Washington Square Press
July 2018
On Sale: July 17, 2018
336 pages ISBN: 1501146963 EAN: 9781501146961 Kindle: B01M2BRJTJ Paperback / e-Book (reprint) Add to Wish List
Do the Right Thing meets The Bonfire of the Vanities, in this βthrilling debut novel about marriage, gentrification, parenthood, race, and the dangerous bargains we make with ourselvesβ (Ann Packer, New York Times bestselling author) set over the course of one cataclysmic day when riots erupt in a rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood.
Aaron, a disgraced rabbi turned Wall Street banker, and Amelia, his journalist girlfriend, live with their newborn in Bedford-Stuyvesant, one of the most dynamic and historically volatile neighborhoods in New York City. The infusion of upwardly mobile professionals into Bed-Stuyβs historic brownstones belies the tension simmering on the streets below. But after a cop shoots a boy in a nearby park, conflict escalates to riotingβwith Aaron and his family at its center.
Pulled into the riotβs vortex are Antoinette, devout nanny to Aaron and Ameliaβs son; Jupiter, the single father who lives on their block with his son, Derek; Daniel, Aaronβs unhinged tenant in their basement unit; and Sara, a smart local girl, broiling with confusion and rage. As the day unfolds, these diverse characters are forced to reckon with who they are and what truly matters to them.
With βthe mordant wit of Franzen, the dazzling smarts of Roth, and the compassion of Tolstoyβ (Rafael Yglesias, author of A Happy Marriage), Platzer conjures a sharp-eyed, fast-paced, and empathetically rendered narrative about a changing neighborhood and its residents, as they struggle to raise children, establish careers, and find love, fulfillment, and meaning. Bed-Stuy Is Burning offers a window into an array of complex lives and deftly wrestles with the most pressing issues of our time with unflinching focus, wisdom, and hope.
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