Lost in the City

Paperback, 288 pages

English language

Published Nov. 30, 2004 by Amistad.

ISBN:
9780060795283

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (1 review)

The nation's capital that serves as the setting for the stories in Edward P. Jones's prizewinning collection, Lost in the City, lies far from the city of historic monuments and national politicians. Jones takes the reader beyond that world into the lives of African American men and women who work against the constant threat of loss to maintain a sense of hope. From "The Girl Who Raised Pigeons" to the well-to-do career woman awakened in the night by a phone call that will take her on a journey back to the past, the characters in these stories forge bonds of community as they struggle against the limits of their city to stave off the loss of family, friends, memories, and, ultimately, themselves. Critically acclaimed upon publication, Lost in the City introduced Jones as an undeniable talent, a writer whose unaffected style is not only evocative and forceful but also filled …

5 editions

Great Character Work With a Deep Sense of Time and Place

4 stars

(Reviewed together with the companion volume All Aunt Hagar's Children)

What struck me the most about these books were Jones' ability to write believably and memorably across different ages, genders, classes and time periods. His characters are only united by race and place, but they have distinct yet harmonious voices.

Jones gives very specific, granular detail for where in Washington DC his stories happen, down to frequently giving intersections and street addresses, and as someone who knows and loves the city, it added an extra layer to me to imagine the stories happening in specific places I'd been and could visualize. I don't know if this would add anything for non-residents, but it worked for me. Refreshing to book about DC that rarely mentioned the Capitol or the Monuments or the Smithsonian.

Favorite story from this collection: Young Lions

Subjects

  • Short Stories (single author)
  • Fiction - General
  • Fiction
  • Fiction / General
  • Literary