by Henry Roth
First published 1998
Ira Stigman stands at a crossroads in Harlem, torn between two women who represent different paths for his future. His college poetry professor offers one kind of life, while his cousin presents another. Both relationships pull at him as he wrestles with a larger question that has haunted him for years: can he finally break free from Harlem and make his way to Greenwich Village? The neighborhood that shaped him now feels like a trap, yet leaving means abandoning everything familiar. As Ira weighs his choices, he must confront what he truly wants from love and life. His decision will determine not just which woman he chooses, but whether he has the courage to reinvent himself in a new place. The weight of family, desire, and ambition converges as Ira faces the most important choice of his young life.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, african-american, coming-of-age
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, love-triangle
Setting: Greenwich Village, Harlem
Period: 20th Century
Hardcover · St Martins Pr