Metropolis

Metropolis is set in the New York of the 1860s and `70s, as the United States was making its transition into a global power. You wouldn't know this from this book however, as Metropolis centers itself on the underworld of New York--specifically the crime of the Five Points area of the Lower East Side. Featuring a complicated hero who isn't always easy to "make out," our hero is called by many names but most often Frank Harris. Coerced into the Whyo gang, lead by the ruthless "Dandy" Johnny Dolan and his mother, Harris finds himself falling in love with Beatrice, also a member of the gang. Its clear that Elizabeth Gaffney has done her research and knows whereof she speaks. It helps that she's a Brooklyn native and describes the Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan down to the smallest detail. Her characters are intriguing, and the way Gaffney writes makes me want to do more reading on the gangs of the period (indeed, Gaffney drew a lot of her source material from the Herbert Asbury book, Gangs of New York, even though that particular book isn't particularly factual). Metropolis is about a clash of cultures and about "finding oneself" in the jungle of Manhattan. It's a poignant tale. Anyone who has read The Alienist by Caleb Carr will like this book.

The story in this book takes place during the late 1800s in New York City, back when several gangs of criminals fought for their turf. Ever see the movie "Gangs of New York"? You get the idea. One of the groups of criminals back then was called the "Whyos", and this fictional book is a story about how one man gets tied up in their criminal world. The story is interesting, the details of the time period are first-rate, and the characters have depth. I found this book for like a buck at a book-sale or something. Always fun when such a cheap book turns out to be such a good read.

I like the notion of violent gangsters chosen for their vocal pitch. I like the idea of the sewermen in the municipal bath house, and their fear of the "ghost", the very human way they justify its existence even though the truth is painfully self-evident. I like the way the plot hovers just above mystical and supernatural. I like the juxtaposition of song versus gore, bridge versus sewer, poverty versus wealth (and so on- it is a book of extremes). Does it have to be absolutely plausible to be a fascinating story? For my money, this "guy gets girl" saga is stronger for its whimsical elements. Some concepts in the book will make me pay more attention, now, to the sounds in the city. Is that really a screeching cat? Or could it be a pomaded, red-lipped, axe-blade-booted killer communicating with his lackeys?

In its essence, Metropolis is a love story between a German immigrant in NYC in the late 1800's and the teenage wife of the Irish gang leader. Though earnest, honest, and hard-working, Harris is on the run from the law for a crime he didn't commit. The Irish gang takes him to use for their own nefarious purposes, and assigns Beatrice the job of turning him into a credible Irishman to avoid the police and other gangs. The story is minutely researched, and brings in real people from the era, including the main character himself, mentioned in David McCullough's "The Great Bridge" as a worker who fell off the Brooklyn Bridge during construction and lived. The historical detail is used well, adding a strong sense of an almost magical place of heroic bridges overhead, secret sewer tunnels below, an era of vicious but honorable gangs counterbalancing the venality of the police and municipal adminstration. But Gaffeny never gets bogged down in these details, using them only to complement the intertwined stories of Harris and Beatrice. The novel reminded me of "A Winter's Tale" by Mark Helprin, about a thief and set during the same period, and obviously pulls extensive detail from "The Gangs of NY." Overall, very enjoyable to read and highly recommended.

I couldnt put this book down. The author tells a story of immigrants in New York City in the 1870s, and much of it is based on actual people and events. At the center is a criminal gang called the Whyos, who really existed. The reader is plunged into the action in the very first chapter, with the main character waking up in a fire at the Barnum museum (also an actual event). The person who set the fire (this is established right away, I'm not giving away the end) is a repulsive sociopathic killer with the nickname of The Undertaker. The book gives an incredible sense of time and place, in minute detail, which is only possible through extensive research. It clearly shows the myth that this country offered people: someone could arrive here with nothing and be willing to work hard, and end up a millionaire. Everyone had an equal chance in the land of golden opportunity. The reality was it was hard to avoid the criminal elements, one was lucky to find back-breaking dangerous work for little pay and no benefits, women had few options, disease (typhoid, tuberculosis, etc.)was rampant, there was appalling overcrowding and lack of santitation. The action is nonstop, with a large cast of characters, right to the very last page. Although the story paints a dark picture of life among the underclass, the book has many hopeful notes, and some of the characters do move upward. This is without a doubt one of the best (and best written books) I've read this year. The author's attention to detail is to be commended.