First published 2003
Norman Moonbloom has failed at everything he's tried. His brother throws him a lifeline by hiring him to collect rent from tenants in the rundown Manhattan buildings he owns. Norman makes his rounds from door to door, encountering an extraordinary cast of urban dwellers. He meets a jazz musician who works as a gigolo, a Holocaust survivor carrying deep wounds, and a gifted young black writer struggling to make his mark. Each tenant shares their anger, pain, and hidden dreams with this unlikely rent collector. Norman listens to their stories and begins to see their humanity beneath the surface complaints and excuses. Despite knowing better, he finds himself pulled into their lives. He starts trying to help them in small ways, then larger ones. What begins as a simple job becomes something much more complicated as Norman discovers he actually cares about these people and their struggles.
Genres: fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Manhattan
Period: 20th-century
264 pages · Paperback · NYRB Classics