Chekhov's Mistress
Map Quest
Randy Cohen, “The Ethicist’” columnist for the New York Times Magazine has a project: We’ll Map Manhattan.
I propose to create, with the help of the Book Review’s readers, a literary map of Manhattan — not of its authors’ haunts but those of their characters, a map of the literary stars’ homes.
From the daunting:
‘‘In Edith Wharton’s ‘‘House of Mirth’‘ Lily Bart drifts toward Lawrence Selden’s apartment in the Benedick without quite meaning to. ‘‘As she reached 50th Street . . . she decided to walk across to Madison Avenue.’‘ Midblock, she notices ‘‘the Georgian flat-house with flower boxes on its balconies. . . . A few yards ahead was the doorway they had entered together.’‘’
Image: New York Times. Click to Enlarge
To the impossible:
“Melville obscures the address of the faceless office building where Bartleby works — or prefers not to. The unnamed narrator declares, ‘‘My chambers were up stairs, at No.—— Wall Street.’‘ The view gives no hint; the windows face an airshaft: ‘‘Within three feet of the panes was a wall.’‘ Ingenious readers are encouraged to pinpoint this building.”
The Details:
READERS ARE INVITED to submit the address of the home (or office or hangout) of a character from a novel, story, children’s book or poem that is set in Manhattan. Include the title and author and the sentence or two (with page number) that provides the clue to the location. Send to The New York Times Book Review, 229 West 43rd Street, New York, N.Y., 10036, Attention: Bookmap; or e-mail to bookmap@nytimes.com. Entries are due by Wednesday, May 11. The Literary Map of Manhattan will appear in the Book Review on June 5, the Summer Reading issue, and on the Web at nytimes.com. Of course authors are encouraged to reveal the home addresses of their charactersThe Times has a special email address for readers to send in their suggestions, bookmap@nytimes.com.
Read widely, think well, and write often.
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About this Post
- Posted by: Bud Parr
- Date: April 26, 2005
- Filed Under:
Wise Men Fish Here: Literature
- Comments:0
- Links to this Post: Technorati
