Book · 2017 · FICTION / General
Manhattan Beach
- mentions
- 15
- people
- 6
- podcasts
- 2
- episodes
- 5
- critical mentions
- 0
Manhattan Beach honestly just started with this idea about wartime New York through a kind of noir-ish lens.
What they say about it
- Historical fiction set in New York“historical fiction set in New York”2
The best things said about it
Manhattan Beach was very much about the war period, and I guess I'm fascinated by what it felt like to be in America, the newly super-powered America.
This was a much anticipated followup to A Visit from the Goon Squad and people have been waiting years and years for this novel. This is very different, it's historical fiction set in New York.
My last book Manhattan Beach was in some ways more self-contained and that it had a discreet group of characters whose stories I was following.
With Manhattan Beach, I initially thought, oh, I'm going to use some tricky narrative strategies.
Manhattan Beach which as you suggested had a very traditional feel to it.
You had Jennifer Egan with her novel Manhattan Beach which was kind of a throwback.
6 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan is a historical fiction novel set against the backdrop of wartime New York through a noir lens, exploring the experiences of Americans during a time of immense national power. The book was discussed extensively by Jennifer Egan and Stephen Dubner on Freakonomics Radio. Egan revealed that the novel originally began with an interest in wartime New York and the waterfront, and she initially planned to employ tricky narrative strategies rather than writing a traditional historical fiction narrative. However, she faced significant challenges when her writer's group strongly disliked the narrative voice and its artificial asides calling attention to the storytelling process, which led to temporary feelings of anger and hopelessness for the author. Despite these early creative hurdles with the narrator, the project remained a central focus of her literary work, even as she briefly diverted her attention to writing The Goon Squad. Stephen Dubner highlighted the book during their conversation as a major work she returned to, while Egan reflected on how her fascination with the World War II era ultimately shaped the historical setting, the noir atmosphere, and the maritime backdrop of the novel.
Every mention
Jennifer Egan And it's funny because with Manhattan Beach, I initially thought, oh, I'm going to use some tricky narrativ… 8
“And it's funny because with Manhattan Beach, I initially thought, oh, I'm going to use some tricky narrative strategies. I'm going to try to do something that isn't just straight up historical fiction.”
“And what I found out early when I asked that question about the narrative voice of Manhattan Beach, which had a lot of tricky asides that called attention to the artificiality of, you know, telling a story set in the past, they loathed it.”
“You know, I have a—and if it's really problematic, like when no one liked my narrator in Manhattan Beach, I will have a period of kind of anger and hopelessness.”
“Manhattan Beach was very much about the war period, and I guess I'm fascinated by what it felt like to be in America, the newly super-powered America”
“Manhattan Beach honestly just started with this idea about wartime New York through a kind of noir-ish lens.”
“And I think one of the fun things about working on Manhattan Beach, after I got interested in World War II, the noir, that sort of led me to the waterfront.”
“Not initially, no. I thought I was just, I actually thought I was, I was killing time and avoiding working on Manhattan Beach.”
“my last book Manhattan Beach was in some ways more self-contained and that it had a discreet group of characters whose stories I was following”
Gilbert Cruz especially compared to Manhattan Beach which as you suggested had a very traditional feel to it 2
“especially compared to Manhattan Beach which as you suggested had a very traditional feel to it”
“the Pulitzer prizewinning author will be here to talk about her new novel Manhattan Beach”
Pamela Paul so we are here to talk about your new novel Manhattan Beach which is just out now 2
“so we are here to talk about your new novel Manhattan Beach which is just out now”
“tell us about Manhattan Beach”
Alexandra Alter we also have Jennifer Egan for her new novel Manhattan Beach this was a much anticipated followup to a visi… 1
“we also have Jennifer Egan for her new novel Manhattan Beach this was a much anticipated followup to a visit from the Goon Squad and people have been waiting years and years for this novel this is very different it's historical fiction set in New York”
Jennifer Szalai I mean you had Jennifer Egan with her novel Manhattan Beach which was kind of a throwback 1
“I mean you had Jennifer Egan with her novel Manhattan Beach which was kind of a throwback”
Stephen Dubner So, as I understand it, the book that you are sort of returning to now is not The Candy House, not Goon Squ… 1
“So, as I understand it, the book that you are sort of returning to now is not The Candy House, not Goon Squad, but Manhattan Beach, yes?”
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“she is the author of several novels including look at me and Manhattan Beach”
“She'd only completed three novels during that time, and the one that followed, Manhattan Beach, took another seven years.”
“That's her latest book, an historical novel published in 2017.”
“I am also reading Jennifer Egan and and our listeners probably know that she has a new novel out Manhattan Beach that's not the that I'm reading”
“Jennifer Egan's latest book is Manhattan Beach”