This book was a super ambitious debut from the author - 900+ pages about NYC in the 70s, focusing on the run up to the famous blackout in '77. It's one of those that is slice of life/perspective on one event (in this case a shooting) from many different characters narrative - showing the variety of people in the city etc.
I really wanted to love this, but (and this could be me being over New York books!) it just didn't evoke anything in me, although it was well written, and I liked the little alternative media additions such as zines, medical records excerpts, letters and so on.

Wow - this is a very long book. But don’t let that put you off reading it. Great story, fantastic characters and dialogue which is so real its like sitting next to the characters and eavesdropping.

A really interesting novel, but one that I nevertheless struggled to get through.
CITY ON FIRE is a massive tome, but one that didn't fully justify its length. There are certainly excellent passages, and the characters are interesting. I just don't think I needed to spend THIS much time with them.

I'd be interested in reading something else by Hallberg, but one that had been more judiciously and tightly written.

Would have worked better split into a couple of books. It felt long and i actually wanted it to end. That said, i would recommend as a long holiday read.

Oh boy. What can I say about City on Fire. Well, it’s long. At 911 pages it is a beast of a book. If I had to say something about City on Fire it is that is like a version of Love Actually that tries too hard to be cool.

That probably sounds a bit harsh but hear me out. You have these interconnecting stories that take place over various time frames but all the characters are intrinsically linked to one character who spends the majority of the story in a coma. So far, this actually seems like a pretty interesting set up for a novel. However, you spend the majority of your time trying to keep up with whose story you are currently reading and then what their plot line is. So I kind of felt lost for the majority of the book.

I think City on Fire is a victim of its own length and really struggles to hold your attention. I was constantly checking to see when the chapter would be over and not because I was excited to get to the next part.

When a book begins to feel like a chore to read then you know that t I not for you. This is not to say that City on Fire won’t be for somebody. There will be readers who will love all the things I disliked about City on Fire but sadly, for me, it failed to hold m concentration.

City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg is available now.

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This book reads as a novelisation of a tv series with (mostly) cardboard characters.
I’m deeply perplexed on how this book was deemed worthy of such an advance other than marketing reasons (young but too young Brooklyn author, too many pages, the thought of Pynchon and DeLillo): the language and the prose is mediocre at best, and while that may work with a certain kind of, say, detective fiction, Hallberg does not manage to make the hybridation of genres work here: the novel is too interested in depicting New York City as a character herself that lacks the audacity to provide interesting and well rounded characterisation to the actual characters, and is too concerned with a poorly structured plot revolving around one "life-changing event" (and clearly a great hook for the book) to actually delve a little more than superficially on the life and form of New York City in the 70s. It’s a touristy book in all the worst ways.

A good read and although not my usual type of book I enjoyed it. Very well written and the characters seemed vey real. i would recommend if you want something a bit different ,,,

Sorry but I did not finish the book as I found it pretty hard to keep up with and I don't feel I should have to work this hard to keep the characters and plot straight in my head. This one could have done with a flowchart! I tried several times but with so many other books on my to read list, I'm afraid I gave up on this one. Too confusing for me I'm afraid.

I really wanted to like this book. It had been hyped a lot and the blurb promised a sweeping historical saga set in the 1980s New York. Everything seemed to be lined up for me to love it. Unfortunately, it did not work for me. Moments did. Some were fantastic, and the ending finally ramped up to something approaching page-turning. However there were so many digressions that flopped, moments that dragged and characters I just could not care about that as a whole it failed to coalesce. Disappointing.

It was an OK story. The style of writing and the slow pace of the plot didn't appeal to me. Nor did I connect with any of the characters.

Sorry, I couldn't get into this book at all. Maybe I am doing it a disservice and will possibly try it again in the future.

Apologies as I didn't get around to reading this title and therefore not able to review it. If I do read it in the future I will come back and edit my review and also post to various websites and platforms. However, I would like to thank you for granting me access to read and review this title.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book. I found the whole thing too long winded which took away from the enjoyment factor.