upstate NY books are the song of my people
5 stars
I took a long time to finish this and I have no idea why; maybe I was trying to savor it. But I thought this was a truly beautiful portrait of a sad, forgotten city with all kinds of tragic dilapidated weirdness and ruined finery (Syracuse, NY). I lived there over 10 years ago and it was strange yet familiar to see a contemporary portrait - or a portrait of that place that’s been impacted and influenced by the contemporary in a way that seems separate in my mind. One of my favorites this year.