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Title: Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue

Subtitle: A Novel of Pastry, Guilt, and Music

Author: Mark Kurlansky

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-01-05

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The booming 1980s have arrived, and in Manhattan's Lower East Side, that means the yuppies have arrived, too. Gentrification has begun! Amidst the hubbub, Nathan Seltzer pursues an affair with the sexy daughter of the local German bakers and fights to protect his little photocopy shop from the predatory advances of the Kopy Katz chain. And all the while, a murderous maniac is terrorizing the neighborhood.

Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue presents an exhiliarating menagerie of peoples and customs while vividly capturing a colorful period of American cultural history.

Critic Reviews:

"A definitive portrait of an era that's all the better for not really trying to be one." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

Quality.

Good quality CD set and fun story as recommended.

A very funny poignant novel about the changing Lower East Side

A very funny poignant novel about the changing Lower East Side. The plot is well constructed with all themes resolved. This book should receive a wide appreciative audience.

is that a way to talk?

a book for New Yorkers - if you're from there, currently living there, once lived there, you will recognize the territory. Otherwise it will all be Greek to you (pastries aside)

the writing is uneven, sometimes annoying, at times poignant. needed more time in the oven.

A jumbled, unorganized mess

Boogaloo on 2nd Avenue is a novel that focuses on pastry, guilt, and greed on Manhattanâs lower east side. It is non-fiction writerâs Mark Kurlanksyâs debut novel. The story takes place on the lower east side in New York, a place where diversity flourishes. It follows a number of characters of different ethnic backgrounds from the Reagan era but the main one being Nathan Seltzer, a jew who adores his young daughter and is torn on whether to sell his business to a corporation for her future. Social issues such as racism are present, highlighting the hatred between Dominicans and Puerto Ricans.

The story is choppy, broken up into parts that follow separate characters throughout the book, sometimes bringing in new characters over half way through the book to follow. It can be very confusing to follow and pretty easy to get lost. The beginning is slowwwwww and I know slow doesnât have that many wâs but it was a drag. The first 75 pages or so consisted of introducing all these characters, introducing Jews, Latinos, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans trying to be Puerto Ricans, Italians, drug dealers, suspected Naziâs, and it goes on. It has a jumble of different storylines that you can easily lose track of. After the majority of characters got introduced the story picked up a bit, and Kurlanksyâs writing style really came through. He has a quirky, nonchalant attitude in his writing that make it fun, not to mention the mouth watering descriptions of delicious pastry.

I feel like the character development suffered from the amount of semi-main characters in book. I think certain characters definitely plateaued in their development and I think itâs Kurlanskyâs fault for taking on such a long list of characters. It also doesnât help that some characters are way more interesting than others. Reading this book a chore at times, reading about a character that doesnât really have a whole lot going on in their life isnât that thrilling.

Overall Iâd give this book a 6 out of 10.