I'm a big Anna Quindlen fan. You can always count on Quindlen for stellar writing and perceptive, insightful explorations into her characters and their life situations. That said, I was a little put off by the tone of this book at first - it came off as arch and sardonic, which I wasn't expecting. It didn't seem very "Anna Quindlen-ish."

But, hey.....she came through again. I fell into the rhythm of the story and the characters and the tone began to make sense. The story centers around a middle-aged married couple, Nora and Charlie, who live in one of a tony cluster of townhouses in New York City. They have known their neighbors on this dead-end block for years - the community is very insular and exclusive, with annual summer neighborhood BBQs and Christmas parties. Nora and Charlie are about to become empty nesters as their twin son and daughter are in their final semesters of college.

Nora loves NYC and can't conceive of a life elsewhere. Charlie feels beaten down by life in NYC and wants to move south where he can get out of the hustle and bustle and play some golf. In the midst of their mid-life angst, a disturbing incident in their clannish neighborhood shakes up their lives and deepens the fault lines in their relationship.

Quindlen's observations on marriage, relationships and NYC are sharp-eyed and astute. I wish I could quote some of her narrative, but I cannot since I would be quoting from an ARC, which is not allowed.

I recommend this family drama to fans of Quindlen, readers who enjoy character-driven stories and unlikeable protagonists, and fans of NYC. If you don't "feel it" at first, give Quindlen some time - her story and characters take time to mature and grow on you. I really enjoyed this.

Sincere thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and Penguin Random House for an ARC of this novel.

I did not finish this book at 50%. The characters were uninteresting. I could not muster any enthusiasm for the plot - if there was one - and it just seemed to do nothing but describe the dregs of life. I was uninterested in anything having to do with the parking spot and was not keen to keep reading even after the golf club attack. As I did not finish this book I did not review this on Goodreads.

This was my first Anna Quindlen novel. To be honest, I don't know if this will be the first and last book by this author that I read (or attempt to read). I did not like this novel AT ALL...There was no plot whatsoever, narrative kept jumping back in forth in time with no rhyme or reason (sometimes even within the same paragraph). My head was spinning non-stop trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

Anna Quindlen is a New Yorker. Clearly, she wanted to write about a city she lived in. However, I am not sure if this is a love letter to the city or a hate letter. Personally, this novel reminded me of all the things I hate about New York and how happy I am that I no longer live there.

A house on a dead end street and a marriage at it's dead end.

New York and parking and life. Marriage, community, and an unhappy woman. That's what this book was to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Nora Nolan has always felt a kinship with New York City and wants to live nowhere else. Her husband Charlie doesn’t feel the same way. He’s always trying to convince her to move from the city, mostly because he hasn’t found success in NYC and thinks he’ll do better elsewhere. Their twins have left home and are living at college now. The dead end street where they live is a tight knit group of friends and those not well thought of. Most have dogs and Nora and Charlie’s dog, Homer, opens up channels of communication with many of the neighbors. They all mourn together when one of them loses a dog. One of the neighbors, Jack, has anger issues and often that anger is directed at the area’s handyman, Ricky. When a dispute over parking spaces erupts into violence, none of their lives will be the same.

I have read many of Anna Quindlen’s books and she’s a favorite author of mine. I couldn’t be more surprised that I can only give her newest book 3 stars. I’ve read all of the glowing reviews but personally I struggled through this book. I had so much trouble keeping the characters straight and then realized that I just didn’t care for any of them and they all just blended together. These are people of privilege and they have lives that others would envy. And yet they aren’t satisfied and constantly whine. There’s a line in the book that I can’t find now which said something to the effect that you shouldn’t whine on a luxury cruise and that’s what I felt these people were doing. And I just couldn’t get interested in their “plight” at all.

That’s not to say that there weren’t parts of this book that I enjoyed. I loved the dog Homer who loved every minute of his walks around the neighborhood. I liked the exchanges between Nora and the “homeless” man. I enjoyed some of the humor that Ms. Quindlen includes in this book. Possibly I expected something else. The previous books by this author that I’ve read, such as “Black and Blue” and “One True Thing”, were much darker books and elicited strong emotions for me. The only scene that elicited emotion from me in this book was the one involving Homer.

Sorry, Ms. Quindlen, but this book isn’t at the top of my favorites of yours.

I think I am in the minority here as a number of my friends gave this book 4+ stars. In reading their reviews, I get what they are saying but I just did not enjoy it as they did. It was too ordinary for too long. I tired of reading about the parking situation, wasn’t enthusiastic about the characters and too many diversions. I did enjoy some of the New York’isms as my husband and I spent a lot of time there visiting my in-laws over the years and wrestled with some of the same things that Charlie and Nora dealt with - like the annoying alternate street parking- made me feel a bit nostalgic. Not my favorite Quindlen book.

I have long been a fan of Anna Quindlen and she does not disappoint with Alternate Side, a beautifully crafted look at a marriage & the stressors that threaten it. Quindlen's understated eloquence left me thinking about the characters, their experiences, and her insightful analysis for quite some time after I finished reading the book. in which New York City and, more particularly, the neighborhood in which Nora and Charlie Nolan reside, is a main character. They live on a dead-end in a home that has appreciated in value dramatically over the course of the city's resurgence from 9/11 and the collapse of the real estate market. The fact that they could sell the house at a substantial profit and move to a quieter, slower-paced locale free from rats, congestion, and his stalled career appeals to Charlie. As the story opens, he is ecstatic that they have finally achieved the tenure required to rent a parking spot in the makeshift lot down the block. Nora is a New Yorker, determined to stay, and she dismisses the idea of moving every time Charlie broaches it. But their comfortable life is threatened by events in the neighborhood that forever change how they look at each other, their life together, and their relationships with their neighbors. Nora is forced to confront the various roles she has played -- wife, mother, and woman - and make choices about her future. Quindlen handles her subject matter with understanding and insight that rings hauntingly true. Alternate Side would be an excellent selection for book clubs as its themes and Quindlen's deft exploration of them provide much to discuss.

Some days Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life—except when there’s a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home, or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? New York City was once Nora’s dream destination, and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The owners watch one another’s children grow up. They use the same handyman. They trade gossip and gripes, and they maneuver for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block’s small parking lot.

Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighborhood, and the enviable dead-end block turns into a potent symbol of a divided city. The fault lines begin to open: on the block, at Nora’s job, especially in her marriage. With an acute eye that captures the snap crackle of modern life, Anna Quindlen explores what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a woman at a moment of reckoning.



My Thoughts: Nora Nolan’s voice swept me along through Alternate Side, like a philosophical journey of life in New York City: a place composed of neighborhoods, marriages, and people moving on to other realities. The rhythm of Nora’s daily life felt like perfection…until it wasn’t.

How could street parking on alternate sides, with another option being a convenient parking lot, morph into a symbol of all that is wrong with the choices we make? Thoughts about the choices people make, like living in Manhattan vs. deciding on a suburban or alternate city kind of life, crept through the pages beautifully. The author’s prose captivated me, even as I felt drawn in by the situations in which the characters found themselves.

Quickly I couldn’t stand Nora’s husband Charlie, but then by the end, I just felt sorry for him. George was so annoying that I wanted to spit on him, but suddenly Jack Fisk earned most of my venom for his horrific actions.

I liked this quote about marriage: “The truth was that their marriages were like balloons: some went suddenly pop, but more often than not the air slowly leaked out until it was a sad, wrinkled little thing with no lift to it anymore.”

And so on and on, we looked at NY life in general: it moved along effortlessly, and then it transmogrified, turning into a renovation of a life that was built on the past. One character described Manhattan life as a city of the mind.

Could alternate realities rise out of what once was? This great story made me constantly think about life and about how we decide where to live and who we are. 5 stars.***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley

"Their marriage had become like the AA prayer: 'God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.' Or at least to move into a zone in which I so don't care anymore and scarcely notice. Nora had thought this was their problem alone until she realized that it was what had happened to almost everyone she knew who was still married, even some of those who were on their second husbands."

Quindlen strikes gold again in her latest novel about privileged empty-nesters in Manhattan who find their lives at a crossroads after a violent event on their tony street.

Nora and Charlie Nolan aren't in the 1%, but they're very, very comfortable. They've been able to give their children expensive, private educations; they own a gorgeous townhouse in Manhattan; and they've just received the coup d'etat for any city dweller -- a private parking spot in the lot behind their building (no more "alternate side" parking, moving the car from one side of the street to the other -- hence, the name of the book). But this comfort has Nora feeling a little bit too comfortable, and wrestling not only with her own feelings of wealth and privilege but also with her unease with the entitlement she sees around her (especially from her husband). An incident between a neighbor and a trusted handyman brings these feelings to the forefront.

Quindlen is a master novelist. While "Alternate Side" isn't a quiet novel like "Miller's Valley," it is still very character-driven and insightful about marriage and relationships.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Anna Quindlen. While I was invested enough in the story and the main character, Nora, to see what happened, I found a lot of the writing to drag. There were a lot of words that were unnecessary to the story and just caused the story to ramble rather than progress in places. I did enjoy the plot and learning what happened to the main characters.
I appreciate Netgalley and Random House for the ARC I received in return for my review.

I have enjoyed Quindlen's works in the past. This one, however, was barely mediocre for me. Despite the good writing, there just wasn't enough for me to care about.

I've lived in Manhattan and I understand the parking situation etc but really? I have always liked Quindlen but this one left me cold and, regrettably, it ended up a DNF. I think the problem, at least for me, is that if you actually own a whole house in NYC and are paying for two kids in private colleges, you're in a serious income bracket. Parking in an open lot or doing the alternate side of the street thing is not what I would expect. I spent the first several chapters of this novel trying to figure out how Charlie and Nora bought that house and where exactly it is supposed to be. I didn't find Nora especially appealing and I didn't get Charlie at all. I tried but there have been several other high end NYC novels this year that felt somehow more relatable even with all the privilege these characters have. I flipped ahead to find the act of violence and read from there but it still didn't grab me. Thank to the publisher for the ARC. I dislike giving bad review and I wanted to like this but I just didn't.

This was the first book that I have read by this author and unfortunately it seems to have been a poor choice for me. I found this book both dull and rambling and even though I am a former New Yorker, I thought the descriptions of the neighbors to be off.

I know this author has a wonderful reputation and I do intend to read other of her books. The book seemed to focus on the haves and the have nots and most of the characters seems superfluous. The theme of a parking lot incident causing such upheaval in a neighborhood seemed a bit off at least to this reader.

So, sorry to say this book for just not for me. However I do wish to thank the author, the publisher, and negalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

This story couldn’t take place anywhere but New York City. It is almost a love story to the city. I mean, where else would snagging a parking space be such a huge event? It’s a story of first world problems and it’s the 1% of the first world.

But that doesn’t make it boring. In typical fashion, Quinlen nails the static existence of a long term marriage, the highs and lows of being almost empty nesters, the quirky neighbors. Thank God she explains the title. Living in the suburbs, I had no clue. Of course, the title goes on to mean so much more.

There’s a great dry humor here. I mean, how true is this statement “Nora had always tended to see most things in shades of gray and she had noticed that logic and marital relations often seemed at odds with each other”.

The book is all about the writing - the descriptions, the characterizations. She can focus in on something and in just a sentence or two, I was nodding my head - yes, yes, yes. I highlight sentences that speak to me. Here, I was highlighting lots of deliciously snarky conversations or thoughts. Such as “All the men seemed more attentive at dinner parties these days because they needed hearing aids and refused to get them.”

Of course, what starts as something fairly light takes a dark turn when an act of violence divides the neighborhood. Not just the neighborhood, but the marriage. This isn’t a big story. It’s a story about the day to day. “People go through life thinking they’re making decisions when they’re really just making plans, which is not the same thing at all.”

My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book.

3.5, rounded down. I liked Anna Quindlen's Alternate Side, but unfortunately, for a book that tackled a lot of life's big issues, I just didn't connect with it as much as I had hoped. Largely I feel that this is because while the book takes on a lot of issues (family, community, race relations, class, etc.), it doesn't explore them as fully as I would have hoped. It excels as being a story about marriage and relationships, as this topic is the most realized in the book. The last quarter or so of the book felt very rushed as it felt like events were packed in one after the other, which threw the pacing of this character driven story off quite a bit. I think this is a worthy and interesting read- just not a new favorite.

The story to me wasn’t Anna’s best. It dragged at times for me and was hard for me to read large sections at a time.

I have enjoyed some of Anna Quindlen’s earlier books but unfortunately this one left me feeling unsatisfied and a bit let down.

I will gladly read everything that Anna Quindlen writes, and this book was no exception to my love for her writing. It was fascinating to watch the town divide and relationships crack after the tragedy, and I loved the self-reflection that Nora is faced with in the wake of each event in the story. Definitely recommending this to my Facebook book clubs--Anna, keep up the great work!

You know, there are other cities in the world besides New York?" Not if you're a Manhattanite! Meet sex and the city without the sex, just a bunch of upscale families who live in a set of Brownstones on a one way/dead end block on the Upper West Side of "The City". Not filthy rich, but definitely comfortable with the ability to afford a private school education and hire servants to care for the kids, cook the meals, and keep the house in good repair. An in-kind neighborhood where everyone meets up while walking their dog, using their free time to gossip over coffee and plan their lives so as not to miss the biyearly "hospitable" get-togethers - the Memorial Day BBQ and the January "Holiday" Party. Once you're invited you know you have been accepted as one of the clique.

In Alternate Side, author Anna Quindlen brings us into the fold, placing us in a location where we can watch events unfurl. We see the world through the eyes of Nora Nolan, eyes that she often feels like rolling, such as when her husband Charlie is finally granted a coveted spot (and not a very good one at that) in the mini community parking lot - invitation only. No more playing the Alternate Side Game twice a week where you have to get up at the crack of dawn and move your car to the other side of the street to avoid getting a ticket. A sport that city dwellers, at least those with cars, are forced to play, since there's no arguing once the meter maid puts pen tip to paper so as to fill the city's coffers with fine money. Fortuitously, the nearby parking lot eases the pressure and makes Charlie feel like he belongs at a time when he isn't quite certain this is the place he wants to be. Nora doesn't need this affirmation, she knows she's a New Yorker through and through, even though her childhood home was in Connecticut. She considers the greatest gift that she has given her twins is the ability to say they were born in Manhattan. Everything is going great, there's still passion in her marriage, her son and daughter are set to graduate from college, her friendships are solid, and she has a fulfilling job managing the growing niche Museum of Jewelry. Then her sense of sublimeness is marred by an incident which seems to change the dynamics of the neighborhood and Nora finds herself reexamining the direction of her life as she tries to maintain an equilibrium that is threatening to fall apart despite her best efforts to keep an even keel.

If you are looking for action and intrigue, this is not the book for you. This is a simple story of the ebb and flow of life as one individual tries to navigate the course without losing her integrity. Nora is the woman we all want to be - living a life she loves in the city she loves doing what she loves to do. She's privileged, yet recognizes she needs to be more inclusive. She's kind, yet acknowledges the unavoidable drawbacks of her chosen lifestyle. She's discerning, yet accepting of her ultimate fate. The men in this novel are not shown to advantage, although to be fair, I'm not sure the women are either.

The downside to the novel is keeping track of all of Nora's friends and acquaintances which gets challengingly confusing at times. Perhaps a handy who's who guide at the beginning or end of the book would help the reader figure things out. I'm also not sure if readers who don't have a New York connection will appreciate the sentiment surrounding an urban subsistence or understand the intensity of Nora's feelings towards a way of life that must seem artificial and exclusive. This could detract from the anticipated audience, but I, for one, who was born in Brooklyn, really relate to this book (even though I now live in a suburb of Buffalo). I get the close family feeling of the neighborhood and I also understand it doesn't last forever, that various regions in New York City grow and change over a relatively short period of time. Peoples lives are also fluid, not static, forcing new adventures even on reluctant participants. Most of all, I get the Alternate Parking, since in my childhood the family car was parked in a lot about a mile away from our apartment, forcing us to make a deliberate decision to drive rather than walk/take the subway/catch a bus. My dad didn't play the Parking Game, but I knew other parents who did and I didn't envy them their crack of dawn dart out the door to maneuver a vehicle which was just going to sit there positioned in the same spot until the next "moving" day. I sometimes think about those metropolitan dwellers when I pull into my own driveway just steps from the front door. Yet, many are willing to put up with the inconvenience in exchange for the ambiance of life in "The City".

Four stars and a thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.