Brooklyn in Pages

Some great Brooklyn books to take you through the end of the summer

a street of brownstones in Brooklyn
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I got a pretty big thrill the other day when I found out that my debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming, has been longlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize. The prize is meant to recognize books that celebrate the spirit of Brooklyn, and for this reason, it was one of the best affirmations that a local girl who learned to read in her public library could receive.

A few months ago, I made a list of Brooklyn films that really help you get to know the place, which got me thinking about some great Brooklyn books that, with the Labor Day weekend upon us, you might want to pick up and dive into. These are books that celebrate, to me, the spirit of Brooklyn—not Brooklyn (™) the hyper-developed locale where the hip reside, but Brooklyn, the working-class outer borough where people live. Some are written by natives, others not. And I’m sure I’ve missed some—so please hit me up and tell me which Brooklyn books I’ve left off the list.

(And speaking of Labor Day, if you are in Washington, D.C. this holiday weekend, I’ll be at the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival on a panel called “Is Anything Funnier Than Politics?” and will host a book signing after.)

With no further ado, a Brooklyn End-of-Summer Reading List.

Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta, by James Hannaham: In this brand-new fiction release (hitting bookstores today!) Carlotta Mercedes is back home after 20 years in prison—where, on an all-male cell block, she began her transition to life as a woman—to a much changed Brooklyn. The novel is both hilarious and heartbreaking, with language that reaches for your throat. I don’t want to give too much away here, but with an unforgettable voice, Hannaham takes on gentrification, the prison and parole system, and more.

Bright Lines, by Tanwi Nandini Islam: Set between Bangladesh and Brownstone Brooklyn, this 2015 novel has stayed with me for years. Perhaps because of its unforgettable rendering of a middle-aged dad at the opening, or the way that it perfectly encapsulates the nighttime-bike-riding-and-sneaking-off-of-fire-escapes excitement of being a teenager here, this queer coming-of-age novel is a beautifully written, quick read that lingers long after you turn the last page.

The Fortress of Solitude, by Jonathan Lethem: A classic. There are too many reasons to love this 2004 book about motherless sons finding solace in each other. (I’ve yet to encounter another book that hits at the depth and challenges of friendship, Brooklyn-style—and the pain that results when it breaks apart.) The book touches on powerful themes of place: gentrification; leaving home to escape it, only to discover it is intricately woven into your soul. Lethem also offers an intriguing examination—through the eyes of a native Brooklynite who leaves—of white guilt and white privilege, particularly with relation to the working- and middle-class Brooklyn of my youth.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith: It’s hard to explain what it meant to me—a girl who grew up on a Brooklyn street in an industrial park, whose window looked onto a treeless block full of broken glass and burned-out cars—to meet Francie, a character who made me feel not-alone in my want for more. But Smith’s protagonist also made me feel proud—proud that I was from a place so special that someone wrote a book about it. And proud that someone made the details of my everyday life feel so beautiful with words.

The Assistant, by Bernard Malamud: First published in 1957, this postwar narrative centers  on a poor Jewish grocer in Brooklyn who dreams of a better life for his family, and his Italian American grifter assistant who struggles to be a good person in the face of envy, greed, and lust. Malamud’s novel shows a world of small joys and bad luck, trust and faith, and the stuff of real life. Plus, it’s got some of the best old–New York dialogue.

Xochitl Gonzalez is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of its newsletter Brooklyn, Everywhere, about class, gentrification, and the American Dream. She is the author of the novel Olga Dies Dreaming and was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.