With her own special brand of delicate, elliptical humor, Thomas offers another extraordinary visit inside the heads of four New York City apartment dwellers, all of whom live on single short block on the Upper West Side where, unbeknownst to them, they "pass like ships in the night".
A less commercial book than Herb's Pajamas is difficult to imagine. Part novel, part collection of interlinked stories, it follows four New Yorkers living lives of quiet desperation on a single square block of Manhattan's Upper West Side. In the first and perhaps most fully realized section, a mild-mannered copyeditor both mourns and fails to understand his much-loved wife's departure. Cleverly divided into tiny vignettes entitled "Hat," "Gloves," and so on, "Edith's Wardrobe" follows a "trembly maiden of 52" as she daydreams her way through the aftermath of her mother's death. In the third section, a 14-year-old runs away from home to search for her missing sister, while the aging narrator of the brief title story finds her married lover dead on the fire escape and must decide what to do with his body.
Rather than bring these lonely people together in a more conventionally novelistic way, Thomas instead allows them to brush by each other in the street without ever noticing, much as they might in real life. Thomas's characters haunt the same bookstores, the same neighborhood cafés, and the reader experiences the thrill of recognition when their paths cross. (Is that Walter we spot in the movie theater lobby? Is the "woman in the green shawl" the bookstore owner, and has he finally asked her out?) The choice is both daring and apt. As much as these characters want to connect to the world around them, their inability to do so is precisely the point of this slender, quietly witty book.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
a superbly crafted ensemble of vignettes:
Herb's Pajamas, a superbly crafted ensemble of related vignettes, reminds us that life holds both laughter and loss. Happily, life also holds the writing of Abigail Thomas, a former editor who has the uncanny ability to incisively yet deferentially reveal her characters' hearts.
With an ear for nuance and unerring eye Ms. Thomas presents four Manhattanites, all apartment dwellers on the Upper West Side. What a bittersweet quartet they are - strangers inhabiting the same block, patronizing the... more info
Abigail's Sad Characters:
I am not usually a fan of short stories, but this book was recommended to me by a friend who explained how the characters are connected by living near each other and spotting each other in various places. I immediately found that I love Thomas's writing style; it seems matter-of-fact and magical at the same time. I enjoyed the first story about Walter, but was mildly disappointed by the plodding sadness of "Edith's Wardrobe." There was nothing about the sections of her story (all named for various articles... more info
Deserving of a Second Read:
Not often have I come across a book that I feel the need to read twice. Thomas' character development and intertwining plots are to be commended. Though best read in one sitting (and, indeed, it is possible), each story is also capable of standing on its own.
Wonderful:
Read this book. Such wonderful characters-Walter, Edith, Bunny. Thomas delineates her characters so profoundly you can only take them into your heart. The words are woven on saffron. Buy this book for yourself and your friends. It's a wonderful read. You won't be sorry.
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