Ghost Town: Tales Of Manhattan Then And Now

Writer and the City

by Patrick McGrath

A man is haunted by the memory of his mother with a rope round her neck. It is the American War of Independence, and having defied the British forces occupying New York she must pay for her revolutionary activities. But fifty years on her son harbours a festering guilt for his inadvertent part in her downfall. In thrusting nineteenth-century New York, a ruthless merchant's sensitive son is denied the love of his life through his father's prejudice against the immigrants flooding into the city - and madness and violence ensue. In the wake of 9/11, a Manhattan psychiatrist treats a favoured patient reeling from the destruction of the World Trade Center, but fails to detect the damage she herself has sustained.

In this trio of stunning tales from a master storyteller, Patrick McGrath excavates the layers of New York's turbulent history.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Gothic, New York, Literature, 21st Century

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Patrick McGrath was born in London and grew up near Broadmoor Hospital where his father was Medical Superintendent. He was educated at Stonyhurst College. He is a British novelist whose work has been categorized as gothic fiction. He is married to actress Maria Aitken and lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Steffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drei Geschichten, die zu unterschiedlichen Zeit in New York spielen. Die erste handelt vom amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg. Die „Geisterscheinung“ steht dabei gar nicht im Mittelpunkt. Mich erinnerte die Geschichte an Washington Irving, gerade hinsichtlich der Etablierung eines amerikanischen Bewusstseins und die ein oder andere Zeile auch an Edgar Allen Poe (der Erzähler hört manchmal ein Klopfen – oder bildet es sich ein – ein Motiv, das direkt an den „Raben“ oder das „Verräterische Herz“ erinnert). Zudem bot mir die Geschichte die schöne Gelegenheit, mal wieder in Ric Burns New York zu blättern und mich darin über diese Zeit zu informieren.

Die zweite Geschichte spielt Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts: Es gibt die etablierte reiche Familie, in die sich ein ehrgeiziger Mann mit deutschen Wurzeln einschleicht, während einer Frau mit jüngerem Migrationshintergrund (sie ist Irin) der Zugang zu dieser Familie verwehrt wird. Es geht um unglückliche Liebe, Künstlertum und Wahnsinn. Die Geschichte ist, wie auch die erste, aus Sicht eines Ich-Erzählers viele Jahrzehnte nach dem eigentlichen Geschehen geschrieben. Allerdings handelt es sich hier größtenteils um Erinnerungen anderer und Interpretationen, die zusammengetragen werden, während in der ersten Geschichte eigene Kindheitserlebnisse wiedergegeben werden. Es handelt sich hier um eine Art Gesellschaftspanorama, das ein wenig - auch durch die Erwähnung des Washington Squares - an Henry James denken lässt.

Die dritte Geschichte spielt in der Zeit um den 11. September 2001. Die Erzählperspektive ist noch komplexer: Die Ich-Erzählerin ist Therapeutin und sie gibt die Geschichte eines Patienten wieder; oder besser gesagt die Geschichte einer Dreiecksgeschichte, die die Geliebte des Patienten diesem erzählt und dieser wiederum erzählt sie seiner Therapeutin. Es wundert kaum, dass Traumatisierung in dieser Geschichte eine besondere Rolle spielt und dabei ist auch die Rolle der Therapeutin alles andere als eindeutig, mangelt es ihr doch an professioneller Distanz, denn sie sieht den Patienten als eine Art Sohn (und will gleichzeitig seinen Mutter-Sohn-Konflikt lösen).

Was hält diese Geschichten zusammen: Individuelle Schicksale, eng verknüpft mit den jeweiligen historischen Umständen. Klassische Gespenstergeschichten darf man nicht erwarten, auch wenn in jeder Geschichte Geister gesehen werden. In ihnen materialisieren sich vielmehr Schuld und Verlust, und im übertragenen Sinne ist es sicher der Geist der erzählten Geschichten, die Menschen späterer Generationen mit ihrer Geschichte (ihrer individuellen, ihre Familien- und ihrer nationalen Geschichte) verbinden.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third of the three novellas in this book, "Ground Zero," is a shattering gem. A Manhattan psychiatrist giving an obsessively narrow account of her treatment of one of her patients; the way she continues to focus on helping him with the same trivial problems in his life, both before and after the day the world trade center falls, is mysteriously riveting. Somehow McGrath captures, through the psychiatrist's refusal to confront the aftermath of 9/11, exactly the horror and strangeness of those first days and weeks and months in Manhattan. I'm not sure why this oblique storytelling works, where a more direct account might seem maudlin and trivial, but it does.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Patrick McGrath's writing but I did not enjoy this anthology of three longish stories. Maybe individually or as part of a different anthology they might have appealed more but the edition I read them in was part of series 'The Writer and the City' and for me these three tales did not say anything about New York, I actually felt that three disparate stories had put together to create a book that would fit into this series of books about cities by authors who have lived there but are not from there. Certainly this book is nothing like Edmund White's on Paris or David Leavitt on Florence. The stories by McGrath are good but the linkage is forced. I don't think it really says anything about the authors' relationship with New York.

I do not think an author in writing about a place has to be narrative or autobiographical - I just feel that whatever the quality of the stories, and they are good, this is not the book it sells itself as. So for me it is a disappointment, but an odd one because so well written!

[Jocelyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ghost Town: Tales of Manhattan Then and Now is a collection of three short stories written about different times in New York City's history. The first story is set during the American Revolution, the second story is before and after the American Civil War, and the third story set just days after 9/11.

First off, I want to say that these stories only feature NYC as a backdrop, so there's no real sense that you're even in Manhattan for the first two; the stories could literally be anywhere if you changed some of the place names and tweaked some events here and there. The third story is only relevant to Manhattan because 9/11 and the destruction of the Twin Towers play heavily into the narrative. So, all in all, the stories were disappointing on that front. Might as well have titled it Tales of Random Americans Then and Now, But Mostly Then and By "Then" I Mean Large Historical Events in American History.

Second, the characters were all boring and had boring stories to tell. Maybe it's McGrath's prose, maybe it's the content of the stories, but I just didn't care about any consequences to actions or about any character's life. The protagonists were all generally terrible at being narrators, especially the second story's narrator who seemed to jump all over the place and couldn't keep to a cohesive narrative.

Third, the stories (particularly the second one) are overly long and with no discernible message or theme. If there are messages, they aren't to be found without much digging. What's the point of a short story if there isn't a concrete message or theme?

Finally, the third and last story -- "Ground Zero" -- is probably supposed to have a terrible person as the narrator, I get that, but I don't want to read in first-person POV this protagonist's thoughts. I found "Ground Zero" to be offensive to women, East Asians and sex workers. It was genuinely unpleasant to read, and not because of the whole "dealing with 9/11" thing. Ugh.

No, thank you. Cannot recommend.

[Simay Yildiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

For English, please visit CommunityBookStop.
Bu yazının orijinali canlabirsene'de yayınlandı.

"Aslında hiçbir şehir bugün gördüğümüz şehir değildir."

Bu, her şehir için doğrudur muhakkak. Ancak New York gibi her dönem renkli, tuhaf, canlı; hiç uyumayan, üzerindeki insanların sürekli koşturduğu, kimsenin birbirini takmadığı ama ellerinde bira şişeleri olduğunda tüm yabancıların kankaya bağladığı şehirler kim bilir neler görmüş, geçirmişlerdir. İşte Patrick McGrath böyle bir yolculuğa çıkarıyor okuru-- 1700'lü yılların sonlarındaki New York'ta açıyoruz gözümüzü, sonra 19. yüzyıl New York'una geçiyor, son olarak da bir 11 Eylül öyküsüne giriş yapıyoruz.

McGrath'in New York'larına filmlerden, dizilerden aşinayız aslında. Ancak şimdiye kadar onun karakterlerinin hayatlarına konuk olma fırsatını yakalamadık; biz başkalarıyla meşgulken onların başına neler geldiğini göremedik. Her ne kadar üç farklı öykü üç farklı zamanda geçiyor olsa da Hayalet Şehir'i okuyunca New York'un neden her filmin, kitabın, hikayenin, şiirin kalbinde olduğunu anlıyor insan... Gidenler bilir, her şey birbirine girmiştir New York'ta; insanlar, kokular, renkler, eskiler ve yeniler, alçaklar ve yüksekler, kirliler temizler... Papatya koklarken alttan Çin tavuğu burnunuzu gıdıklayabilir. 10 dolarlık sosyete bagel'ı ile SoHo'da yürürken dişleri dökülmüş, elleri simsiyah bir evsiz kolunuzu çekiştirebilir. Bin dolarlık ayakkabılar giymiş olmanız metroda birinin üstlerine kusma ihtimalini ortadan kaldırmaz...

McGrath, Ian McEwan-vari anlatımıyla işte tüm bunları, şehrin titreşimini, nefes alıp verişini; o kendi haline bakarken içinde yaşayan insanların kendi dünyalarını nasıl yönlendirdiklerini gözler önüne seriyor.

Bu kitapla ne içilir: Long Island Iced Tea
Bu kitapla ne dinlenir: Barbra Streisand - New York State of Mind

[GD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patrick McGrath is usually one of my very favorite writers, but this fell a little flat I think. I know that he likes America, and New York in particular, but for some reason I think he's better when he's writing about the dreary awfulness of England. The weird, very subtle but very powerful air of the gothic he usually has behind all his stories is almost completely lacking here. This book is made of three novellas, each taking place in New York in different centuries. There is still the standard McGrath unreliable narrators, but this time it's only because everything is told at a few removes from the original narrator and none of the kind of clever devices he usually comes up with, like, the final first person narrator is fucking insane. I'm going to read some more of his later stuff here really soon, so I'm hoping that this was just a bad step and that he's still fully gothic and badass.

[ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost Town: Takes of Manhattan Then and Now by Patrick McGrath

Book 9/60 of 2023

An incredible read, and all in a day! ‘Ground Zero’ had the most profound impact on me, but I was amazed by how McGrath said so much by saying nothing at all. The depictions of urban destruction in ‘Ground Zero’ were haunting and somewhat cosmic in a sense. I think I’ll be writing an essay on this…

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick McGrath is simply one of my favourite modern authors – I save his books for a moment when I know I have time to really sit and relish them and savour his poetic language and the dark worlds he unfailingly creates. ‘Ghost Town’ was no exception.

It is actually three separate stories connected by location. First there is the story of a man haunted by the memory of his mother and her involvement in the revolutionary activities against the British during the American Civil War of Independence. Even though he recalls the events some 50 years on, they continue to challenge and haunt him.

Then there is the story of Julius – the son of a wealthy nineteenth century New York businessman. However, his father is brutal and is unable to overcome the death of his beloved wife or the fact that his son does not appear to have the drive or thrust that is required of a man to take over the Van Horn empire. Despite the protection of his three elder sisters, Julius still fails to live up to these expectations and when he falls in love with Annie Kelly, his life is doomed to disaster. The narrative of his love and terrible demise, (which even years on continue to haunt those members of the family who have survived), is shocking, emotive and incredibly dark. The third story propels us forward to New York of 2001 where a psychologist narrates the tale of her involvement with a client who is already scarred by an overbearing and possibly abusive mother in his youth. Thus when the terror attacks strike and he is propelled into the arms of the alluring and seemingly deadly Kim Lee, it is clear the consequences of this union could be equally disastrous as the central figures of the story reel in the aftermath of this horrific disaster.

I think one of the things I loved the most was the depiction of the changing world and history of New York. Living on the outskirts of London all my life, I think we British tend to think we have the monopoly on history. In comparison to the grand history of London that spans back 2000 years and which many claim to have been a second Troy, I think we tend to view even great cities such as New York as mere babies, barely formed fetuses that cannot fully comprehend the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into the creation of St Pauls, the struggles of the Great Fire or the horrors of the plague ridden stinking streets.

However, what these series of stories subtle reveal is the nascent history of New York, which itself has a past dating back to the early 1600s. Moreover, what McGrath also highlights is that New Yorkers too have suffered. Just as London, they have a history of pain that remains like a bleak cloud across the city, but also as a symbol of strength, endurance and an ability to overcome.

Thus, without recourse to the McEwanism of ‘look how intelligent I am; look how much I know’ or bombarding us with factual detail, McGrath subtly evokes the landscape and people of this era. There is one wonderful moment, for instance, when the central character returns to the city and walks around, but is left in a state of breathless wonderment when he reaches the familiar dock area to discover the behemoth Brooklyn Bridge that was not there twenty years before. McGrath also captures the lives of these characters in subtle ways – their class, way of life and emotional landscapes absolutely brilliantly. As always, he seems able to enter their minds and way of thinking so we enter completely into their mindset, share their deepening angst and believe even in their own fictitious inventions.

I think the reason why these stories make me think a little of McEwan is also in McGrath’s clever use of the three unreliable narrators, particularly in the final story, where the voice ultimately seems to eschew everything we have come to believe by the end. However, even in the first two narratives, the retrospective perspectives and sense of overwhelming guilt or the way in which the events are shrouded in deceit and mystery prevents a completely reliable picture of events emerging and it is this element of mystery and the way it forces the reader into the story in order to decipher McGrath’s subtle nuances of meaning that brings the stories to life.

Of course, we also have McGrath’s trade mark dark psychology here. The set of stories is called ‘Ghost Town’ despite the fact that the New York in all three eras is fully alive and peopled. However, what haunts his characters are their own dark histories and disturbed psychosis. As in novels such as ‘Asylum’ and ‘Dr Haggard’s Disease’ which are both utterly fantastic, we are drawn in to the dark world of McGrath’s protagonists and it is their unhinged mentality that makes his novels so bleak and Gothic in nature. Without recourse to grotesque depiction or sensationalism, McGrath creates tales that haunt the reader.

These are the kind of stories you return to again and again and lodge themselves in the deep recesses of your brain. They are intriguing, unique, enlightening, but most of all, incredibly and brilliantly sinister.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small one, not sure why it took so long to read. Think I dragged my feet a little.

Thing one: these aren't ghost stories. I thought they were kinda gonna be, but it's ok. Ghostly, though. They're foremost historical fiction (a pretty superb ingredient for ghost stories, but oh well), and very enthusiastic ones. Lots of street names, neighborhood. One I used to live in, so well-appreciated. From the earliest story: "Like my mother I am loath to flee the town at the first sign of trouble. It will kill me, of course, New York will kill me ... I will go down, as they say in the grog shops hereabouts, with my vessel! With my ship!"

First story: 3.5 stars. Should probably be 3, but this gets the sentimental round-up. Taking place in occupied NYC, 1777, in the old downtown: APPROVED. The details are swift and really great. A whole lot is packed in there and I like it a lot. The eventual story of his mother's secret work and martyrdom is ok if simplistic, and might even be appropriate for young readers, since the child's narration is really innocent. Though it isn't exactly gripping.

Still, my favorite creepy detail: the question remaining, how is it exactly that he has his mother's skull in his hands, all these years later? GOOD QUESTION, right? There is clearly something we don't know. Which is really good actually.

Second story: 4.5 stars. I am not quite sure what I enjoyed so much but I did. The story is again simple but so vivid. It's like a fable you don't know the ending to. It's set around 1860. This is the longest story, and still feels compact, well-built. I really enjoyed this a lot. "Somewhere in the recesses of his heart a mortal wound was weeping."

Third story: 2.5 stars. A weird one. The only contemporary piece. I liked the first half, and thought a clear-eyed psychiatrist was an interesting choice of perspective for a 9/11 story, and the story of her patient and his relationship with an escort affected by the attacks. And the 9/11 of it, really, is good, affecting and detailed, difficult. I was on board.

This narrative perspective gets thrown off, though, because she starts to drift. There is an early clue, the story's first line stating that her patient is "like a son", but following with no behavior from her surpassing the professional. Which is weird. And then her behavior does surpass the professional, and I thought, ah, well, no, that's not good. The character seems to change after her visit to the site -- "Until I went to Ground Zero, I had rejected the concept of evil" -- and she quickly turns her judgements on her patient. He's pathologically obsessed, his girlfriend is a sociopath. A Chinese one no less. She fixates on the woman's Americanness.

Which is all an interesting kink in the story, but I felt a bit dislodged. I no longer agreed with the narrator, so perhaps I was meant to agree with the prostitute. But these same events make her begin to drift into badness, too, and I wasn't sure what feeling the author was bringing across any more. I think the ending could have been more unsettling, more something, so I knew what to see.

A bit of a :-\ way to end the book, but really I liked it, and I'll be keeping it.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

three novellas covering the history of manhattan from the american revolution to 9/11

each one strikes hard, showing us a slice of history that has marked the city for good while simultaneously giving us characters who embody the spirit of new york as it was then

my favorite is the first, when an older man recounts his mother's death at the hands of the british when they discover she is a spy for the revolution

her defiance in the face of abusive power is inspiring and heartbreaking, and his conviction that cholera is coming for him as punishment for his role in her death is scary

we can never really trust the narrators of these tales, which are my favorite kind of narrators, the ones with secrets and agendas and perhaps slanted perspectives

especially the last one, a psychiatrist working with a man who is caught in the trauma of 9/11, and her determination to help him that starts to verge on the pathological

definitely worth going back and reading some of these old bestsellers because there are some true gems

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a magnificent book. Three stories that all take you back to the same corners of New York throughout the centuries. What a magnificent book. It's been too long since I've come across writing that both mesmerized and scared me. McGrath uses a language other writers seem to have long forgotten, or they've never known it—of telling a story with words that have gone out of use in everyday conversation, but that fit so beautifully into these pages. What a magnificent book. Reading Ghost Town improved my vocabulary profoundly, and the sadness lies in knowing that it will take an eternity to come across anything like it in another. His skilled use of the em dash fascinates me, his diligent use of the Oxford comma gives his writing sex appeal, and the art of his story telling is magical.

Absolute and definite recommendation on all levels. What a magnificent book.

[Zerrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitapta farklı zamanlarda geçen 3 farklı öykü bulunuyor. Bu öykülerin ortak özelliği yazarın New York’ta yaşayan insanları konu alması.

1. Öykü: Darağacının Kurulduğu Yıl

Bu öykü oldukça hüzünlü bir öykü aslında. Bağımsızlık Savaşı’nın ailelerin üzerindeki etkisini gözlerimizin önüne seriyor. İdam cezasına çarptırılmış bir annenin öyküsü oğlunun gözünden dile getiriliyor.

2. Öykü: Lucius

Bu öykü benim en sevdiğim öykü oldu. Olaylar, zengin bir ailenin ressam oğlunun, babasının onaylamadığı bir kıza aşık olmasıyla başlıyor. Her şey tahmininizin dışında gelişiyor ve şok olacağınız bir son sizi bekliyor.

3. Öykü: Yıkıntı Alanı

Yıkıntı Alanı bir 11 eylül öyküsü. Dan adındaki avukat adam bir telekıza aşık oluyor ve hayatının her bir saniyesini psikiyatrına anlatıyor. Oldukça güzel bir hikaye.

[Rudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro que nos presenta 3 cuentos, uno diverso del otro y aquello que los une es el carácter misterioso y lúgubre de su respectivo del personaje principal.
Los cuentos son L’anno della forca, Julius y Groumd Zero; siendo mi favorito el segundo.
En ciertos puntos claves de cada historia se llega a sentir que el escritor está alargando los hechos sin sentido pero el cómo se va desenvolviendo la historia hace que este detalle pase desapercibido.

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Patrick McGrath's Asylum in school 25 years ago and really liked it, so I was happy to find this short story/novella collection at my local thrift store. The three stories in this collection are very different from each other but have a common theme - people haunted, in some form, by a ghost. They are not actually ghost stories, though they have a gothic feel to them. I enjoyed reading them, but, as I often find with shorter works, lacked a depth that left me a bit detached from the protagonists.

[Abigail Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible! I saw a review in which someone called it a triptych of novellas but I found that it’s more of a palimpsest. Three remarkably haunting stories layered over the history of Manhattan from the civil war to 9/11. Each story has shadows of themes and a mirroring of lives from the previous story just barely visible under the surface. It’s stunning.

[Rhiannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if it's just the mood I'm in at the moment, but this book did nothing for me. I really struggled to get through it and by the end I was simply skimming. I couldn't engage with any of the three stories or any of the characters. Just nothing.

[Simon J Alvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange collection of novellas set during different periods of New York's history and although there were moments of very fine writing that shines through, but generally I didn't find any of the stories that the author told in any way engaging, which was a shame

[Denise Goodkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Three short stories which take place in New York in various eras. None were compelling for me.

[Nicola Usai · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 brevi storie in stile McGrath.

[Serena.. Sery-ously? · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se posso consigliarvi, non iniziate a leggere McGrath da questo libro; è bello, per carità.. Ma sono tre racconti e nonostante la sua bravura, l'autore non riesce ad esprimersi al meglio.. Questo libro può essere gustato e apprezzato dopo aver letto i suoi romanzi, "Follia" e "Grottesco " prima di tutti.
Detto ciò, torniamo a noi! :D
Protagonista indiscussa di due dei tre racconti è senza ombra di dubbio New York, da cui poi anche il titolo della raccolta. E' una New York presa in esame a diversi stadi della sua evoluzione: In "L'anno della forca" ci troviamo alla fine del '700, quando la città è poco più di un agglomerato di case e sotto assedio inglese che non riesce ad accettare e tollerare la dichiarazione di indipendenza; in "Julius" l'azione si sposta nella fine del XIX secolo e in "Ground zero", siamo ovviamente nella New York post attacco alle torri gemelle, nel settembre/ottobre 2001. LA presenza della città -quasi fosse un ente fisico- si percepisce vivamente in "L'anno della forca" e "ground zero" ed entrambe le volte è una città che ha perso sé stessa, vittima della violenza e incapace di difendersi. In Julius, il racconto più lungo, la città passa paradossalmente in secondo piano, lasciando la scena a temi molto cari a McGrath: la follia, la malattia (del corpo e della mente), le cure psichiatriche. C'è una frase in questo racconto, che mi sembra perfetta per descrive McGrath e la sua linea di pensiero e azione:

Uno strano gruppo familiare - addirittura comico, benché in modo morboso - in una stanza dominata da un fantasma, qualora si pensi a un fantasma come a uno spirito umano racchiuso e conservato in un quadro. A capotavola, un signorotto sifilitico con accanto un pittore orbo e con un uomo appena uscito da un manicomio [perché responsabile dell'occhio orbo, ndt].

Ecco.. Per me questa è la quintessenza dell'autore.. C'è tanto altro in lui, indubbiamente: ma se mi dovessero chiedere di spiegare McGrath, probabilmente userei queste poche righe.
In ordine di preferenza, questo racconto è il mio preferito. Ho ritrovato scintille che avevano già caratterizzato "Follia" e "Grottesco", quindi mi sono sentita in acque sicure.. Il primo racconto è un po' sciapo: non brutto, no.. Inutile, direi! Lo leggi, lo apprezzi e poi lo inserisci nel cestino per far posto ad altre cose più memorabili. Anche qui si presagisce il tema della malattia e della pazzia, ma non sono sviluppati a sufficienza, secondo me!
Poi c'è "Ground zero", e devo ammettere che l'ho apprezzato molto! Innanzitutto, c'è la New York quotidiana dopo l'11 settembre.. Mi ha fatto uno strano effetto.. Sono andata a Ground zero, dove hanno fatto una cosa (in puro stile americano) di una bellezza e tristezza rara, ma non mi ero mai soffermata più di tanto sul 'E i newyorchesi cosa dicono? Cosa provano? Cosa è stato aggirarsi per un quartiere fantasma?'. Quando è successo avevo 11 anni e non avevo capito la gravità della cosa.. e' stato emozionante (non in senso 'Che figata!!', nel senso di aver provato una forte commozione) rivivere la cosa seguendo i protagonisti newyorchesi, ecco!
Qui invece la morbosità di McGrath fuoriesce in tutto il suo splendore.. Seriamente, che angoscia! Solo lui sa scrivere in questo modo, c'è poco da fare! ç_ç
E poi la narratrice.. Non voglio farvi spoiler quindi.. SPOILER!!!
AMO i narratori NON obiettivi e assolutamente fuorvianti!!
FINE SPOILER!!


Consigliato, ma solo se avete dimestichezza con McGrath, amate i racconti e non avete problemi con personaggi sciroccati, folli e morbosi! :DD

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘All my life I have lived in New York.’

Three short stories in this book: different time periods, different events. Each story has its own ‘ghosts’, all are set in New York.

In ‘The Year of the Gibbet’, a man is haunted by the memory of his mother standing under a gibbet with a rope around her neck. It is the American War of Independence and, as she has defied the British forces occupying New York, she must pay. Fifty years later, and about to die himself, her son still feels guilty for his inadvertent part in her discovery and downfall.

The next story, ‘Julius’ is set in the bustling New York of the 19th century. A ruthless merchant’s sensitive son is denied the love of his life because of his father’s prejudice against more recent immigrants who are flooding into the city. This results in a legacy of regret, madness and violence.

The final story, ‘Ground Zero’ is set in New York in September 2001. A Manhattan psychiatrist tries to treat a client after the destruction of the World Trade Centre. Unfortunately, in her focus on him and the damage he has endured, she fails to realise the damage that she has also incurred.

While these stories are not directly related to each other, they complement each other. The individuals depicted, and the events they take part in, each represent a particular stage in New York’s history.

This is my first introduction to the writing of Patrick McGrath. It won’t be the last.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[JJ Aitken · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fell off the shelf as I was heading home one night. Of course I was actually between books so I took it home to have a look. I had never previously read anything by this author so decided to give it go. This is great modern gothic fiction by a writer who is really worth following. Anyone who likes the work of David Cronenberg would like to know that this is the author of (Spider) that was then turned into the film of the same name by Cronenberg in (2002). Three wonderfully told tales based in New York and stretching over three centuries. What a truly amazing city for inspiring brilliant stories.

[La Stamberga dei Lettori]

Quando parliamo della New York post-11 settembre non si può fare a meno di imbattersi in mostri sacri della modernità letteraria, uno per tutti De Lillo. Poi però, accanto al non-plus-ultra che fa tanto moda & chic citare sempre, troviamo approcci più classici, meno "spettacolari"; quasi come osservare lo stesso mondo, che l'industria culturale si affretta a celebrare in primis sul mercato, da una nicchia appartata e con sguardo impacciato, quasi timido...

http://ghettodeilettori.blogspot.com/...

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trio of stories - the first one, alas, is slight and bogged down by a surfeit of historical details that diffuse its focus. The second tale is solid, even if it does revisit familiar territory and doesn't quite resonate as intended - it's close but ultimately refuses to take off. The third is where the book truly comes alive - the narrative voice is masterful, McGrath close to the peak of his powers.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of three short stories took a really innovative approach to 9/11: it began in the early 1800s with the loss of a mother in colonial America (terror of the British), moved through the late 1800s/early 1900s with the loss of a lover (terror of new money in America), and ended up at Ground Zero with all of its terrors. It was really a really interesting approach to the topic of terror in New York.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm excited to have found Patrick McGrath. He's a brilliant story teller. All three of these novellas are packed with suspense, character, emotion, action and a dash of the horrofic all executed with dextrous economy. I loved all three but the last one "Ground Zero" still has me shuffling its pieces around in my head. I was anticipating the book to be ghost stories. Instead it's a book about being haunted. Much more effective. Can't wait to read more of his work!

[Marcia Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents three distinct stories, each set in a different time period in the life of New York City. While the stories held my interest, I was not swept away. The writing is spare and fairly straightforward in describing three situations fraught with danger, distress, unhappiness, obsession, love, loss, and ghosts. While they are not specifically ghost stories, they do hint at the unresolved emotional issues that can indeed linger to haunt people throughout their lives.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a surprising treat. Just saw it, oddly enough, in a cool book store in Berkeley and was intrigued. Three novellas set in new york, dealing with loss and tragedy-the ghosts we carry from events, relationships etc.. The three stories bring to life a NY during the american revolution, the city during the mid-1800s and NYC on/after Sept.11th. A quick but fulfilling read.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are three stories in this book, but I only read the first one. It was due back at the library and I didn't feel the first story was good enough to merit me renewing it to read the other two. It was set in revolutionary Manhattan, which sounds interesting, but not enough history was put in there for me to feel the author really knew what the area was like at the time.

[Kasandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always liked McGrath's writing, but these stories didn't move me as much as many of his past works. I really enjoyed the first story in this trilogy, but the 2nd was kind of average, and the 3rd was just annoying. Not the best introduction to his writing, probably this is a book that will appeal mostly to his big fans and those New Yorkers who enjoy reading about their fictionalized city.