23. Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York by Roz Chast

read the book -had to get it through Interlibrary loan
2017 Bloomsbury
169 pgs.
Adult Graphic Novel sort-of
Finished  3/7/18
Goodreads rating:3.79 - 2392 ratings
My rating:  4

First line/s:  "This is not a 'definitive guide book' to Manhattan.  In fact, it's not really a guide book.  There's nothing in here about the Statue of Liberty, for example."

My comments:  This graphic novel was a fun, quick – VERY quick – read. Granted, I didn't learn anything new about Manhattan, but it reminded me over and over again about why I love this wonderful city. The author's observations and comments are clever and funny, and her love for New York really comes through.

Goodreads synopsis: From the #1 NYT bestselling author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast's new graphic memoir--a hilarious illustrated ode/guide/ thank-you note to Manhattan.
          A native Brooklynite-turned-suburban commuter deemed the quintessential New Yorker, Roz Chast has always been intensely alive to the glorious spectacle that is Manhattan--the daily clash of sidewalk racers and dawdlers; the fascinating range of dress codes; and the priceless, nutty outbursts of souls from all walks of life.
          For Chast, adjusting to life outside the city was surreal--(you can own trees!? you have to drive!?)--but she recognized that the reverse was true for her kids. On trips into town, they would marvel at the strange visual world of Manhattan--its blackened sidewalk gum-wads, "those West Side Story-things" (fire escapes)--and its crazily honeycombed systems and grids.
          Told through Chast's singularly zany, laugh-out-loud, touching, and true cartoons, Going Into Town is part New York stories (the "overheard and overseen" of the island borough), part personal and practical guide to walking, talking, renting, and venting--an irresistible, one-of-a-kind love letter to the city.