I LOVE BOOKS ABOUT NEW YORK AND LIFE IN NEW YORK AND THE FLATIRON BUILDING AND I MISS GOING OUTSIDE, ETC ETC.

*Sigh. I loved this book.

25 Years in Clipped Sentences
This is the story of two people who meet in high school and remain friends Throughout their lives. There is a chapter for each year. The author writes in short, clipped sentences. If you can imagine reading 143 pages of 'See Jane Run', then this book is for you. I found it to be quite a distraction to the flow of the story. I even needed to re-read sections to be sure I understood It was just as bad as Jack Kerouac and his run-on sentences. the author. This book was not for me, perhaps you will enjoy it. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Told by an unnamed narrator in the first person, this coming of age story is profound. The writing is sparse, pared down, every word counts. But what a story is told. The beautiful heart of this book will give you plenty to think about.

The young man who tells the story begins it in 1964 when he meets another young girl outside the Beatles concert. Their story is told year by year, until 1989, and what a long and winding road the main characters have.

The story is almost stream of consciousness. For the young man, New York is his education, his life, his soul. He is just there to be part of it all. New York wasn’t the Big Apple then, much of it was grim with despair. But the experiences that this young man sees and feels will make you long for his life. . Photography is featured in this story and that gives us a different lens to look through.



In addition to the young girl, Laura that he meets and grows up with, we are shown a variety of souls, people that would not be noticed, if it weren’t for the young man. The young man doesn’t judge or try to change people. He observes, cares, and does what is needed. By 1989, the last story, New York is beginning to look up. Time Square is revitalized. What will happen to him?

This is a special book. I received an advance digital review copy from Netgalley and BooksGoSocial. This is my honest review.

I could not finish this book, so I do not have a review for the title. I wanted to lookie the story, but just could not.

Flatiron is a magnificent coming of age novel set in the heart of Manhattan spanning 25 years of change in the history of the city. Having an affinity for the Big Apple as well as The Beatles, I was excited to read this novel and follow the protagonist as he moves from young adult into manhood.

The first thing the reader will notice is the author’s stylized choice to showcase the unnamed narrator’s voice in short, simple sentences. It reads almost as stream of consciousness as the internal dialogue gives us a glimpse into the mind of an honest yet reliable narrator. It effectively mirrors the narrator's lack of education and struggle to earn a living and grapple with the outside forces around him.

Heslin presents us with a protagonist who takes us along in every second of his life, every thought, every action. He shares with us the sometimes complex relationships he has with many women along the way. His mother, Laura, Peggy and others have a profound impact on how he views the world.

Laura, his seemingly true love, speaks her mind. She is honest with the narrator to the point of cruelty. She is wild and experienced which compliments the simplicity in which the narrator responds to his surroundings. Always on his mind, he thinks back to her when she’s not around wondering how she would react or how she is faring.

There is a clear intent on the part of the author to frame the story around their common affection for The Beatles. Their albums, songs and even unique look is entwined throughout the story at dances, funerals, reunions, holidays, as well as in passing thought. The band acts as the cornerstone for their relationship and a constant reminder of how they met. But not just The Beatles; Bazooka gum, a Pan Am bag, and, of course, The Flatiron Building are all anchors for this unlikely yet celebrated relationship.

Flatiron is a novel that shows the reader true life. It is a snapshot of a time in NYC that is rarely seen in novels. It doesn’t show the idealized but instead the real struggles of what it was like to survive in the city during the 60s through the late 80s.

Unique in its presentation, I just don’t think there is anything out there that can compare. I truly believe this novel will withstand the test of time and be studied by scholars for years to come.

I didn't love this book. It's a good concept: female photographer uses her lifelong friends for a muse. However, I did not enjoy the "stream of consciousness" writing style. It was like reading someone rambling on without any real purpose. The main character, who's name goes unknown, is kind of an insufferable individual who for some reason reminds me of Holden Caulfield....who is definitely one of the worst literary characters of all time.

I gave this book 2 stars for its creativity, but I really can't see myself recommending it to anyone.

I won't be posting any reviews online for this book, as I don't think it's right to throw an author under the bus like that.

A very staccato book, written in quick sharp sentences that force the eye to move quickly across them, pulling you along through the story. This could be both a positive and a negative, but I think it lent itself well to the soul of the story. It paced everything very well. I cannot, however, abide the idiotic practice of not using quotation marks on dialogue. Any editor who allows this nonsense should be fired. Would you leave out all punctuation and call it "style"? It's nonsense, and no book that utilizes it will ever get full marks from me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Books Go Social and Michael Heslin for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.
NYC February 1964. Beatlemania has invaded American shores and on the sidewalks outside of Carnegie Hall two teenagers meet. Laura is a photographer and he (our unnamed narrator) her muse. Spanning over twenty five years, she experience success, controversy and notoriety. He will face failures with friendships and relationships, work as a cook and cabbie and struggle with his personal limitations. There is a kindness in our narrator that I was drawn to and I could not help but feel for him and in many instances how that kindness was taken advantage of.
This is a coming of age story. Of youth, of a declining New York City in the 1970’s and 80’s and the complexities of life as we grow older.
Michael Heslin gives us a wonderful glimpse of life in the Big Apple, its people and places. Well worth a read!

What a lovely remembrance of what NY was and still is in a way. The story passes over a couple of decades and the complex relationships the narrator has with the women and some men in his life. We never learn the name of the protagonist but get to know him through his first person tales of the City, his friends and perhaps his loves.

He meets one of the main characters in 1964 where this story begins and ends in 1989. It follows their friendship, her successes as a photographer, his trials of surviving as a short order cook and cabbie, his friendships (and possible love) with another woman and other friends in his life. Our protagonist tells us his tale is short, simple and less than complex ways but it is so very deep this story.

Its a fascinating history lesson of the city as well. We see the city change, the people in it at their lowest sometimes and I as the reader, really got into it. It's a side of NY in the 70s and 80s we have heard talk of many times but this is from a slight outsider view. There was a lot of empathy for the narrator for me. His life was not easy, his friendships and relationships were not easy... but he was really so very kind to everyone that he engaged with. As a cabbie he waited in a hospital lobby to find out about the birth of a child that started in his cab after being paged for the far, just to have the fare never page him again. It was sad. People used him. That was hard. He is a very kind character in a very hard environment. You have to have some empathy for him. I did.

I enjoyed this story and I appreciate that in the end I was hopeful that he was able to find some payback for how people used him.

It's not a heavy read. It's not a difficult read. But it is a solid read. It did take me a few stops and starts to understand that this is completely first person, told in the way the author anticipated this character to speak. Short and simple sentences like I said for a character that really truly is far more complex than presented. I really appreciated this storytelling style so very much.

Enjoyable. That is my short and simple but complex take.

Flatiron reports 25 years of the life of the narrator and his relationship with photographer Laura in the second half of the past century and the beggining of adult life. Each chapter summarizes a specific year of the protagonist's life through short sentences, and although it take some time to get used to and may not be everyone's cup of tea, this writing style grants some rhythm to the description of a historical New York City and the comming of age not only of the character, but also of the own Big Apple.