Tales of Two Cities: The Best and Worst of Times In Today's New York

by John Freeman (Editor), Garnette Cadogan (Contributor), Bill Cheng (Contributor)

Growing inequality is today a world-wide phenomenon. But it is at its most acute in the “world cities” where the rich choose to live (or invest their fortunes in real estate). Nowhere is this more evident than New York City, where the top 1% earns upwards of $500,000/year, while 22,000 children are homeless.

What does this chasm of wealth feel like to people who live and work in NYC? The stories in Tales of Two Cities mix fiction and reportage to convey the indignities and heartbreak, the callousness and solidarities, of living side-by-side with people who have a stupefyingly different income.

In these pages we read of the polarizing effect of a violent attack on the Q train as it crosses the Manhattan Bridge, of the subterranean lives of homeless people who must find a bed in the city’s underground tunnels, and of the rage felt by a millionaire at being stuck in a snowstorm. We hear of the stresses that burgeoning gentrification can bring to neighbors in a Brooklyn apartment block, and of the way destitution in India shapes the perception of poverty in New York for an immigrant from the sub-continent. We walk past the luxury pet spas and yoga studios that have opened next to cheap hair braiding salons and detox clinics in Hamilton Heights, witness the shenanigans of seriously alienated night shift paralegals, and find out what it’s like to be a housing defendant standing up for tenants whose landlords go to shocking lengths to raise rents.

Eschewing more direct sociological or economic analysis, the pieces here focus on the human dimension of penury and profligacy coexisting in the tightest of quarters. In his successful election campaign, Mayor Bill de Blasio referred often to the “tale of two cities” that is life in today’s New York. With writing that will move the reader, not just emotionally but perhaps, too, to action, this anthology gives life to the meaning of those words in the streets and buildings of the metropolis.

Genres: Nonfiction, New York, Short Stories, Essays, American, Anthologies, Sociology

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Freeman is an award-winning writer and book critic who has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. Freeman won the 2007 James Patterson Pageturner Award for his work as the president of the National Book Critics Circle, and was the editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He lives in New York City, where he teaches at NYU and edits a new literary biannual called Freeman's.

Reviews

[Kevin Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, John Freeman is an incredibly loathsome creep -- he and his family withheld an inheritance from his mentally ill brother and he never opened up his door to his brother when he wound up homeless in NYC. But rest assured, he has the good grace to "...often like his photographs on Facebook." Such brotherly love just warms the heart, doesn't it?

You can read about his hand-wringing over his homeless brother while he looked down at the homeless from the comfort of his posh duplex in Manhattan here. : https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

[Sub_zero · Rating 3 out of 5]

30 visiones tan lúcidas como esclarecedoras que desenmascaran el rostro más desfavorable de una ciudad delimitada por sus contradicciones y contrastes. Nueva York sigue siendo, a pesar de los oscuros testimonios que revelan lo contrario, ese destino idílico, casi utópico, en el que cientos de miles de personas depositan sus proyectos, metas y ambiciones personales. Es cierto que la parte paradisíaca, el lujo, la estimulante escena cultural y artística que nos venden en los folletos turísticos existe y no puede ser obviada, pero esta antología repleta de celebrities literarias (sorprendente, variada y rica en reflexiones que hacen hincapié en sus muchos desbarajustes económicos y sociales), arroja una luz muy oportuna sobre esos rincones malolientes e incómodos que también forman parte de la identidad neoyorquina. Para que luego, al menos, nadie se sienta estafado por sus resplandecientes brillos.

[Thomas Mackell · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book has some of the best short story writing i've ever read and also made me realize i probably can never live in nyc because it would tear me to shreds

[York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn. Este libro ha sido un hallazgo brutal y hermoso. Una colección de textos indispensables que tiran a patadas todos los mitos sobre Nueva York. Todo el discurso hipster buena onda sobre la gentrificación. Todo el glamour sobre una ciudad que está podrida en muchas aristas.

Es imposible enumerar mis pasajes favoritos. En realidad el 80% de las intervenciones me parecieron extraordinarias. Pero me quedo en el corazón con las aportaciones de Zadie Smith, la de Jonathan Safran Foer, y todas las voces femeninas que le dan un volumen necesario a las injusticias de esta ciudad.

Sí se topan este libro no deben dudar en comprarlo. Vale cada centavo.

[Raluca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago, I bought an apartment in Manhattan with an inheritance passed to me from my grandmother, who was the daughter of a former attorney for Standard Oil. She outlived three husbands and managed her money well, and in one fell swoop from beyond the grave hoisted me out of one social class and into another. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, my younger brother was living in a homeless shelter.

That's how Freeman starts his introduction to Tales of Two Cities. I am delighted to report that the collection of fiction and non-fiction pieces about New York more than lives up to its provocative, punch-in-the-stomach first phrase. There's a great blend of voices, characters and situations in there, and while not every single essay or novella is a masterpiece, you're guaranteed to find more than a few that resonate with you. They all work better together, but my personal favorites are below:
- "Miss Adele Amidst the Corsets", Zadie Smith - a painful scene of a transgender woman on the defence from prejudices real and imagined
- "Partially Vacated", DW Gibson - a lively, infuriating account of what landlords do to kick tenants out
- "Four More Years", Jonathan Dee - almost a fable on the self-righteousness felt by the rich:

Not only couldn't he instigate it, he couldn't even defend himself, couldn't pop this lowlife in the jaw no matter how legitimately threatened he might feel [...] Because he knew how that could all be made to look. Poor people lived for the opportunity to sue you. It was just one more way they tied your hands.

- "Aliens of Extraordinary Ability", Taiye Selasi - intertwining stories of need and resignation, told with great empathy and suspense
- "Quid Pro Quo, Just As Easy As That", Jeanne Thornton - almost a meta-essay on prejudice and discrimination, challenging the tendency towards simplifying discourse:

Here is a question for the class. Why am I writing this story and not my friend? Because I was luckier about my illegal money-saving apartment? [...] Is it important that I am white and my friend is black? Is it important to note that he is often kind of a jerk to interact with personally? Is it important to note that I'm a gay trans woman and he's a straight cis male? What facts are salient here and why?

- "The Sixth Borough", Jonathan Safran Foer - JSF at his best, 'nuff said
- "First Avenue and Second Street", Hannah Tinti - a meditation on the odd, incomplete closeness between neighbors
- "Home", Tim Freeman - the younger brother announced in the introduction describes being homeless, without self-pity or artifice
- "Traveling from Brooklyn", Lydia Davis - the contrast between high-minded dreams and petty reactions to everyday incidents.
Whew, what a list! Yours will be different.

[PopSugar Reading Challenge 2017 - "A book about an immigrant or refugee" - among others]

[Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a sucker for books set in NYC, when I saw this anthology reviewed in The Guardian, there wasn't too much of a 'hard sell' required for me to buy it, and it turned out to be a collection that I, for the most part, thoroughly enjoyed.


The collection includes both fiction and non fiction from writers I have previously read and enjoyed, like Colum McCann, Bill Cheng, Edmund White and Dinaw Megestu, other 'names' including Teju Cole, Jonathan Dee, Jonathan Safran Foer, Dave Eggers and Zadie Smith, and others I hadn't previously heard of, including one piece by a 15 year old girl from a NYC writing program. The fact that a portion of the proceeds of the book go to http://www.housingworks.org/ , from where I have bought second hand titles previously,  makes it all the more worthwhile.


Personal tales of getting ripped off, or of terrible landlords were particularly interesting and entertaining. Like in any collection, some pieces weren't as appealing to me, but all in all, the book was one that is up there with other NYC collections I have read in the past.

[Katy Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm finally finished with this book; it took me about 10 billion years but I'm not entirely sure that's the book's fault. I would absolutely recommend this book, especially to people who like short stories or want to start getting in to them. MOST of the stories are super interesting insights into the huge wealth gap in NYC and can really be translated to the issues facing any large cities in the US. I was especially interested in and impressed by the stories and essays that explored and discussed gentrification and housing. The mix of genres and topics is diverse and awesome-- there is a perfect blend of fiction and nonfiction, and most are super easy to get into. I got stuck on one story at the end and had a really tough time finishing. But out of like more than 30 stories, I would say there were only 3-4 I really didn't like or couldn't get into, and I think that's a pretty good ratio! Would recommend; very much enjoyed.

[Holly Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to see a book that addresses the homeless and the widening gap between the ultra-rich and the poor.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two cities referred to in the title are New York and eh New York. Because it is a divided city. Some people earn more money than others. I never would have guessed. And there are really only tales about the side with not so much money. You will find a lot about gentrification.

This is what you come up with when doing an anthology of stories about New York City these days? It is really depressing because most of the “tales” are totally forgettable. And a lot of them no tales at all at least not if you expect, like I did, fiction. A man tells you how he always wanted to live in New York, than went to New York, became one of the homeless, and than moved to Texas. Another tells you how he used to be forced by his mother to go to church, than stopped doing it and than started doing it again. No tale at all.

There is a piece by a 15-year-old girl, and it is quite impressive. There is even introduction to it by Dave Eggers. But if it would have been written by a 18-year-old it would be totally unremarkable.

I liked the reflections by David Byrne. But only because they were by Byrne.

There is almost nothing with any literary value. I really liked the story by Junot Diaz. But it is far from great. The tale by Safran Foer is an exception. He obviously had something interesting to say. But in this case I unfortunately did not understand it.

Disappointing.

5/10

[Jennifer Ridgway · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on Everyday eBook

The Many Faces of NYC: Tales of Two Cities by John Freeman

New York City: If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. The glam, the glitz, the money, the power. This is certainly not how the majority of New Yorkers live. There are multitudes barely scraping by -- living in homeless shelters or on the street, in apartments with sleazy landlords doing their best to get them out to make room for renters who will pay more money. As Mayor deBlasio has said, there are two New York Cities, although I would argue that two is simplifying too much. John Freeman might agree with me, as he has brought together thirty essays and short stories by some of today's leading literati in his anthology Tales of Two Cities: The Best and Worst of Times in Today's New York.

NYC's income inequality has been getting worse over the years. In Manhattan, the top five percent earn eighty-eight times (yes: eighty-eight times) more than the bottom twenty percent; with a poverty rate of twenty-one percent, it has the widest income gap in the country. However, we do not often hear about or from these citizens as they struggle to put food on the table and a roof over their children's heads. In fact, Freeman's brother lived in a homeless shelter while he was living in NYC; Freeman talks about this in his introduction to the collection, and his brother contributes an essay about it.

In addition to helping to expose some of these stories, there are also stories of everyday New Yorkers and everyday lives. For all the references that most of America sees of New York (galas at the Met, movie premieres, hipsters, artsy Bohemians), the majority of us are living regular lives. Meeting up with friends for drinks and dinner, commuting to jobs, raising families. There is no denying that the set-up of the city leads to differences in how we live. We literally live on top of and below our neighbors and get to work on crowded subways; we thus become acquainted with our neighbors in a way that many others don't. As Hannah Tinti describes in her essay, we can both know a lot and know nothing about the people we see daily. We also walk more, which can be both aggravating and eye-opening. Garnette Cadogan, who moved to the city as a casualty of Hurricane Katrina, describes how he learned about the city and its people through his walks.

Everyone has a story to tell. Freeman's collection sheds light on what could be argued is the real New York City.

[tartaruga fechada · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The care that often may mean the difference between a child who can speak and one who cannot is meted out not according to need, or even zip code, but according to which parents have the resources -- money, and perhaps just as important, time ..."

"The best it's possible to do, ethically, is to give to the limits of what we can without causing ourselves so much pain that we disintegrate. Those limits are always inadequate, but they're the only thing that matters, and fuck anyone forever who attempts to withhold even that bare minimum of human connection."

"Suddenly one of the passengers behind me spoke up. 'I'm sorry if this is offensive, but I don't understand that at all,' he said. 'I'd sooner wash dishes than not have a job.' And I sat there and I didn't say anything. But in my heart of hearts I wanted to. I wanted to tell him that not everyone has that choice, or is given choices. I wanted to tell him that not everyone was like him -- white, male, born into means and privilege -- and that there are those out there for whom the whole fucking world isn't pre-configured. I wanted to tell him. I wanted to wring his goddamn neck."

"Silence, a certain form of silence, is like a slow fire. If it is not stopped, it expands and scorches everything around it ...
But she migrated to the United States in 2005. That was around when the decapitations began -- in Mexico, this time. The Mexican government opened fire against the drug lords, the drug lords answered back with thousands of bodies, and heads, and noise -- so much noise. In the USA, a few years later, the massive deportations began. There have been more than two million deportations since 2008 -- and most have gone by in silence."

"The line is 'the quietude of resolve layered over fear.' Selzer is describing the instance before a surgeon cuts into the body of the person lying beneath his scalpel. But he could be describing the way that illegals cross the border, and the way they wake up every morning to face another day of work: the quietude of resolve layered over fear."

"Malcolm X shared with Zapata the idea that land was the basis of independence. In his 1963 speech, "Message to Grassroots," Malcolm X demanded land for a nation, an independent nation. Zapata, in 1911, had proclaimed the "Plan de Ayala," which demanded that land be seized from landowners and redistributed among Mexican peasants. It has always been about land; it always will be."

[Wahyu Novian · Rating 4 out of 5]

“New York is a tale of two cities—there is the Rich New York and the Poor New York—but it is the tale of the Rich New York that we most often see and hear about.” (page 215)

That quote from Tim Freeman’s story titled Home sums up this whole book. Indeed New York as the greatest city in the world is the common known image. Even TV shows or movies often show that New York also often broke people’s dream, but somehow it was portrayed in such a glorious way (and it’ll be alright in the end.) Reading this book introduced New York on a new light, from the eyes of the common people who actually live/lived there.

The most prominent issue on this book is gentrification. Without even knowing the literal meaning of the word, I understand the negative meaning of it. Reading more about it, it is a problem. And it is somehow happening in my city too without a lot of people realizing it, including me.

Such a nice anthology about New York

[Chik67 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il voto è complessivo, all'intera trilogia, di cui questo è forse il volume più debole, essendo costretto a riannodare tantissimi fili e anche, a volte, a dover spiegare per forza.
Un 'operazione complessivamente molto convincente nella creazione di mondi, un messaggio di fondo estremamente complesso in un libro che dovrebbe essere per bambini ma può certo essere per adulti, personaggi vividi e una bella facilità di lettura, una bella capacità di trascinarti dentro l'avventura.
Mi sono divertito spesso e annoiato quasi mai. Il che non è poco, considerato che ho una xxxxina di anni in più rispetto al lettore tipo di questo libro.
Quest'ultimo volume l'ho letto per anticipare la mia piccolina, che forte dei suoi dieci anni ha già letto i primi due volumi e ora sta affrontando questo. Volevo vedere se "era adatto". Non lo è. Non lo è nel senso che fa troppe domande, è troppo poco rassicurante nelle risposte, richiede molta maturità, a tratti spaventa, non nasconde le bassezze del mondo. La madre della protagonista è cattiva e a malapena riscattata nel finale, il padre è eroico ma lontano e assente. La morte dietro l'angolo è vera, non immaginaria, non ci sono consolatori rincongiungimenti in un altrove, ma addii dolorosi. Anche l'amore può essere stritolato dalla crudeltà del mondo. Dio è un vecchio stanco e un po' rincoglionito. Gli angeli son fragili ombre. I bambini sanno essere cattivi.
Non è adatto e lo leggerà. Penso che in alcuni passaggi soffrirà un po', penso che si porrà delle domande difficili. Non penso di doverle risparmiare questa sofferenza e questi interrogativi. Confido nel suo lato di bambina attenta, curiosa, riflessiva e determinata. Dovrà trovare le sue risposte. Mi limiterò a starle vicino chiedendo ogni tanto come va. Cresciamo facendo cose non adatte. Io posso solo tenderle la mano, fino a quando si sentirà ancora rassicurata dal fatto di poterla stringere.

[Chris Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

The anti-hero in this New York City telling is a bum.

Indeed, much to the chagrin of liberals, those that choose to live in the gutters and alleyways of our great cities are not "homeless." A homeless person is somebody displaced by fire, flood or some other natural disaster.

A bum is somebody that has consciously opted out of society for whatever reason. So we have for ourselves a wide array of adjectives to use when describing a bum: vagrant, hobo, beggar, derelict, guttersnipe, vagabond and so on. Now that we are on the same page, a true story:

A guttersnipe on the corner of 4th Street in the East Village in NYC was selling soiled magazines. He saw me and held up a copy of the New Yorker and said, "Hey Mac, just a dollar!" Now, these derelicts are like circus animals and love to perform. I replied to grungy by waving a ten-dollar bill and told him it was his if he tap danced on the "New Yorker". This he did, a cop came by and locked him up for disorderly conduct. I was entertained, saved ten bucks and laughed all the way home.

This is New York, Manhattan for short.

Chris Roberts

[Jim Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

(23) This book is a collection of pieces on the duality that exists in early twenty-first century New York. For those considering living their dream and moving to the myth that is New York, this is a must-read. Having spent parts of eight summers there, I suppose I have that same dream too.

So many great pieces on housing and the character of the city and those who live there. None more poignant than that written by John's brother Tim. "I did not fully understand New York before I moved there, but now I feel like I do. New York is a tale of two cities–there is the Rich New York and the Poor New York–but it is the tale of the Rich New York that we most often see and hear about."

"Small Fates" by Teju Cole is amazing–showing us once again the power of the concise in his "fait divers." "Swimming in the East River, Whitestone found a message in a bottle from the State Hospital on Ward's Island. It read: "Some of us are sane."

[Nim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was drawn to this because of Zadie Smith and Junot Diaz (obviously exactly what the marketing team intended), but was sorely disappointed by both. I expected a collection of short stories and essays set in New York that address some of the issues the city faces, and while there was some of that, this was mainly a hodgepodge of various writers' experiences in the city, many of which seemed a little irrelevant to what I think this collection was supposed to do. There are two or three stories that I really liked, but I skipped many because they were boring. The essays on gentrification and income inequality were important and eye-opening, though, and they shed some realistic light on my dreams of one day having an apartment in the city.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always heartwarming to see how a city brings people together - even a city as big and as diverse as NYC. The tales here are not only about the two cities, but about so many cities, so many experiences, so many things touching us, annoying us, leaving us baffled and so on. For an European, there are stories here that seem exotic - especially since one has only been in NY as a tourist. But the thing is, there is a bit of something that one can relate to, some bits and pieces of feelings and experiences you might have had.

I think this is a must-read for tourist, a way to better understand the greatest city in the world and a way to see that even in the Big Apple sometimes the lights go out.

[Philipp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Koan: When the underrepresented get represented in every essay and story in a book, do they get to keep the prefix under?
I hate to criticize a book by what is left out, but when the title says "Two Cities" - shouldn't the bugaboo of wealthy, gentrified New York be given a voice, too?
That said, it includes interesting and informative pieces, among some that are easily skim-able.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are several short stories from various authors centered around class, race, and gentrification issues in NYC. If you've lived in NYC for at least a year it's definitely worth a read. You won't gain much reading these without some context of living here. I've been a resident for 2+ years now, so almost all the stories resonated.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic and excellent collection of short stories, essays and pieces of reportage covering wealth disparity in New York City. As with all collections, some pieces are better than others but I can't say there was a single piece here that I felt was below average. Well worth picking up, especially for New Yorkers.

[Eleanor Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real mixed bag in terms of quality of stories and writing. A worthwhile read overall. It contains some gems and does a good job of exposing the paradox of the simultaneously very Rich and very Poor city of New York. Sadly, the disparities are even greater now than when this book was written.

[Varun · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this anthology, writers from all walks of life (but all with affiliations to New York), share stories about New York City's inequality. I especially enjoyed some of the fiction pieces and memoirs, but found a couple of the think pieces to bland and unoriginal.

[Stuart Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest collection of short stories and non-fiction essays I believe I've ever read. You'll feel as though you've lived in New York by the time you finish.

[Manolo González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Algo desigual en los relatos pero genera una idea de lo que debe ser vivir en Nueva York.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really took my time and savored this collection. Some of the stories were excellent and I can't wait to go to Book Riot next month with a deeper understanding of this city!

[VestaClare]

picked the wrong edition for the current reading shelf and can't get this incorrect edition off the list, an odd thing.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This broke my reading drought of a month. Some pieces were great and some weren't, but mostly enjoyed this.

[Deyan Ginev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slices of slices of life. Diverse and exploring, takes both the beaten and unbeaten paths to the NYC wilderness.

[Ayrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. One of the most eye-opening stories about New York that is quite different from all the glorious versions it usually broadcast in movies and media. I finished this maybe about a year ago. Tales of Two Cities is an essay anthology written by various writers. Some of the respectable authors with great creations like Junot Diaz and Zadie Smith. I have some favorites like the second story by Garnette Cadogan about the city as seen as his perspective as a "Walker: Practitioners of the City" simply because it's related to me, how I love to walk around the city and made me wish that my city and in fact, country were designed with a good pedestrian route quality. My other favorite is Near the Edge of Darkness by Colum Mccann about homeless people which made me actually sad. The one that truly lives in my memory is this story by Victor Lavalle, Seeking. I guess I'm going to re-read my favorite ones tonight.