City on Fire (Hardcover)
October 2015 Indie Next List
“Big, juicy, and full-throated, City on Fire absorbs readers into an expertly crafted 1970s New York City and introduces them to character after lushly drawn character: the charismatic young woman with a hidden life, her asthmatic punk groupie friend, the wizened reporter, the obscenely rich and rebellious, the not-so-rebellious, and those who love them. Their lives create a rich tapestry, beginning with a murder on the brink of the New Year in 1977 and culminating later that year during the infamous blackout. With unequivocal skill, Hallberg makes readers feel like they are holding the whole city in their hands. Breathe deep and enjoy the experience!”
— Melinda Powers (E), Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
Staff Reviews
City on Fire is a debut tour-de-force. Brilliant and huge in page count and ambition, it opens at the close of 1976 with a shooting in Central Park and culminates in July of 1977 with the historic city-wide blackout and all the chaos and mayhem that it wrought. Garth Risk Hallberg brings to the page all the grit and promise of New York in the '70's with an ensemble cast of punk musicians, anarchists, artists, writers, magnates and lost teenagers. The characters' fates converge by way of a most remarkable trajectory leaving the reader thrilled, shaken and utterly satisfied.
— Cathy Langer, Lead buyer for Tattered Cover