Wonderful Town: New York Stories from The New Yorker (Modern Library (Paperback)) Paperback – May 1, 2000

This is a collection of stories that take place in and around New York from the New Yorker. Some stories are better than others, but I enjoyed reading all the ones that I did read.

This great collection of New Yorker short stories gives some of the thrills of being in New York, at least the New Yorker's version of it. It leads one to hope for another collection of great stories about our favorite city.

The Kindle edition is apparently poorly proofed, which is disappointing., as I was looking forward to this collection. I expect I'll continue to enjoy it, but it's disturbing that both the table of contents and the byline of the above the story itself list the author "Distant Music" as Ann Beattle (rather than Ann Beattie). I'm looking forward to reading all of the stories, and am hoping that this is the only typo that the proofreader(s) -- if there were any -- missed.

One of a series of New Yorker books I bought for my wife - she loves them all.

I'm not a book critic, just a college student and had to read some stories from this book for class. As I said, I haven't ready everything in the world, and don't want to be seen ignorant. But I really didn't enjoy a lot of things here, thought I haven't read all the stories. Some where enjoyable "6" on a 1-10 scale, 10 being the best. Some stories seem very gloomy, and all the stories that I read are loosely related to New York. But "Good For You" to the people who enjoyed this book. And don't just take my word for it.

This was a gift and she was thrilled. Came fast and brand new.

Love NY stories!

The opening author is John Cheever. A corporate man and a corporate secretary meet at her place for a drink. He is estranged from his wife, the father of a friend of his son, and, finally, the woman, who manages to humiliate him.There is a story by Roth about a fictitious quiz show contestant. Tales by John O'Hara, Laurie Colwin, Jonathan Franzen, and Frank Conroy appear. The Franzen entry was used as a chapter or at least an incident in CORRECTIONS.A character in a Nabokov story has referential mania. Jamaica Kincaid in her account of an overseas visitor speaks of day old food stored in a refrigerator. John McNulty writes of a bar, of course, and Hortense Calisher of Greenwich Village.J.D. Salinger's contribution is a story featuring Holden Caulfield and Pencey Prep. Renata Adler writes in stylish fashion using a fictional "I" of life in a brownstone. Isaac Bashevis Singer comes along with yiddish-speaking cafeteria goers. Veronica Geng has a take on conspicuous consumption.Susan Sontag provides a surprisingly buoyant account of chronic illness. The narrator of Julie Hecht's story believes that buildings in New York should be built to the specifications of Prince Charles. "Mentocrats" by Edward Newhouse concerns schoolboys promoting the idea of a mental aristocracy. Daniel Menaker has a character say that the banality of evil is outstripped by the banality of anxiety neurosis. The psychiatrist in the story tells the first character he doesn't have the courage of his own contempt.In eliminating some regrets you create others according to Jeffrey Eugenides. Dorothy Parker, E.B. White, Elizabeth Hardwick, Bernard Malamud, and Saul Bellow are all present in this collection of stories. Bellow's story gives rise to the thought that everyone has burdens. Remnick's selections are a joy.