New York City. Where one of the buildings should be, there is a gap. Apparently, years ago one of the buildings had burned to the ground, but was never rebuilt. Instead, this space has been used as a parking lot for several of the buildings' inhabitants. There's only 6 available parking spaces, and to score one of them is no mean feat. As the book begins, Charlie is elated that he has finally been offered this exclusive perk.

Nora simply is a New Yorker down to her bones. She can't fathom not living in The City, and refuses to even consider it. Husband Charlie, however, is constantly trying to lure Nora into selling the brownstone and moving out of New York City. Even though their property would most likely sell for much more than they paid for it originally, Nora doesn't want to know. She loves everything about the city, warts and all...except for the rats. In fact, Nora walks a long way to work each morning, forgoing taxis or subway trains, enduring all kinds of weather. She also runs on a regular basis. Charlie works in finance but feels like he's been unjustly passed over for promotions. Nora works as the manager of a unique jewelry museum. They have a nanny/housekeeper named Charity who worked in their household since the twins were born. Everyone on the block "has money," although most of it is in their houses.

The stress of the parking issue in NYC is a major factor in this story. Scoring the parking space in the adjacent lot was supposed to be a thing of joy, but a pivotal event takes place there that has a negative rippling effect on the block's inhabitants.

I normally love books that take place in NYC, but this one just fell a bit flat for me. Perhaps I didn't feel a connection or liking to any particular character. The writing style was of good quality, so perhaps this story will reach others in a way that I couldn't appreciate.

I have read and enjoyed many Anna Quindlen books. I could not get through half of this one - mundane, tired, too many names.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. The first twelve percent of this novel drops so many names it’s dizzying. You learn the name of everyone in the neighborhood, including children and dogs. I was keeping notes so I could remember in case anything ever actually happened. MY GOD GET TO THE STORY.

There is a lot of funny commentary about marriage and the quirks of living in New York City. It turns out that, while eventually there is an inciting incident that pits neighbor against neighbor, really, the real story is about being a New Yorker, race and class, and what it means to be married over the long haul.

Nora and Charlie Nolan have been married for twenty-five years and have a pretty damn good life living in a dead-end cul de sac where everyone knows everyone. Told from Nora’s perspective, we get funny observations about what it means to be married to a man in his early fifties: “All the men seemed more attentive at dinner parties these days because they needed hearing aids and refused to get them.”

I loved Quindlen’s book Black and Blue, in part because that had instant tension and this fun thing that I like to call “plot.” She’s obviously a hugely gifted writer, and while eventually I liked this story, it took perseverance.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 20, 2018.

Anna Quindlen is one of those authors who I'll read whatever they write. I may not always love the book (like with Miller's Valley) but I do always love her writing style and ability to develop interesting characters and stories. Alternate Side is joining the list of my favorites of her books. Ms. Quindlen is the consummate story teller. In this new book, she draws us into the lives of the Nolan Family - parents/husband and wife Charlie and Nora and kids, Rachel and Oliver - and we learn about the good, the bad and the ugly of their lives as New Yorkers living a comfortable life in the city.
As with her other books, Ms. Quindlen does a wonderful job of capturing the diversity of where her novel is based. I loved the section early in the book where we meet the man who sits outside the museum where Nora works. He has a changing array of signs used for begging, yet throughout the book, we learn more about him and his life. Much of the novel revolves around her neighbors and many of them are people we can relate to and very possibly even lived next to some of them during our own lives. Along with the neighbors, you may find that you can also relate to the challenges facing the Nolans that face many people: raising children, getting older, employment difficulties, etc.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read Alternate Sides!

I've enjoyed Quindlen's novels before, and I happened to read this one while in its setting - the upper west side of Manhattan, where the residents of a dead end block have created a tight community in city that is changing around them. Its placid self-satisfaction is disturbed when a resident with a volatile temper attacks a well-liked immigrant handyman and beats him viciously. There's a lot to like about the novel - small things like having a parking place become enormously meaningful, the nostalgia for a rougher-at-the-edges city contrasted to the rocketing value of real estate, the way the protagonist discovers her image of the handyman is limited to the humble face he presents to his wealthy white clients, that he's created an identity that he sheds at home, the cultural job the protagonist has running a vanity museum displaying jewelry that becomes bizarrely popular. I think it's saying something interesting, but I never connected deeply to the characters and their situation. In some ways it seemed like a suburban John Updike-style situation in a city that was changing - but perhaps because the enclave at the heart of the novel was so much like a suburban 1970s place rather than an urban setting I never totally found the heart of the book. It could be me, of course.

I absolutely enjoyed Alternate Side, it was such an engaging story. Totally captured my attention from the get go and I was totally engrossed in the story. The story gives us a perfect picture of families living in upper class neighborhoods, which really isn’t much different than anyone else. They deal with the same issues like everyone else. This story is of Nora and Charlie Nolan and the neighbors that live in their neighborhood. It was an captivating read, Thank you to the the author, publisher & NetGallery for providing me with an Advance Copy of this book.

Anna Quindlen in Alternate Side presents a sliver of life on a dead end street in New York City. The residents appear to be close-knit but when we get to know them all is not what it seems to be. At first glance life is glorious there with residents sharing life events. Of course there is the street bully, a husband with anger issues, and troubled households. One major act of violence turns the residents at odds. After this there is more heart and more natural conflict. While I enjoyed the book it is not my favorite by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for providing me an ARC of this novel. For those seeking a fast-paced "can't wait to see what happens next" read, this is not your book. However, if you enjoy books that allow you to experience finely detailed characters evolving through their life experiences, you will find much here to love. Although many characters are not that likeable, I really enjoyed Nora's complexity and her relationship with her children. I thought the title "Alternate Sides" was perfect, as it explores public perception and private reality of many of the characters, but especially of Nora's life and of New York City (an important character in and of itself). . My only complaint would be the ending...not what happens (which was satisfying), but really the last couple of paragraphs that seemed very "Fitzgerald-y" (to paraphrase: the glittery illusion of NYC born from the labor of Dutch immigrants centuries before). I think I actually guffawed...it just didn't seem needed and felt so obviously "borrowed." All said, this is a worthwhile novel to spend some time with. I've enjoyed Anna Quindlen work for some time, and felt this one did not disappoint!

I loved this book. Anna Quindlen’s witty observations of life, especially marriage and her biting humor made this a story I could not put down. Some people are born to be smitten by New York City, others not so. As one of the former, I felt Quindlen captured the essence of The City and all there is to love (except, of course, for the rats!).

This was a long story about not so much. I did read it to the last word though and thought it end just right. It was about living in a neighborhood and all friends and freaks that live on the street. The parking lot of the story really was important to Charlie but not Nora. I was more interested in Homer. He seemed like the most normal one in the book and he’s a dog.

“You can have Manhattan
I know it's for the best
I'll gather up the avenues
And leave them on your doorstep
And I'll tip toe away
So you won't have to say
You heard me leave

“You can have Manhattan
The one we used to share
The one where we were laughing
And drunk on just being there
Hang on to the reverie
Could you do that for me
'Cause I'm just too sad to

“You can have Manhattan
'Cause I can't have you”
-- Manhattan – lyrics by Sara Bareilles

Typically, character-driven novels draw you in, your emotions attach easily to someone who is sympathetic, who views the world in a way which you can relate to, or agree with, or one you can understand even if you don’t share it. When the characters don’t pull much emotion out of us, it’s harder to feel attached to the story. That was somewhat true for me reading this story.

For me, in this story, the main character felt more as if it were really New York City, with Nora Nolan acting almost as the voice of the city. Bemoaning the changes, the rising costs, the doing away with the old and shoving in the new, trendy shops. Bemoaning a change in the vibe that is New York City. I loved seeing the city through her eyes, reading her thoughts on how it had been and what it has become, and though the changes have brought things that leave her nostalgic for the New York City that she came to know when she first moved there, it really isn’t as though she loves it any less, in her heart, it will always be the city as she first saw it, after she graduated from college. She was young, just beginning, with stars in her eyes and dreams for her life.

Nora and her husband Charlie live in a rare neighborhood on a dead end street with twins, Oliver and Rachel. It’s not the kind of neighborhood where just anyone can afford to live, but they aren’t wealthy, at least not the kind of wealthy that has their name on businesses downtown. There’s a sense of it being the kind of neighborhood where neighbors know each other by name, and talk frequently, a friendliness that is more surface level with the men, that carries a sense of arrogance – that my xyz is better than your xyz - but friendliness is more of an active part of their lives with the women.

There’s also part of this that focuses on the angst of a mother watching her children-who-are-no-longer-children go through milestones of life, where she recalls how she was at that age. Looking back.

There are a few lovely passages, and some perceptive observations about life, choices, marriage and love which are so quietly snuck into a thought here or there, or something someone said sometime so long ago … there’s a wistful touch of looking back at a life lived. Quiet little books, it seems, are what Quindlen does so well.


Pub Date: 20 Mar 2018


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group – Random House

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen.
Nora and Charlie fell in love and settled in Upper West Side Manhattan to live a long, happy life. They shared their experiences with their twins, Rachel and Oliver, and neighbors, who provided excitement and life long friendships, despite the tragedy that turned their worlds around. Nora is a strong female role model, who leaves us with hope for survival beyond life’s unexpected experiences......”she had woken up one morning and realized that she would survive, that her former life was like a dress she had loved but that no tailor could take in after all the weight she’d lost.” I enjoyed this book and will recommend it to my friends and book club.

I greatly enjoyed Alternate Side, the story of Nora and Charlie Nolan and the neighbors that live on their dead end block.

The story gives a good look inside people's lives and families, attempting to let us know that people living in a upper class neighborhood are really no different than anyone else. There are still the petty squabbles, the marital discord and the issues with people not cleaning up after their dogs.

This was a very good glimpse into others' lives and while I did wish for a better ending, I was captivated during the entire book.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an early copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.
Anna Quindlen delivers another powerful novel driven by characters who are complex. The story revolves around Nora Nolan and her life on a dead in street in NYC. The street is mostly inhabited by overly privileged couples who have been married for many years. They all use the same handyman, Ricky, who is the victim of an attack by one of the residents on the block. This brings the people on the block together while also driving them apart as they take sides on who was in the wrong.

At times I had a hard time relating to the upper class city dwellers. Nora is portrayed as wanting to give back, but at times is completely selfish and out of touch with the real world. Though she is hard to like I still was rooting for her. The story also made me think about classism and how we insulate ourselves into our own comfortable bubbles. How often do we really look at things from another perspective and understand another's plight? And when you have more than you need how do you share it with others in meaningful ways? Nora was often tone deaf in this area, by sending her children's hand me downs to her handyman's children. She saw it as helping the less fortunate, but when it's items they do not need it comes across as a way to just dump unwanted items onto someone else.

This book was slow at times, but thought provoking enough to give it four stars.

Charlie and Nora Nolan are a couple in their late 40's who have two children in college and live in a tight-knit affluent neighborhood in New York City. Charlie becomes increasingly disillusioned with his job at an investment firm and expresses an interest in moving out of the neighborhood and to perhaps somewhere warmer and on a golf course. Nora loves her job as curator at a jewelry museum and in being a New Yorker and can't see herself anywhere else. As Nora and Charlie grow apart, a violent incident in the neighborhood on which they hold differing views, pushes them further apart.

I found all the characters well-developed and the story held my interest. Have always enjoyed Anna Quindlen's writing and this novel, to me, is another winner.

Thank You Net Galley for the free ARC.

We know these characters: George, the wheeler dealer of the neighborhood; the couples living in the houses that have settled into "comfortable" and unexciting marriages. The children grown up and flown from the coop. The renters everybody looks down on. A violent incidence about a parking spot rocks the neighborhood out of complacency and divides them into camps. Love the author,but did not care for the characters.

I think I've read everything Anna Quindlen has written so I was excited to read her upcoming March release as well. Alternate Side, taken place in Manhattan's upper west side. The Nolan's, Charlie and Nora, have two children in college and live a comfortable life. Their particular block is on a dead end street, that has a coveted parking lot with a waiting list, their neighbors as well as the Nolan's have hired help (everyone seems to use the same handyman) and, most everyone seems to get along. One day when Nora returns home from her run with her coveted bagel in hand and is shocked to learn of an incident that has taken place that not only rocks their insular neighborhood but her own marriage as well.

I enjoyed reading this one but, it is a super, slow moving story. I thought it was an interesting look at relationships and how sometimes it's not until something major happens that one begins to stand up, take notice and sometimes take sides.

https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2018/02/2-weeks-in-review-232018.html

As a big Quindlen fan this is one of her better efforts. Great characters that capture the small town feel of one block's residents in Manhattan. The ebb and flow of a marriage and the family dynamics are so real you would think you have met many of the characters in real life. The plot moves along quickly and enjoyably. I highly recommend this book.