Central Park, by Andrew Blauner (editor)

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Central Park is a collection of short stories and essays about one of New York's most famous locations (you guessed it--Central Park). For those of us not from New York, Central Park is an iconic landmark, the uncredited extra cast member in Woody Allen movies and Law & Order episodes. But for New Yorkers, it is so much more, as this collection makes clear. It is, as editor Andrew Blauner points out, the paradox of New York City, the calming green space in the midst of one of the world's most bustling cities, the point that "divides...separating East Side from West Side...but also unites...somehow simultaneously defines and defies the city."

Central Park contains short stories from famous authors, as well as essays from New York City Parks officials. One story of note is "The Sixth Borough" by Jonathan Safran Foer, a version of which appears in  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The fable of the sixth borough was one my favourite part of that novel, so I was delighted to see it included in this anthology.



Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley.com. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.