Synopses & Reviews
“The couples in this book hail from across America and the world. Most don’t live in New York City. Some never did. What mattered to me was that they met there, in one of its iconic public places. Each of the nine stories begins just before that chance meeting—when they are strangers, oblivious to how, in moments, their lives will irrevocably change.”
—from the Introduction
The handsome Texas sailor who offers dinner to a runaway in Central Park. The Midwestern college girl who stops a cop in Times Square for restaurant advice. The Brooklyn man on a midnight subway who helps a weary tourist find her way to Chinatown. The Columbia University graduate student who encounters an unexpected object of beauty at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A public place in the world’s greatest city. A chance meeting of strangers. A marriage. Heart of the City tells the remarkable true stories of nine ordinary couples—from the 1940s to the present—whose matchmaker was the City of New York.
Intrigued by the romance of his own parents, who met in Washington Square Park, award-winning author Ariel Sabar set off on a far-ranging search for other couples who married after first meeting in one of New York City’s iconic public spaces. Sabar conjures their big-city love stories in novel-like detail, drawing us into the hearts of strangers just as their lives are about to change forever.
In setting the stage for these surprising, funny, and moving tales, Sabar, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, takes us on a fascinating tour of the psychological research into the importance of place in how—and whether—people meet and fall in love.
Heart of the City is a paean to the physical city as matchmaker, a tribute to the power of chance, and an eloquent reminder of why we must care about the design of urban spaces.
Synopsis
The lost Filipino tourist who boards a lonely A-Train at midnight and asks a fellow passengera Brooklyn Web editorthe way to Chinatown. The dirt-poor sailor from Texas who buys dinner for a homeless woman in Central Park. The small-town Minnesota college girl who asks an NYPD street cop for restaurant advice. The divorcée whose search for her roots finds her on a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, seated beside a much younger man, who uncannily resembles her father.
Two strangers in Manhattan. A chance encounter in public. And, eventually, a marriage.
Heart of the City is Sabars re-creation of nine unlikely love storiesfrom the 1940s to the presentthat will alter the way we look at New Yorks best-known public spaces.
Inspired by his own parents Manhattan love story (featured in My Fathers Paradise) and the result of a dogged, far-reaching search for ordinary couples with extraordinary stories, Heart of the City is a paean to the physical city as matchmaker.
Synopsis
From the NBCC Awardwinning author of My Fathers Paradise: a book of true stories about ordinary people brought together by the strange romantic workings of New Yorks landscape
Synopsis
From the NBCC Award-winning author of My Fathers Paradise, a sparkling love letter to the city”--BookPage
Synopsis
Intrigued by the romance of his own parents, who met in Washington Square Park, Ariel Sabar set off on a far-reaching search for other couples who married after first meeting in one of New York Citys iconic public spaces. Sabar conjures their big-city love stories in novel like detail, drawing us into the hearts of strangers just as their lives are about to change forever.
About the Author
Kirkus Reviews
“Love stories and urban studies merge in these… cozy, seductive narratives.”Elle, February 2011“If you’ve ever felt romantic upon seeing the Chrysler Building at dusk or excited instead of skeeved out by the rush of humanity in Times Square, you’re not alone; environmental psychologists do too. As does journalist Ariel Sabar in Heart of the City. He not only reports on the science of attraction in man-made environments…but also, more compellingly, offers true stories as evidence that the answers are yes and yes…All these tales have a similarly happy ending…but if this book’s clever packaging makes its joy seem somewhat mechanical, well, joy is worth having no matter how or where it’s found.”
Town & Country, February 2011
“Ask anyone from Woody Allen to Carrie Bradsaw: there’s no love story quite like a New York love story. In Heart of the City Ariel Sabar tells nine true—and very moving—stories of people who met in the Big Apple.” BookPage, February 2011“Sabar’s thoroughly engaging Heart of the City profiles nine couples who met at famous New York City public spaces…Sabar has teased out each of these couples’ magnificent, ordinary stories and compiled them into a sparkling love letter to the city.” Publishers Weekly, 1/17/11“Inspired by his parents' story of meeting in Washington Square Park, National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Sabar looks at the ‘environmental psychology’ of New York City's iconic public spaces…The strength of this effort lies in its sweetness.” Lisa Loeb
"With each story I felt like I was watching a mini movie. I couldn't put the book down, which led to many late nights...This collection affirmed my belief that people can find true love in life if they keep their eyes open.” Quirky Geeky Scribbles, 1/17/11
“If you like true stories and especially if you love New York: this is a must read.” New York Journal of Books,2/14/11“[A] delightful collection of essays (stories, really) that recount initial contacts in notable landmarks of America’s most famous city, all of which resulted in marriage… richer we are, simply because 18 people happened to be in the right place at exactly the right time—and a writer had enough curiosity, and foresight, to capture their stories.” St. Petersburg Times, 2/6/11
“Charming true stories.”
New York Times, 2/13/11“The apparent connection between personal passion and public place inspires a beguiling romp into environmental psychology, which then leads to nine couples whose first encounter (and illuminating, sometimes bittersweet postscripts) represent an affirmation of the everyday miracle that is New York.” New York Times, 2/17/11“Mr. Sabar is shamelessly romantic…The results have the power to make saps out of us all.” Toronto Star, 2/13/11“An engaging, moving and lively read…Each of these nine stories define serendipity and provoke wonder. How can they not?” Christian Science Monitor, 2/14/11“The stories…are sweet and charming…Heart of the City is about what can happen when people let down their guard in a sharp-elbowed, often daunting, city, where routine contact with strangers is a fixture of public life. A random encounter can change everything.” Providence Journal, 2/14/11“The stories touch the heart. They are poignant, compelling, absorbing, romantic, and just flat-out sweet. Reading them, even hardened cynics will feel the urge to hug someone.” New York Journal of Books, 2/14/11
“[A] delightful collection…Richer we are, simply because 18 people happened to be in the right place at exactly the right time—and a writer had enough curiosity, and foresight, to capture their stories.” The Daily Mail, UK, 3/17/11 “A wonderful, life-affirming collection of romances, all the better because they’re real…What really strikes home is the sheer humour, patience and good manners of most of the men, even the modern ones. New York, New York, it sure is a wonderful.”
Brides Magazine, 3/21/11
“Each story is undeniably sweet—even the most hardcore cynic couldn't deny that this book is utterly heartwarming. Definitely an excellent choice if you're looking for some light pre-wedding (or honeymoon) reading!”
Baltimore Jewish Times, 4/15/11 “[A] heartwarming and delightful set of true love stories” and said “Ariel Sabar enchants his readers…I highly recommend this book to those who are searching for something that is both cheerful and enlightening.”