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Bookriot's 100 Must-Read New York City Novels

"The common thread is not just novels that use New York City as a setting, but ones that render the city as a fully realized character in the story. Here are 100 novels of New York City. I hope you'll discover classics you haven't read, unknown gems you've never heard of, and modern additions that round out the richness of NYC's storytelling tradition. You'll find entries from Harlem Renaissance writers, stories of the Gilded Age, immigrant narratives from a huge range of cultures, modern tales of both excess and famine, and everything in between." -Rachel Manwill
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1
1876 (Gore Vidal)
1876
Gore Vidal
2
Knickerbocker's History of New York (Washington Irving)
Knickerbocker's History of New York
Washington Irving
3
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
4
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith
5
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis)
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis
6
Another Brooklyn (Jacqueline Woodson)
Another Brooklyn
Jacqueline Woodson
7
Another Country (James Baldwin)
Another Country
James Baldwin
8
Ashes of Fiery Weather (Kathleen Donohoe)
Ashes of Fiery Weather
Kathleen Donohoe
9
Behold the Dreamers (Imbolo Mbue)
Behold the Dreamers
Imbolo Mbue
10
Billy Bathgate
Billy Bathgate
11
Bread Givers (Anzia Yezierska)
Bread Givers
Anzia Yezierska
12
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Truman Capote)
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Truman Capote
13
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY (Jay McInerney)
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
Jay McInerney
14
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
15
Brown Girl Brownstones
Brown Girl Brownstones
16
Christodora (Tim Murphy)
Christodora
Tim Murphy
17
City of Dreams (Beverly Swerling)
City of Dreams
Beverly Swerling
18
Daddy Was a Number Runner (Louise Meriwether)
Daddy Was a Number Runner
Louise Meriwether
19
Dissident Gardens (Jonathan Lethem)
Dissident Gardens
Jonathan Lethem
20
Dreamland (Kevin Barker)
Dreamland
Kevin Barker
21
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
22
Fates and Furies (Lauren Groff)
Fates and Furies
Lauren Groff
23
Fever
Fever
24
Forever
Forever
25
Fury
Fury
26
Girl in Translation (Jean Kwok)
Girl in Translation
Jean Kwok
27
Go Tell It on the Mountain (James Baldwin)
Go Tell It on the Mountain
James Baldwin
28
Going Down (Jennifer Belle)
Going Down
Jennifer Belle
29
Half-Resurrection Blues (Daniel Jose Older)
Half-Resurrection Blues
Daniel Jose Older
30
Heyday (Kurt Anderson)
Heyday
Kurt Anderson
31
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Julia Alvarez)
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
Julia Alvarez
32
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison
33
It's Kind of a Funny Story (Ned Vizzini)
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Ned Vizzini
34
Jazz (Toni Morrison)
Jazz
Toni Morrison
35
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964) - Hubert Selby, Jr.
Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964) - Hubert Selby, Jr.
36
Let the Great World Spin (Colum McCann)
Let the Great World Spin
Colum McCann
37
Lowboy (John Wray)
Lowboy
John Wray
38
Lucy (Jamaica Kincaid)
Lucy
Jamaica Kincaid
39
Lush Life
Lush Life
40
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (Stephen Crane)
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
Stephen Crane
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