Letter from New York

This is a series of five-minute “talks” that Helene Hanff gave on BBC radio between ’78 and ’84 about everyday life in New York, where she lived. They’re witty, exuberant and inoffensive, and filled with all sorts of interesting details about how Thanksgiving was celebrated, what happens at Easter and on St Patrick’s Day, and how Autumn is the unofficial new start to the year. She meant all this to be how it’s different from living in London (or even any other city in the world or in the US), but now of course it’s about how it was a different time, as well as place. 1984 doesn’t feel like so long ago, but it is, I guess.

She details the lives of her friends (and their dogs; far, far too much time is taken up detailing the lives of dogs!) as well as her own; she talks about the history of particular incidents, and she describes special places such as Central Park. It certainly does make you want to go visit there. I picked up the book because of her name, of course – 84 Charing Cross Road is a really original classic – and it’s her personality, rough and generous, that makes this little book of letters stand out as well. It’s a tame read, but a good one, about a time that I suppose has disappeared, even if the place has remained.