The Silent Traveller in New York

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by Chiang Yee | Travel |
ISBN: 9781429093873 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 1/20/2021
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Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, January 20, 2021
I got this softcover from an online seller, after discovering this marvelous series via The Silent Traveller in Boston. This one deals with the author's travels to New York City in the 1950s, with much charming commentary, the occasional visits with significant figures of the day, and sketches and paintings of scenes from the region.

I really enjoy the author's style; a kind of low-key, open-to-new-experiences admiration of almost everything, sometimes with descriptions of cultural differences or of sights that bring to mind his experiences in other places.

I especially enjoyed the bits about the towns along the Hudson, from Irvington (where the author attempted a visit to Washington Irving's house Sunnyside but had to turn back when the car wouldn't fit on the very narrow road - I found this hilarious, as I also failed to visit Sunnyside despite many trips past that same narrow road to see my sister who lived just down the main street a bit) to Sleepy Hollow to Newburgh (near where my sister lives now). It's a small part of this book, and much of it took place on a river cruise, but it was delightful to see the same sights through Chiang Yee's eyes.

From the introduction by literary critic Van Wyck Brooks through the author's first experiences of seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, and on to a growing familiarity with Central Park and with many of the NYC neighborhoods, the book's a delight. There are period elements - Times Square as it was then, the plethora of shoeshine stands everywhere (new to the author, and nowadays an almost-vanished art) - and artistic/historic ones (many of those as relevant now as then). Large-scale images such as the view of Central Park from the top of a skyscraper (where it resembled a lacquer tray in lovely colors) to very immediate ones, such as children playing in the snow or people feeding squirrels in the park. Oh, and a hilarious bit about pigeons perching on statues, and what the people depicted in the statues might think about that. I also enjoyed his comments on Broadway, and the shows he saw, including "Life With Father", "Hamlet", and "Lute Song" - quite a variety!

The color illustrations include a view of the skyscrapers poking up above the clouds, the upper Hudson River near Newburgh, the Palisades (also on the Hudson), Times Square in the rain, the lake at Innisfree (now Innisfree Gardens), and more.

Another very enjoyable entry in the author's travel series. I look forward to taking more virtual trips with him soon!

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Released 3 yrs ago (3/10/2021 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

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I'm sending this to my sister in New York, in hopes that the family will enjoy it!

*** Released for the 2021 Oh the Places We Can Go challenge. ***

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