The Invisible City: A New York Sketchbook

by Pete Hamil

Hamill goes beyond the glamour of Manhattan to portray some of the typical New Yorkers--a dancer at the Copa, an aging actress, a stickball player--who form the backbone of the city's diverse life

Genres: Nonfiction

156 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Leslie Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on the recommendation of a friend. Now I'm quickly adding all of his Non-fiction to my reading lists. I loved the disjointed feeling of the different stories, but also the sameness. (If that makes any sense) A couple of times I found myself dreading turning the page because I knew the story was ending and I wanted more. It as written in a different decade, but I could imagine the same stories happening now. Yep, this is a good one.

[Terumi T · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a classic novel about days in New York, which means it’s so nostalgic even for me who’s never been there.

[Trav S.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://travsd.wordpress.com/2020/08/...

[Yael11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are 8 million stories in the naked city...this book contains about 34 of them.
Not really short stories, some are little more than scenes capturing a moment, none were more than a few pages long- literary sketches as the title conveys.
The common thread among these poignant tales of people who are not otherwise exceptional is New York City, all the characters are New Yorkers, and they are as varied a lot as you would expect to find in the city. Wealthy businessmen, bar flies, servicemen, factory workers, hoodlums, mothers, fathers, children, chorus girls, divorcees, and lovers are among the cast of these vignettes about mostly ordinary people.