3,5*
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this.

Sidewalk Dance introduces us to Fish, who is quite a mess. Having some ambitions, but not the skills and focus to execute them mostly (both literally and mentally) wanders around NYC hoping to find what he doen’t know he is looking for. Thwarted by Partiboi and dumb decisions, he needs to get a focus and figure out what he really wants.

This was an entertaining story and probably relatable to New York City inhabitants and struggling artists. Sadly, I did not find much to latch onto, but also not specific pointers that made me feel more removed from the characters. However, the ending felt strong and realistic.

Happy to have read it, but will probably not read again.

The characters are relatable and their stories offer a glimpse into their lives, which I appreciated. However, the overall plot felt a bit disjointed at times, and I found some storylines didn’t quite reach their full potential.

This piece of literary fiction straddles the line of satire to the point where I found myself asking, is this really satire or a self-help book? It has all the elements of the standard self-discovery trope—dropping out of law school, possible accidental pregnancy, struggling writer (dramaturg in this case) drugs, drinking, etc. Where it lacks in plot, it makes up for in the chaotic, rambling, stream of consciousness descriptions. Fish is an interesting character, and I enjoyed seeing New York and its inhabitants through his eyes. He was so relatable, I don’t want to admit that I was Fish in my early years as a creative, even more so when he name-dropped my old stomping grounds, Phillips Exeter and Quinnipiac. I despised Partiboy, and couldn’t stop hearing his lines being sung in the tune of the Vengaboys’ “We Like to Party,” but I suppose we all have a little Partiboy and he served a purpose. The play Fish ended up writing is honestly something I’d love to see on an actual stage!

I’d definitely recommend this to readers who secretly want to like literary fiction but find it too pretentious so they give up on the genre. For literary fiction aficionados, they might snub their nose at it or give it high-praise because they don’t want anyone to know that it went over their heads.

Fish leaves behind his prestigious education at Yale and moves to New York with visions of becoming an enigmatic playwright. Running from the trauma of his past, he bunks with a buddy in Manhattan and starts work in a gallery but remains unable to find any recognition in the art world himself. His daily life becomes entangled with sculptor and love interest, Madame Meticulous, and with his troublesome alter-ego, Partiboy, who encourages him to keep partying.

In all of Fish’s grandeur delusions about becoming a playwright, he never thought he would have such difficulty with the actual writing. What starts as a romanticized idea of becoming a tortured New York artist becomes his reality and being a man not well acquainted with follow-through, Fish ends up wandering around absently in his new life eventually succumbing to depression, addiction, and a loss of identity.

Fish certainly isn’t always the most likable character—flawed, he is—but he is real and evokes real emotion from the reader and I hate to say that I sometimes found myself relating to him. Oh no, does that make me a flawed character too? Ugh, well anyways. In addition to our MC Fish, this story includes a handful of incredibly compelling secondary characters that add support to the narrative. The characters and the vivid scenes of New York life—the streets, the public transportation, the people, the fact-paced lifestyle—make this story come to life.

Sidewalk Dance is an unconventional coming-of-age about one young man grappling with his own authenticity and ideas about what it means to be a New Yorker. A very entertaining read.

Thank you Turner Publishing and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. Available 10/15/2024!