Readers of this blog tend to be interested in things like transnational identities, the state of America and life in 21st century cities. So here’s some good news: there’s a new novel out that addresses all these things and then some. Open City by Teju Cole (full disclosure: he’s a friend) is “the story of a young Nigerian-German psychiatrist in New York City five years after 9/11” with a detour to Brussels thrown in. It came out in the U.S. yesterday, and is getting rave reviews. Here’s one from Booklist:
Possibly the only negative thing to say about Cole’s intelligent and panoramic first novel is that it is a more generous account of the recent past than the era deserves. America’s standing in the world is never far from the restless thoughts of psychiatry resident Julius, a Nigerian immigrant who wanders Manhattan, pondering everything from Goya and the novels of J.M. Coetzee to the bankruptcy of Tower Records and the rise of the bedbug epidemic. In other words, it is an ongoing reverie in the tradition of W.G. Sebald or Nicholson Baker, but with the welcome interruptions of the friends and strangers Julius meets as he wanders Penn Station, the Upper West Side, and Brussels during a short holiday, and amid discussions of Alexander Hamilton, black identity, and the far left–a truly American novel emerges. Julius pines over a recent ex, mourns the death of a friend, goes to movies, concerts, and museums, but above all he ruminates, and the picture of a mind that emerges in lieu of a plot is fascinating, as it is engaged with the world in a rare and refreshing way.
So, a bit more complex than the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Go out – or on Amazon – and buy it. Cole maintains an esoteric online notebook linked to the novel (here) and is a sharp photographer too. The funny fellow at the top of the post is one of his.
