NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥淰intage Contemporaries,鈥� By Dan Kois (Harper)
Emily Thiel, fresh to New York City by way of college and Wausau, Wisconsin, often has her nose stuck in a book. It鈥檚 1991, so it鈥檚 usually a Vintage Contemporary 鈥� a Random House imprint started in 1984 that showcased new authors with featuring dot matrix accents and blocks of color.
Emily feels out of place in the big city until she meets a brash fellow newcomer who already seems to have the city in the palm of her hand, also named Emily (鈥淚f we were characters in a story,鈥� the new Emily notes, 鈥淚t would be pretty confusing that we are both named Emily.鈥�).
Together, the two explore lower Manhattan and all it has to offer in the 1990s: pierogis at Veselka, book shopping at St. Marks Bookstore, Hal Hartley movies from Kim鈥檚 Video Store, Tony Kushner鈥檚 play 鈥淎ngels in America,鈥� and defending squats near Tomkins Square Park.
Meanwhile, our original Emily, a literary agent assistant, discovers and helps publish a novel by Lucy Deming, a writer of cozy but overlooked novels 鈥� the character is based on novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin 鈥� and the two form a lasting friendship.
Author Kois, a Slate editor, peppers the book with references to Vintage Contemporaries throughout. He usually doesn鈥檛 name them, but a 鈥淣otes鈥� section in the back helps identify them for sleuths. He also includes Lorraine Louie, the actual graphic designer who came up with the groundbreaking Vintage Contemporary cover style, as a minor character.
The story alternates between the 1990s and the 2000s as the characters鈥� relationships cleave apart and come together again, buffeted by life circumstances. Lovers of used paperbacks and 1990s nostalgia will find a lot to like about this wholesome debut novel, and are likely to leave it with a new book recommendation or two.
Mae Anderson (), The Associated Press
