Leaps of Faith

by Rachel Kranz

A comic look at contemporary New York follows Flip, a struggling actor; his boyfriend Warren, a psychic with a trust fund; and Flip's sister Rosie, a union organizer, who cope with the unique pressures of the trendy AllAmerican life. A first novel.

565 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2000

Reviews

[David Freeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about this novel is the marvelous way in which it fuses diverse social histories into a heartfelt and compelling narrative. Too often our cultural struggles are presented in a segmented way that obscures the values we all share. In giving equal space to the fight for civil, gender, labor and gay rights, Kranz highlights the commonality of modern city life in a way that is altogether winning. And the characters are impeccably drawn, through true-to-life dialogue that reveals the personal drives inspiring each one.

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This long, highly addictive, cast-of-characters novel of late-twentieth century New York is one of the first books I read after moving to the city. I checked it out from the 96th St. branch of the New York Public Library, and it was likely even among the first batch of books I ever checked out from there, along with other novels of New York like "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I can still remember that night, and exactly where I found it on the shelf. Sigh :)

I'd never heard of "Leaps of Faith" before, but it stands out on the shelf because it's enormous (over 400 pages long) and bright red, and I started to learn so much about my adopted city when I read it. I can still remember whole passages.