We quickly fall in love with anna kerrigan and her story in this straightforward and exquisitely rendered historical novel. That pleasure is bestowed liberally by jennifer egan in. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. Born in chicago and raised in san francisco, egan, now a new yorker, did much of her research for the novel at the brooklyn historical society. The story of manhattan beach lives in its details jennifer egan s new novel, set in new york in the 1930s and 1940s, is full of deeply researched period detail and rich, memorable characters. As of february 28, 2018, she is the president of the pen america center. Time magazine selected it as one of its top ten novels of 2017. Its oldfashioned emphasis on seamless plot and complex characters feels shockingly, and reassuringly, new egan builds her story with the countless particulars of her chosen era america at war. Anna kerrigan, the heroine of manhattan beach, is a descendant of francie nolan, as is her family dynamic.
While the girl is playing on the beach outside the house with the mans children, the two seem to be discussing some secret pact. Unlike a visit from the goon squad, we dedicate most of our time to a small cast of characters and come to rely on the natural ease with which egan reveals their faults, virtues, and idiosyncrasies. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Manhattan beach book by jennifer egan official publisher. Manhattan beach is a 2017 novel by american writer jennifer egan. Manhattan beach novel manhattan beach is a historical novel by american writer jennifer egan. Heller mcalpin, san francisco chronicle jennifer egan. Jennifer egans manhattan beach is a gorgeous tribute to. Jennifer egans manhattan beach is a sparkling, lush. Nevertheless, she persisted set on and around the new york city waterfront, jennifer egan s new novel manhattan beach offers a feminism suited to the lean in age. Oct, 2017 the subject matter of pulitzer prizewinning author jennifer egan s latest novel, manhattan beach, is not particularly revelatory. In manhattan beach, jennifer egans heroine dives deep. Jennifer egan latest news, breaking stories and comment. Anna kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father t.
Manhattan beach jennifer egan, 2017 scribner 448 pp. In manhattan beach, jennifer egan sets a crime story on the. Anna karrigan is a small girl living in the town of america. As you can tell from my rating, i didnt love manhattan beach either. A visit from the goon squad, which won the pulitzer prize and the national book critics circle award. It is the best sort of historical fiction, transporting the reader to another place without ever loosing the bonds of the familiar. An unusually well written, well researched, emotionally satisfying pageturner. Jennifer egan talks about manhattan beach the new york. Sep 26, 2017 manhattan beach may not offer the brilliant variety of forms found in goon squad, but egan is still blending a jazzy range of tones in these chapters, from tennessee williamss apartment. Pulitzerwinner egan s splendid novel begins in 1934 brooklyn as eddie kerrigan struggles to support his wife and two daughters, one of whom is severely disabled.
Jennifer egan s 2017 novel, manhattan beach, has been awarded the 2018 andrew carnegie medal for excellence in fiction. Jennifer egans 2017 novel, manhattan beach, has been awarded the 2018 andrew carnegie medal for excellence in fiction. Manhattan beach book by jennifer egan official publisher page. Set in brooklyn in the 1940s, the novel tells the story of anna kerrigan, a young woman who has dropped out of brooklyn college to contribute what she can to the american war effort. Anna kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to the house of dexter styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to.
This 43page guide for manhattan beach by egan, jennifer includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 31 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Twelve yearold anna kerrigan has accompanied her father, eddie, to the home of gangster dexter styles. Manhattan beach, winner of the andrew carnegie medal for excellend in fiction. Jennifer egans memorable characters make manhattan beach.
Jennifer egan born september 7, 1962 is an american novelist and short story writer. Jennifer egan is the author of six previous books of fiction. Oct 06, 2017 in the opening pages of manhattan beach jennifer egans first novel since she won the 2011 pulitzer prize in fiction for a visit from the goon squad an 11yearold girl named. The pulitzerprize winning author of manhattan beach, jennifer egan, describes how she conducted research for the book on brooklyns waterfront history, from women working in the navy yard to. Egan was born in chicago and raised in san francisco. At once a suspenseful novel of noir intrigue, a gorgeously wrought and richly allusive literary tapestry, and a transporting work of lyrical beauty and emotional heft, manhattan beach is a magnificent achievement. In the opening pages of manhattan beach jennifer egans first novel since she won the 2011 pulitzer prize in fiction for a visit from the goon squad. Jennifer egan, manhattan beach well emerge from this war victorious and unscathed, and become bankers to the world. An aircraft carrier sails up the east river in 1948, on the way to the brooklyn navy yard. Jennifer egan dives deep to tell a wartime story, compelling in its vivid intensity. Jennifer egan is the author of the 2011 pulitzer prizewinning novel a visit from the goon squad. Her novel is an absorbing story, beautifully written. In the first chapter, on the beach, anna walks barefoot despite the cold and says, it only hurts at first. Oct 03, 2017 here, she brings those qualities to a portrait of new york city during the depression and world war ii.
In the opening pages of manhattan beach jennifer egan s first novel since she won the 2011 pulitzer prize in fiction for a visit from the goon squad an 11yearold girl named anna kerrigan. Manhattan beach by jennifer egan is a thriller, fiction and suspense novel which plots the story of a girl and her profession is the same with her disappeared fathers profession. Jennifer egan has masterfully conjured an era we are on the cusp of losing. With manhattan beach, egan took the energy of logic in the opposite direction. Oct 03, 2017 jennifer egan s sixth book of fiction, manhattan beach, arrives. Manhattan beach is a historical novel by the pulitzer prizewinning author of a visit from the goon squad. Jennifer egan talks about manhattan beach the new york times. Oct 03, 2017 jennifer egans manhattan beach captures a time and place on the verge of momentous change. Manhattan beach by jennifer egan pdf download ebookscart.
Manhattan beach is a historical novel by american writer jennifer egan. Like well emerge from this war victorious and unscathed, and become bankers to the. In manhattan beach, jennifer egans heroine dives deep for. Jennifer egans surprising swerve into historical fiction. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Manhattan beach by jennifer egan book club discussion. Manhattan beach by jennifer egan overdrive rakuten. Joy, purification, renewal, deaththe sea is all of these things in manhattan beach, jennifer egans intricately patterned and visionary new novel.
The thrill of her novels is in the dive to places unknown. If i have a complaint about manhattan beach, its that while egan is in full command of her gifts, theres only rarely a sense that shes pushing herself, or us. Manhattan beach by jennifer egan new york times bestseller new yorks one book, one new york pick winner of the andrew carnegie. Oct 03, 2017 in manhattan beach, jennifer egan sets a crime story on the waterfront. If readers have come to expect anything of jennifer egan, theyve learned to. Pulitzer winner jennifer egan s new book, manhattan beach, is a thoroughly satisfying oldfashioned novel about a.
Published in 2010, the book soared to the top of many publications best of 2010 lists, including the new york times, the washington post, time, slate, salon, and people. The national book foundation listed the book in their 2017 national book award longlist in the fiction category. Jennifer egan s sixth book of fiction, manhattan beach, arrives. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading manhattan beach. This study guide consists of approximately 45 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of manhattan beach. The books overarching themes are certainly wellworn, its. Ahead of texas book festival, jennifer egan explains why. I read, in the acknowledgments, notes about research that began in 2004, indications of an instinctive. Well export our dreams, our language, our culture, our way of. In manhattan beach, jennifer egan sets a crime story on the waterfront an aircraft carrier sails up the east river in 1948, on the way to the brooklyn navy yard. Having won the pulitzer for her last novel, the tricksy postmodern a visit from the goon squad, jennifer egan is back with a fatherdaughter tale that. Where a visit is a stylistically adventurous exploration of the american punk rock music scene that adopts a form of storytelling somewhere between a novel and a collection of short stories.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. In the wake of her dazzling pulitzer prize winner, a visit from the goon squad, jennifer egan s deftly plotted new novel, manhattan beach, is a surprise. We meet 12yearold anna kerrigan accompanying her adored father, eddie, to the manhattan beach home of suave mobster dexter styles. A young woman becomes a diver to help the war effort and uncovers the powerful forces that led to her beloved fathers disappearance.
Anna kerrigan, nearly 12 years old, accompanies her father to the house of a man who, she gleans. Manhattan beach by jennifer egan world literature today. Mar 24, 2020 description of manhattan beach by jennifer egan pdf. Oct 05, 2017 the story of manhattan beach lives in its details jennifer egans new novel, set in new york in the 1930s and 1940s, is full of deeply researched period detail and rich, memorable characters. She is also the author of the invisible circus, a novel which became a feature film starring cameron diaz in 2001, look at me. Egan captures marvellously the precarious heightened atmosphere of wartime new york. Egan s novel a visit from the goon squad won the 2011 pulitzer prize for fiction and national book critics circle award for fiction. Bookforum manhattan beach is ambitiously and deliciously plotdriven. In manhattan beach, very few things are what they appear to be.
Manhattan beach begins in brooklyn during the great depression, when a man, accompanied by his daughter, anna, goes to visit a mysterious man at his house. Elevengoingontwelve anna kerrigan and her father eddie. In manhattan beach, jennifer egan sets a crime story on. That pleasure is bestowed liberally by jennifer egan in manhattan beach. Mar 12, 2020 manhattan beach is so rich in detail and atmosphere. With the stylistic pyrotechnics of jennifer egan s a visit from the goon squad, readers might have missed something key to that. Manhattan beach is so rich in detail and atmosphere. Manhattan beach is the first of egans novels to use the technique, and she employs it with elegance, building breathless anticipation passage by passage, chapter by chapter. Chicago tribune, 102 17 manhattan beach is a historical novel by the pulitzer prizewinning author of a visit from the goon squad.
I read the blurb for this novel and it sounded right up my alley, so i decided to give jennifer egan another go although i didnt care to finish a visit from the goon squad her pulitzer winning novel. Readers have come to expect novels that experiment with form and structure from jennifer egan, but manhattan beach proves that expectations can be unmet in a spectacularly positive way. New york times manhattan beach is a fleet, sinuous epic, abounding with evocative details, felicitous metaphors, and crystalline historical assessments. The subject matter of pulitzer prizewinning author jennifer egan s latest novel, manhattan beach, is not particularly revelatory. Jennifer egan s take on the historical novel and wwii. In the opening pages of manhattan beach jennifer egans first novel since she won the 2011 pulitzer prize in fiction for a visit. Its oldfashioned emphasis on seamless plot and complex characters feels shockingly, and reassuringly, new.
The novel is a conventionally structured work of historical fiction. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Egans characters are vivid, their authenticity a kind of wonder, their losses and joys achingly true. Egan lives in clinton hill, brooklyn with her husband and two sons. In the wake of her dazzling pulitzer prize winner, a visit from the goon squad, jennifer egans deftly plotted new novel, manhattan beach, is a surprise. Jennifer egan s manhattan beach captures a time and place on the verge of momentous change.
Manhattan beach opens in brooklyn during the great depression. Here, manhattan beach attains its most affecting moments, in scenes that capture the unexpected delight and crippling guilt of raising a handicapped child. Jennifer egan penguin random house speakers bureau. Egan s newest book, manhattan beach, is delightfully and unapologetically a novel. Kirsty wark, the guardian best books of 2017 the novel i most enjoyed was jennifer egan s manhattan beach, a historical thriller that was quite as visionary and stylish as one would expect from the author. Dexter admires anna for her strength, which he senses comes from her father. The longawaited novel from the pulitzer prizewinning author of a visit from the goon squad, manhattan beach opens in brooklyn during the great depression. Jennifer egan is appearing at sydney writers festival 2018, held between 30 april 6 may at carriageworks. In manhattan beach, jennifer egan has produced a closely researched exploration of life in new york city during world war ii and describes a range of ways in which new york women became involved in. Ahead of texas book festival, jennifer egan explains why she deepsixed her tech obsession for manhattan beach the pulitzerwinning author will be. Jennifer egans travels through time the new yorker. Jennifer egans manhattan beach is a gorgeous tribute to nyc and its seaport egans sweeping new historical novel doesnt just draw from the classic catalog of new york stories it also takes its place among them.
597 1295 920 940 446 1306 904 1119 92 1337 117 272 563 60 486 1199 170 669 600 1082 934 1420 966 984 513 1267 1081 1172 970 400 702