Open city

a novel

259 pages

English language

Published Jan. 1, 2011 by Random House.

ISBN:
978-1-4000-6809-8
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
553365107

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4 stars (2 reviews)

First edition OCLC 938928522

5 editions

Review of 'Open city' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

An odd, compelling read. On the face of it, this is the diary of someone who walks around New York a lot, has some moderately interesting friends and very small adventures, but is worth reading because he himself is interesting and erudite and loves making connections between things. In other words, it's a lot like reading Cole's nonfiction, and for a lot of the book I couldn't shake the feeling that the narrator was just the author's mouthpiece. Which is alright--after all it was Cole's nonfiction that got me interested in reading his novel in the first place--but if that were all there was to it I don't think it would have held my attention over 200 pages.



What made this book special for me was its distillation of a very particular feeling: that of having a lovely time going about my business, while always conscious of the horror of …

Review of 'Open city' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

An odd, compelling read. On the face of it, this is the diary of someone who walks around New York a lot, has some moderately interesting friends and very small adventures, but is worth reading because he himself is interesting and erudite and loves making connections between things. In other words, it's a lot like reading Cole's nonfiction, and for a lot of the book I couldn't shake the feeling that the narrator was just the author's mouthpiece. Which is alright--after all it was Cole's nonfiction that got me interested in reading his novel in the first place--but if that were all there was to it I don't think it would have held my attention over 200 pages.



What made this book special for me was its distillation of a very particular feeling: that of having a lovely time going about my business, while always conscious of the horror of …

Subjects

  • Nigerians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Fiction
  • Identity (Psychology) -- Fiction
  • Race -- Fiction