City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg

[Alpha_Betty]

I've been reading City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg. It feels a little strange to categorize it as a historical novel, since it's set in the 1970s, I guess that qualifies. That makes me feel old! It follows a set of disparate, but connected, characters through New York city in the year leading up to the blackout of 1977. It's a massive, intricate book, and I'm finding some characters and storylines more interesting that others. The chapter detailing the history of Sicilian fireworkers (fireworks experts) I found completely fascinating. The chapters about the underground NYC punk/anarchist scene, less so. I may have to put it aside for a bit for some other things I'd like to read, but will definitely come back to this one. Hard to believe this is Hallberg's first novel--the man really knows how to put a sentence together. The prose is beautiful and the characters are well fleshed-out. I hope to finish it over my Christmas break and submit a review, but so far I'd say it's well-worth checking out.

[Reuben 92]

If you haven't finished it yet, I'd recommend giving it a go! It was one of my favourite books I read last year. The plots all start to interconnect more and more towards the end, and I agree with Hallberg's great writing style.