Manhattan Beach is told from the perspective of 3 main characters; Anna Kerrigan, her father Eddie and local business man/gangster Dexter Styles. Set during WWII, Anna works at the Naval Yard and seeks more than her medial job measuring small parts for war ships.
I really enjoyed Manhattan Beach. Initially I struggled, but soon I just had to keep reading. The book is descriptive and sets the scene perfectly. You can imagine the Naval Yard, the streets, the bars, the houses and that is all down to Jennifer Egan's wonderfully descriptive writing. I did find that some parts were bogged down with technical details that were a little heavy on detail and made for a difficult few paragraphs of reading but its easy to negate them based on the rest of the book.
Anna's character is wonderful. She has so much charm, energy, love, warmth, determination and wit that it really brings her character to life.
Eddie is a family man. Working hard to earn money for his family, he sees where the money lies but refuses to get involved in the illegality of the criminal underworld. He is a moral man who wants to support his family. For a lot of the book, Eddie is a mystery to us and this helps to build intrigue.
Dexter is a local business man who runs nightclubs and various other establishments. He has dealings with the criminal underworld and works for the mysterious Mr Q who calls all the shots. There is something very likeable about Dexter's character. We see him change throughout the book and learn more about him and it made me actually enjoy his character and want to see more from him.
I always find books told from multiple perspectives the best and Manhattan Beach does this well.
I gave Manhattan Beach 3 stars for while I enjoyed it, I wasn't blown away by it or addicted to it. It was a good read and well written and the characters all well established. There was a few parts that confused me a little but overall a good story.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Don't expect another Visit from the Goon Squad from Jennifer Egan - Manhattan Beach is an entirely different thing altogether. Set in the hungry 30s, it is the story of the Kerrigan family, told mainly through the eyes of Anna, the elder daughter.

Anna works at the Naval Yard, sizing parts for ships - an important but repetetive job. She dreams of becoming a diver, of donning the diving 'dress' and going down to fix ships below the waterline. Her chance comes when the war starts to cut down the numbers of good male divers. Anna fights prejudice at work through the day and helps her mother care for her disabled sister, Lydia, at night. Her father, Eddie, whose story this also is, has disappeared.

Eddie operates on the fringes of the mob. Involved first with the Irish longshoremen and waterfront tough guys, he hooks up with Dexter Styles, a man who himself straddles the divide between legitimacy and criminality. Styles runs nightclubs for Mr Q, an aging Italian mobster. Eddie becomes his bagman.

Slow to start, this novel gradually pulled me in. At first it seemed as though nothing much was happening and at times I had very little sense of where it was going. Once I became involved in it, however, I realised that the book was a kind of experiment, an attempt perhaps at the Great American Novel. It is a Moby Dick of a book: we get long (possibly overlong) accounts of war work, diving, shipboard life; we learn intricate details of how people lived - what they ate, drank, wore, played with as children.

Detail is piled on detail and it will depend on the reader whether this is seen as an added richness or an irritating diversion. I was, at times, torn between these views but overall came down on the side of richness. Once one gives in and goes with it, rewards are reaped. I don't think Manhattan Beach fully works as a 'great' novel but it is a valiant attempt.

very enjoyable, incorporating war -work in the dockyards of Manhattan as well as gang land crime. An interestingly different theme, Anna is 1 determined girl who knows what she wants and will definitely get it !

A strong attachment to her father leads Anna to search for him, wondering about a secret life she slowly uncovers as she enquires years after his sudden absence ... what went wrong? The death of a damaged sister, and a mother stymied and stalled at home during the world war they all seek to fight in their own ways, and a free-spirited aunt, lean on her in ways she does not even appreciate. We've met the man who probably orchestrated what was supposed to be her father's death - and he becomes very close to Anna as he perceives her quest. Having readher earlier works - especially The Keep- i was not as surprised that following her most recent novel, winner of prizes, A Visit from the Goon Squad, she might have reverted to a more conventional form, exept there are time re-sequencing, flashbacks, that are not consecutive unto themselves. Anna is slightly a cold fish, but curious about things which draws us in. Very thoroughly detailed in historical detail in a satisfying way, a dense meaty novel that i'm glad to have read.

This book started with promise but by the end I felt disappointed. It had various story lines which did not come to a satisfactory conclusion.

A beautiful, epic story of a life in New York. Full of colour, ambience, emotion and intrigue. Can't wait for her next book.

The story is really a Saga centred on a happy family with two daughters, one severely disabled with not long to live. The mother is devoted to nursing her ill daughter while the father dotes on the clever elder one. He takes her with him on treats and sometimes during his shady business trips for his nebulous employer where she has learnt to be unassuming and discrete. It is during the time of depression just before WWII but the father earns enough to provide for all his family’s needs. All is well until one day the father never returns from going to work. As time goes by the daughter suspects that he has been killed due to what he was doing. The story develops into three strands. Of the daughter growing into an adult without a father, finding employment into a man’s world in Navy ship yard and qualifying as a diver, having to overcome engrained prejudices’ to become one. Over this time the father’s employer has also prospered and by chance meets up again with the daughter. Meanwhile the father has escaped death and has lost himself in the mercantile marine service surviving through many traumatic events in the war. How things pan out makes a dramatic and interesting story with many twists and unexpected outcomes.

This is a beautifully written book set in America during the Great Depression. The characters come alive as we follow Anna through her childhood as she helps to care for her severely disabled sister whilst loving the excitement of being included in some of her father's visits as he struggles through a shady life to make a living. But when these visits are cut short and her father then disappears, Anna struggles to overcome the feelings of loss and abandonment. It is only when she learns to dive and meets someone from her father's past that Anna eventually begins to discover what has happened.

This was not for me, I found it too slow going and not interesting enough. At the halfway point, I couldn't carry on

After her Pulitzer Prize winning, experimental novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan has turned to the historic novel. In Manhattan Beach she delves (both metaphorically and literally) into the murky worlds of New York gangsters of the 30s and 40s and deep sea diving. Think Jimmy Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces, or any mobster movie set after the end of Prohibition then the upheaval of the Second World War. Into this unpredictable world throw Anna Kerrigan, a young Irish girl who, from an early age has the ‘logic of mechanical parts in her fingertips’ and wants to be a military diver, fixing battleships for the war effort.
Dexter Styles is the corrupt nightclub owner – charismatic and charming but conflicted. We first see him through Anna’s child eyes, inviting her father to his beach house. But it’s not a relationship of equals: her father is only the delivery man (or sometimes receiver) of ‘an envelope, sometimes a package’ – protection money. Dexter is comfortably married into an established New York family, sick of the mobster life and all the danger it entails. But he isn’t the Big Cheese: he’s compromised by his past. There’s no way out. Well, only one and he doesn’t want to take it. When Kerrigan (Anna’s father) disappears, she and her mother have to look after her crippled sister and Anna turns to Dexter. Now there are two hooks pulling us through the novel: What’s happened to Kerrigan and Will Anna tell Dexter she knows what he’s up to?
Egan has clearly researched the novel’s background minutely (see the acknowledgements) but it shows. Too much detail about cars, clothes and the process of diving slow the novel down and distract us from the story. Which is a shame because the world she creates is believable and vivid, the characters engaging and their stories moving. Then about two thirds of the way through something goes badly wrong. We’ve had a privileged and nuanced view of Anna and Dexter’s inner lives via a very close third person, but now we see everything from a great distance. It’s all ‘tell’ with not much ‘showing’ and loses momentum, while piling on the detail and incidents. Even a shark attack and the horrors of surviving for weeks in an open lifeboat hardly register.
Jennifer Egan is a gifted writer but Manhattan Beach is ultimately a disappointing follow-up. Yet, in spite of its flaws it’s a wonderful and intriguing novel and I’d still recommend you read it. I just wish Egan had an editor who could suggest cutting the word count and some of the unnecessary detail.

Loved this book. A fabulous time-piece and a well written, evocative and thought-provoking work that clearly had a lot of research. Set during the depression, the story line carries you along. I wish the ending had more impact for the reader but definitely worth a read.

I feel so conflicted about 'Manhattan Beach.' Mostly because I've adored all of Jennifer Egan's previous work, particularly 'A Visit from the Goon Squad.' I feel bad that this book will (inevitably) compared to that one as '...Goon Squad' is such a singular, beautiful, unique book whereas the structure of this one is far more traditional. And while I enjoyed it, I can't say that I was wowed.

'Manhattan Beach' definitely has flashes of brilliance, in particular Egan's reflections on the lives people led in New York during World War Two and the effects it had on people's sense of self. I loved her talk of people's 'war lives', - the vocations they worked in and personalities they took on to survive during an incredibly difficult time. And the descriptions of Anna's career in diving were beautifully written and utterly fascinating. I can only marvel at the research it would have taken to capture the sensations of wearing a 200 pound suit underwater, as well as the various perils involved.

But sadly, I just can't say that I was that compelled by a lot of the book. It drags in places with long expositions on peripheral characters and the gangster plotline goes from 'mildly compelling' to 'downright boring' in places. It's a shame, as this isn't a bad book. I'm just aware that Egan is capable of so much more with her writing.

Ohhh I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't get into it. Its not my usual choice of book, I'm not really a fan of historical and war books but I thought id try something different. I appreciate that it is thoughtfully written and expertly crafted but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I found myself a bit bored if I'm honest, I gave up halfway through and ill admit defeat, ill stay in my lane in future and try not to deviate too far from my preferred genre. sorry :-(

On the surface this is an old-fashioned, historical novel, set largely in New York during the Depression and World War Two, but underneath it’s something slightly different, less obvious and certainly more interesting. The research and detail are impressive, the characterisation is very real and the themes – independence and emancipation, resilience, the roots of the post-war social order, atonement – are subtly presented. Bar an odd and unconvincing postscript, this is a powerful, absorbing and thought-provoking novel..

A very well written and researched story. I found it quite slow in places and a little disjointed.

I enjoyed reading this story, I felt it was very atmospheric and evocative of time and place, the Depression and the beginning of World War ll. There are various threads running through the story, which begins with the child Anna going with her father Eddie on a visit to Dexter Styles' house, close to the beach. Dexter is clearly a character who operates on the wrong side of the law, but he has illustrious friends, his father-in-law is a rich and eminent banker. You don't hear much about Dexter's illegal activities, just a menacing hint in the atmosphere.

One day Eddie just disappears, and Anna and her mother are distraught. Life goes on, Anna grows up and with her love of the sea she manages to find a job in the Navy Yard, a job which bores her. Then she notices the divers in action, and sets her heart on becoming a diver. With obstinance and determination she succeeds, and the writing of this is very powerful, you can really imagine what it would have been like.

Anna's story intertwines with Eddie's, and Dexters, in quite unexpected ways. Eddie's story is particularly vivid. I think the ending is too abrupt, and not well thought through. An interesting story which tells of a style of life not often written about, and clearly the author has conducted a great deal of research. Worth reading.

So many mixed feelings regarding this novel. I absolutely loved the early story of Anna and her sister during the early years of the Depression with her father surviving in an America torn by unemployment. The descriptive passages of Lydia and the trip to the beach were quite emotional. As Anna grew older and War came so did the tone of the book and My interest started to wane.

An enjoyable novel overal but could have been so much better.

I give this book 3 and 1/2 stars. This was an interesting book with lots of detail about the depression and war time America and how the divers worked during the war. It followed the life of Anna from a young girl helping her Dad until she has grown up and got a job as a diver. I found this story fast reading in places and some passages that dragged a bit. The author put a lot of work into this book and gives you a lot of detail about the time. It is definitely worth a read.

I've had a fascination with WWII of late so reading Manhattan Beach seemed a perfect tribute to such a pivotal time in our history. There couldn't be a better book to feed my craving. Ms. Egan writes with great care transporting the reader (seemingly effortlessly?!) with the language, customs and attitudes of the time. It felt as if I was actually walking through the 1940s naval yard, hearing the men cat-calling and smelling the sea, oil on the water, the bitter tang of welders at work and a faint whiff of food being fried up for lunch.

All senses are catered for in Manhattan Beach with it's beautiful descriptive writing, but that's just the start. There's also a worthy set of characters to follow and worry about. We focus most on Anna, watching her mature from 12 years old to adulthood, finding work in the naval yard. But she wants to do more and latches on to the idea of diving, an occupation not open to women of the time.

Orbiting Anna are her family members: father Eddie who is full of secrets, mother Agnes keeps the home fires burning and extremely handicapped sister Lydia who listens to all Anna's thoughts and hopes. Dexter Styles also plays a big part in the story as night club manager and employer to Eddie. We follow Eddie as he finds work supporting the lords of the underbelly of society doing whatever it takes to make enough money to care for his family, particularly special needs Lydia. I was most interested in Eddy as his story arc shows us a completely different view of a man solemn and capable and likely most misunderstood. Anna, of course deserves high praise as a smart go-getter who takes strongly after her father, without knowing it.

Manhattan Beach is epic in scope without ever feeling overwhelming, though it covers a lot of ground. A real treasure to behold as it navigates the U.S. at war and the people who work hard supporting those efforts.

Thanks to Net Galley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Anna is 12 and her father Eddie is her hero. She loves spending time with him, accompany him to his work, skupping alongside him and slipping her small soft hand in his.
Things change and suddenly Eddie doesn’t want Anna to tag along,, they loose the closeness they shared. Anna devotes her time and love to her crippled sister, helping their mother care for her.
Her father mysteriously disappears, presumed dead as time passes. Its war time and Anna has a job in the navel yard measuring parts, but she longs to dive. Diving is not for girls, but Anna’s determination and strength of character win out and the cruel lieutenant eventually has her as part of his team even if his motives to begin with are to use her to bully the men. Anna though eventually becomes his best diver.
She dreams of taking Lydia her sister to the sea, this she accomplishes with the help of a known gangster ,Dexter Styles, she has met him before with her father as a girl., their paths will cross several times.
The story tells of Anna’s life, which is rather lonely after her sister dies and her mother returns to her family. Anna continues to work at the shipyard , has friends there now on the diving team, has won their respect. Anna’s curiosity over what happened her father never wanes , her termination to find out takes the story in another direction., reminding the reader where Anna get her grit and determination from. 3.5 stars.