The Subway Chronicles: Scenes from Life in New York

by Jacquelin Cangro (Editor)

Overview

Some seven million people board the New York City'subway every day, each one with a story to tell. The Subway Chronicles collects twenty-seven of the tales, dramas and comedies that unfold during the daily commute. From the “mole people” living in the subway tunnels, to the transit employees working behind the scenes, to the locals and tourists riding shoulder-to-shoulder in harmony, discord, or indifference, The Subway Chronicles offers a kaleidoscope of perspectives on this most public of spaces.

Prominent New York writers weigh in:

• Jonathan Lethem confesses his childhood subway sins

• Colson Whitehead offers mass-transit tips for newcomers to the city

• Francine Prose recalls the thrill and apprehension of riding alone as a teenage girl

• Calvin Trillin pokes fun at the classic New York tendency to be skeptical about everything

• Stan Fischler delights in memories of riding the open-air train cars to Coney Island as a boy

Equal parts hilarious, poignant, and heartbreaking, The Subway Chronicles is a journey into New York’s underground with some of today’s most loved writers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780452287792
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/29/2006
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.74(h) x 0.61(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jacquelin Cangro, founder of thesubwaychronicles.com, has had her work published in literary journals and is a monthly columnist for Learning Through History magazine. She recently completed her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Here is a delightful collection of New York stories by veteran straphangers-both known and unknown-dedicated to that amazing underground network. Along with expected accounts of the unsavory run-ins with weirdoes and stink bombs during the usual subway commute (e.g., Daniels Parseliti's "Porno Man and I Versus the Feminist Avenger and Displaced Anger Man"), many of these authors offer poignant memories of riding the trains over the years, such as Jonathan Lethem's account of haunting the eponymous station in "Speak, Hoyt-Schermerhorn" as a white, liberal-middle-class kid immersed in a fringe area of crime and poverty. "Parnassus Underground" by Patrick Flynn recalls joyfully the meaty reading the author was able to accomplish during long workday commutes from the Bronx, before he moved and (to his literary despair) shortened his travel time. Robert Lanham's "Straphanger Doppelg nger" records the chilling encounter between two commuters of uncanny resemblance who have observed each other over a long period. Most gratifying are the historical details worked into many of the essays, such as the comparison between Russian and New York underground railroads as noted by Boris Fishman in "Metro Blues, or How I Came to America." This is a clever collection gathered by Cangro from her Web site, thesubwaychronicles.com. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Cangro founded TheSubwayChronicles. com in 2002, and the site is still thriving, providing a place for New Yorkers to vent or rhapsodize about their public transit system. Inspired by the site, this anthology collects diverse essays from writers like Jonathan Lethem and Francine Prose, essays sharing little other than their basic topic and an obvious deep feeling for New York. Included are in-depth reminiscences about the subway of yesteryear and a comparison between the subway systems of New York and Moscow. Explorations of personal motivations for riding, long-term love/hate affairs with the subway and with New York in general, conversations with transit workers, and of course, ruminations on the quirks and personal hygiene habits of other riders all appear within these pages. Cangro has amassed a fascinating collection of perspectives, with a few commercially bolstering authors among the bunch. With any luck, the inclusion of such authors as Lethem and Colson Whitehead will push this title into the light; a recommended purchase for academic and larger public libraries alike. [Cangro is currently at work on her first novel.-Ed.]-Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal