Synopses & Reviews
The best-selling author of
The Love Letter enchants readers again with a sweet and funny comedy of manners—complete with dogs.
As anyone who has walked a dog in any city knows, dogs bring people together who would otherwise never meet. On one humble, rent-controlled block of Upper East Side Manhattan, neighbors become neighborly because of their dogs, and the canines are cupids for their sometimes lonely, often eccentric, and hopelessly romantic humans.
Like Polly and Everett, who briefly distract each other from heartache—until Everett realizes he is more in love with Howdy, Polly's dog, than with Polly. And Jody, who ponders a marriage proposal from Simon while walking her dog, Beatrice. Simon doesn't have a dog, but he courts Jody by waiting along Beatrice's walking path and dining at the corner Korean restaurant that allows dogs. George (Polly's sister) is looking for life direction, not love, and Howdy (Polly's dog) leads him right to it. Doris hates dogs—until she gets one of her own.
In The New Yorkers, as in life, dogs compel their masters to take part in the community, make friends, fall in love—and learn more about themselves and human nature.
Review
Schine writes with the speed and punch of a seasoned comic, conveying character in a single line of dialogue. - The New Yorker The New Yorker
Review
Roberts differentiates her characters with appropriate accents and inflections. Cheery summer reading for urban dog lovers. - Klaitt Klaitt Magazine
Review
"
The New Yorkers is so entrancing and droll and downright funny that it made me forget I do not like dogs. How vexatious!"
—Patricia Marx, author of Him Her Him Again The End of Him
Synopsis
Past the hustle and bustle of midtown, sheltered from the squawks of taxis and tourists, lies a quiet little block near Central Park kept humble by rent control. Cathleen Schine's brilliantly funny new novel shows us how living on a street like this in New York with a dog is like living in a tiny village, one that has a rhythm all its own.
Walking her dog, Beatrice, Jody falls under the spell of Everett's bewitching smile. Everett begins to appreciate his post-divorce life only when he falls in love with Howdy, Polly's puppy. Polly lives with her brother, George, who isn't looking so much for a love life as for life direction, and Howdy leads him right to it. Doris hates the trash on her block, she hates the pee on her SUV's large tires, and, above all, she hates dogs. That is, until she gets one of her own.
In The New Yorkers, as in life, canine companions compel their masters to go outside of themselves, to take part in the community they live in, to make friends, and sometimes, to fall in love.
About the Author
CATHLEEN SCHINE is the author of The Love Letter, among other novels. Schine has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and The New York Times Book Review. She lives in New York City.NICOLE ROBERTS is a native New Yorker who enjoys a successful career in radio and television voiceovers.