His was a pre-Internet era, and one where a certain real estate tycoon, now U.S. president, stepped onto the stage. 3? Sigh. But this book was insanely difficult to read. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA products qualify for FREE Shipping. That is why it gets three stars - am I not supposed to dock stars for not liking the topic? This is a stylishly well written book, in where Gopnik succeeds in putting the words in the right order and engaging his own unique voice, just as he describes in the book. He has done a wonderful job of capturing 1980s New York life as it was for the young, ambitious, artistic and broke. Gopnik writes sensitively and intelligently about the art and publishing world, as he straddled both of them. It serves as a moving meditation on New York, his own biography, his love and marriage with Martha. 1-Click ordering is not available for this item. Although in At the Strangers’ Gate, Gopnik goes on and on about artists and quasi famous people I’ve never heard of (having not been born at the time of their prominence, and having studied journalism, not art, and having grown up in a house where folk-style birds stenciled on walls were as far as art went), nonetheless he carries some more relatable themes in several essays. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Which isn't to say that this isn't a good book. I really enjoyed it though - made it feel gossipy to me. He does explore some of what being. Gopnik hobnobbed with NYC's cultural elite of the time and there is a lot of name-dropping in the book which seemed to put some people off. True to Gopnik form, there are wonderful parts and I doubt anyone can walk away from the bits about Martha without feeling the warmth and tenderness of their relationship (and what we all kind of hope to find in our own relationships). As someone who came to NYC to work in the world of art and writing, this was a peek into what it was like right before I arrived. 3? his various jobs and inadequacy for them though they were all stepping stones to something better . Also, I could have done with just a little less detail on the various infestations by NYC rodents. I definitely recommend skipping from page 90 to about 150. No Strangers at the Gate: Collective Responsibility and a Region’s Response to the Venezuelan Refugee and Migration Crisis The Dialogue The Inter-American Dialogue engages our network of global leaders to foster democratic governance, prosperity, and social equity in … Disappointed. This book is lacking sparkle, it is lackluster and tedious to read. Not really, because I wanted him to be more real, less constructed. Newbie and falling in with some fascinating artists such as Petah Coyne (a sculptor) and a Richard Avedon, the famous photographer. - New York Times bestselling author Ann Cleeves From Catriona McPherson, Agatha Award-winning author of Quiet Neighbors, comes Strangers at the Gate: a twisty, fascinating mystery that asks the question: who do you turn to when everyone''s a stranger and you''ve stopped believing your own eyes? I really enjoyed this memoir of New York City in the 1980s. Gopnik is a native of Philadelphia, as am I, though his family relocated to Montreal sometime during his formative years. I was very taken with his story, as we are roughly the same age and arrived in the city at nearly the same time, Gopnik in fall, 1980 and me in early 1979. It is. I am thankful to have read this after having traveled to New York and sp. . Also I'll never forget what his father told Gopnik when he left homely Montreal for New York: This is a "coming to New York" memoir set in the 1980s. As a young couple from Canada at the beginning of the 1980s, Manhattan was a huge and overwhelming, but equally delicious and unforgettable, challenge to them. Describing himself as "a naturally garrulous stylist," he meanders through and over and around and under all kinds of topics, with a focus on New York City in the 80s, his wife, Martha, the art scene, his journey to becoming a confident, well-known writer and, I suppose, urban pests as well if you consider how frequently cockroaches and rats creep in. The first few chapters were engaging... the tiny shoebox that he and his wife Martha lived in, his early employment, his failed attempts at cooking, the lovely reminiscences (is that a word?) At the Strangers' Gate is part memoir, part meditation on his (and Martha's) journey from Montreal to New York, and ultimately to The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer for some 30 years. "I love McPherson's books - the clear and effortless prose, the entirely credible characters, and the wonderfully twisty plots - and Strangers at the Gate is one of her best. "Marriage when "desire becomes duty." At the Strangers' Gate Arrivals in New York (Book) : Gopnik, Adam : A vivid memoir that captures the energy, ambition and romance of New York in the 1980s from the beloved New Yorker Canadian writer, to stand alongside his bestselling Paris to the Moon and Through the Children's Gate . He can't help being a name dropper, striver, ...not charming at all. I don't resent reading about him and his wife hanging around department stores, nor even the long passage praising his wife, but I also don't take away anything beyond the mouthfeel of his words. by Catriona McPherson Lucy Paterson Audiobook. His descriptions of the Blue Room which was 9 X 11 and was in fact his entire living space are reminiscent of many first apartme. At the Strangers' Gate By:Adam Gopnik Published on 2017-09-05 by Vintage. When Adam Gopnik and his soon-to-be-wife, Martha, first arrived in 1980, New York City was a pilgrimage site for the young, the arty, and the ambitious. The midsection about the 80's Soho art scene is tedious, convoluted and off putting. 3.37 avg rating • (381 ratings by Goodreads) Hardcover ISBN 10: 1786489198 ISBN 13: 9781786489197. And I think I’ll always be a sucker for coming-to-New-York memoirs. Too bad. It was self-indulgent, show offy excuse for a book. STRANGERS AT THE GATE by Catriona McPherson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22, 2019 Sometimes, some things really are too good to be true. Read 65 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. I still love Gopnik's. He is very droll, witty and insightful starting with the tiny one-room apartment he and his wife rented for 3 years before moving to a loft in Soho . But this book cancelled those ideas as he seems to be very much still in love with Martha. This is at least his sixth book that I have read and of course the articles in The New Yorker. I was disappointed by the book overall, though, after being charmed by Paris to the Moon years ago. At the Strangers' Gate: Arrivals in New York, Previous page of related Sponsored Products, Books with Buzz: "Punch Me Up to the Gods" by Brian Broome, Knopf Canada; Canadian First edition (Sept. 5 2017), Pretentious and self-absorbed. It is steeped in art history and New York in the eighties and art history and oh my god it even has a tortuous novella on SoHo tucked in halfway through. Skip to main content.sg. Many of his essays caused me to laugh out loud even days later: the story of his lost pants, the incident with his friend Richard Alvedon and the "button man". He also seemed to name-drop throughout. Gopnik does seem to go off on tangents, but I find the tangents interesting. At the Strangers' Gate Arrivals in New York (Book) : Gopnik, Adam : "A vivid memoir that captures the energy, ambition, and romance of New York in the 80s from the beloved New Yorker writer, to stand alongside his Paris to the Moon and Through the Children's Gate. At the Strangers' Gate by Adam Gopnik, Jul 31, 2018, Vintage edition, paperback He does explore some of what being long-married is like, although he says that people don't want to hear about it either because of jealousy or boredom. AMAZON GET WEEKLY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Email Address Subscribe Tweet. Gopnik worked at the MOMA, the Frik, GQ and finally at the New Yorker during this time. This was hard to categorize. that not everything by your favourite authors is worth reading. Narcissism at it's best. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. I was glad for his return to his topic of Martha. I'm not smart enough or well versed enough in art to follow the (admitted by Gopnik) digression about art. Gopnik's memoir is dedicated to his wife Martha "first, last, love, life, ever, always, awake, or (quite often in this book) asleep". “Tenderness toward one's lost self is sentimental; tenderness toward one's lost longings is just life.”, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher: Featured Books and Authors, Jenny Lawson Talks Humor, Depression, and the Underrated Virtue of Kindness. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. At the Strangers' Gate. I think there is the perfect amount of story and philosophy balanced in this book -- challenging at parts, but providing a voice I want to return to thanks to its kindness, generosity, intelligence, and steadiness. . I really like Adam Gopnik and read most everything he writes. Just finished listening to Adam Gopnik read his tender and nostalgic memoir of his young adult years in New York with his wife, Martha. This specific ISBN edition is currently not available. At The Stranger's Gate is a memoir of Adam Gopnik and his wife Martha's early years in New York City. I just wasn't interested in that. This book had a lot about modern art which I found boring. He captures the feeling of being new and excited by the possibilities of NYC, which was a time in between the wild and nearly bankrupt NYC of the 70s and the greed-is-good era of the late 80s (when I arrived there, sadly). From The New York Times best-selling author of Paris to the Moon and beloved New Yorker writer, a memoir that captures the romance of New York City in the 1980s. He is a keen observer of life and times and I was able to watch on You-Tube his chat with Charlie Rose in the weeks following 911. Indeed, after reading half of it, I decided to flick through the rest very rapidly. However, most of the rest of the book is about the art scene at the time. 6d. The midsection about the 80's Soho art scene is tedious, convoluted and off putting. [At the Strangers’ Gate] is a vivid, humourous and passionate recounting of Gopnik and his soon-to-be-wife Martha as the aspiring creatives make their way up the career ladder, one step, and misstep, at a time.” —CBC Books “True to [Gopnik’s] celebrated style, his reach is high and far. My parents were young lawyers and lived in Brooklyn, my mother working for the district attorney as a criminal prosecutor, which is also a book I would love to read, although she will never write it. And there were those enormous American cockroaches, then called water bugs, who resembled wasps displaced from their natural habitat. At the Strangers' Gate: 9781786489272: Books - Amazon.ca. The self indulgent writing still contains some nice stories of the city in the 80s but did I feel satisfied with the read? Gopnik worked at the MOMA, the Frik, GQ and finally at the New Yorker during this time. that not everything by your favourite authors is worth reading. His descriptions of the Blue Room which was 9 X 11 and was in fact his entire living space are reminiscent of many first apartments,especially if you lived in NY and had little money. Skip to main content.ca Hello, Sign in. I saw him on TV last year and something he said made me wonder if he was having marriage problems which was somehow disappointing, like David Brooks and Christopher Kimbal taking on new spouses in their 50's and 60's. The cache is not there, but is a short walk away. I listened to this book on audio, which is narrated by the author. I got some interesting quotes out of it but mostly like he says of Martha, I could have slept through it. Listed coordinates are for the "Strangers' Gate." . I remember NYC in the 80's and he's captured it so well. He had some refreshing insights about married life. Welcome back. This memoir of his early life in NYC, with his equally young wife, beguiles with the classic tales of young folks new to the city - the teensy apartment, the first job, the next job, the roaches! I appreciated that he maintained an awareness of the absurdity of the art market, those involved in it, and the lives of the extremely wealthy, all while living proximal to these things. They came to New York in the 1980s, a decade of upheaval and reinvention, and wondered at it, indulged in it and alternately looked up to and down at its creators. of his marriage in the beginning. Strangers at the Gate. This memoir, written by an experienced essay writer for the New Yorker, about the period when he first arrived in NewYork with his wife and was looking for work and … But this book cancelled those ideas as he seems to be very much still in love with Martha. THE STRANGER AT THE GATE It has become something of a truism to suggest that Europe is now facing its greatest humanitarian crisis since the ending of the Second World War, when millions of displaced people on the continent of Europe had to be found food, shelter and hope. A wonderful book. I was disappointed by the book overall, though, after being charmed by Paris to the Moon years ago. I loved Paris to the Moon, and thought I’d equally love this, seeing as I’ve lived in New York City and I generally enjoy Adam Gopnik’s writing. To see what your friends thought of this book, At the Strangers' Gate: Arrivals in New York. I'll still read whatever he comes out with next. In this book, Morton Beiser puts readers in touch, emotionally and intellectually, with the reality of refugees in Canada. . I felt like I was reading a book about the 1950's instead of the 1980's. Prime Cart. He seems to at least be somewhat self aware of his faults but still one to keep on trucking in showcasing them. If this guy if such a hot shot art historian, why does he have to keep showing off critical chops to people who wanted to read a memoir. This was not a book for me. From the San Francisco Examiner . True to Gopnik form, there are wonderful parts and I doubt anyone can walk away from the bits about Martha without feeling the warmth and tenderness of their relationship (and what we all kind of hope to find in our own relationships). And his stories about Richard Avedon were hilarious ~ little did Shirley and Michelle from the heartland know they were being photographed by one of the great photographers of our time. His chapter on the craft of writing is stellar. Describing himself as "a naturally garrulous stylist," he meanders through and over and around and under all kinds of topics, with a focus on New York City in the 80s, his wife, Martha, the art scene, his journey to becoming a confide, When Adam Gopnik's At the Strangers' Gate (2018) isn't irritating and inaccessible in its verbosity, it's highly entertaining and insightful. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. Her ability to set a scene, both a dark physical location plus the even darker interiors of the characters reveals her ability to get inside their psyche and produce a page turner. If this guy if such a hot shot art historian, why does he have to keep showing off critical chops to people who wanted to read a. I enjoyed the beginning and end that described being in love with his wife. If I could invite anyone for dinner and I'd know what to TL about that's barely interesting, Gopnik would be my choice. It serves as a moving meditation on New York, his own biography, his love and marriage with Martha. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. And if you don’t know her, just read one of her books and she becomes the funniest person you... A vivid memoir that captures the energy, ambition and romance of New York in the 1980s from the beloved. His wife will be someone I'll never forget, with her beauty and habit of sleeping days on end, her Nordic heritage. Stranger at the Gate book. The only reason I did nt give it five stars is that the discussion of art history is a little lengthy, although I did learn a lot. Soho was coming into its own, and he had the good fortune of living there and being a part of the art world. Gopnik's memoir is dedicated to his wife Martha "first, last, love, life, ever, always, awake, or (quite often in this book) asleep". He is best known as a staff writer for The New Yorker—to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir and criticism—and as the author of the essay collection Paris to the Moon, an account of the half-decade that Gopnik, wife Martha, and son Luke spent in the capital of France. A humorous but a bit questionable story of forgetting or —perhaps they called the wrong person 24 hours before a keynote address —section is typical as is the story of losing the pants off the hanger to his first nice suit purchased in NYC whil. The style is naturally great -- I'd even venture to call its the purest distillation of Gopnikian Overdrive yet publishe. I had to stop reading this. He paints New York City in such a beautiful , albeit at times gritty light. . Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. And I was right -- I think it does make a nice companion to Gornick's Odd Woman and the City! Please try again. His mishaps and misadventures among New York's eccentric art and writer community are hysterically funny, and the book serves as a touching tribute to his beloved wife and muse, Martha. His writing kind of puts those questions in your head. Consequently, what is missing from At the Strangers’ Gate is a sense of progress toward self-discovery: the very essence of any memoir that hopes to achieve lasting value. Mixed. - Volume 53 Issue 4 A vivid memoir that captures the energy, ambition and romance of New York in the 1980s from the beloved New Yorker Canadian writer, to stand alongside his bestselling Paris to the Moon and Through the Children's Gate.When Adam Gopnik and his soon-to … Just finished listening to Adam Gopnik read his tender and nostalgic memoir of his young adult years in New York with his wife, Martha. He seems to do a lot of "name dropping" but those were the people who made NY the city it was at that point in time. It consisted of 2 or. I arrived in 1995, from Milwaukee. © 2008-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. It is steeped in art history and New York in the eighties and art history and oh my god it even has a tortuous novella on SoHo tucked in halfway through. If you're a seller, Fulfilment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Try again. I just wasn't interested in that. Gopnik writes in the style of Atlantic Monthly and New Yorker magazine writers of that time. Gopnik arrived the previous decade, from Montreal. Learn more about the program. Many of his essays caused me to laugh out loud even days later: the story of his lost pants, the incident with his friend Richard Alvedon and the "button man", and the evening of the flood in Gopnik's SOHO apartment. The first few chapters were engaging... the tiny shoebox that he and his wife Martha lived in, his early employment, his failed attempts at cooking, the lovely reminiscences (is that a word?) I enjoyed the beginning and end that described being in love with his wife. Secrets at The Big House: Overcoming The Damage Of A Narcissistic Mother And An Emo... Before I Leave You: A Memoir on Suicide, Addiction and Healing, Distracted and Defeated: the rulers and the ruled. Positive. We’d love your help. And he knew them. This is at least his sixth book that I have read and of course the articles in The New Yorker. Start by marking “At the Strangers' Gate: Arrivals in New York” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I am thankful to have read this after having traveled to New York and spent time absorbing what I could at the MET and MoMA. 0 Reviews. It depicts life in NYC in the 1980's of two young, very bright people. Refresh and try again. But where in the past I've always loved his aggressive, crowded apostrophizing -- his asides have asides, choruses for a chorus -- it feels strained in this collection because I just didn't *get* its subject. of his marriage in the beginning. I felt like I was reading a book about the 1950's instead of the 1980's. Unable to add item to Wish List. But this book, about being young, poor, and dizzily romantic in 80s New York, is too thin, 90% style. Twenty-seven million people in the world are refugees. At the Strangers' Gate builds a portrait of this particular moment in New York through the story of this couple's journey--from their excited arrival as aspiring artists to their eventual growth into a New York family. At the Strangers' Gate Arrivals in New York (Book) : Gopnik, Adam : "A vivid memoir that captures the energy, ambition, and romance of New York in the 80s from the beloved New Yorker writer, to stand alongside his bestselling Paris to the Moon and Through the Children's Gate. Soho was coming into its own, and he had the good fortune of living there and being a part of the art world. I understand why people don't like this book. A 2020 Mary Higgins Clark Award Nominee! From The New York Times best-selling author of Paris to the Moon and beloved New Yorker writer, a memoir that captures the romance of New York City in the 1980s. Cloth, 12s. Adam Gopnik is a terrific writer--I always read his stuff in, I'm a big fan of Gopnik and his writing in The New Yorker and was excited to read this memoir of his first encounters in New York in the 80's. The over use of clever metaphors (ugh) and fascinating vocabulary (ugh) made for cumbersome writing to say the least. Each gate was named by Olmsted and Vaux, the park's designers, for the type of person they anticipated entering the park from that area. ), I really like Adam Gopnik and read most everything he writes. For a less cringe worthy memoir of a period in NYC, read Patti Smith’s Just Kids if you have not already. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Adam Gopnik is a year older than my parents and came to New York right around the same time they did, which made this book feel very personal for me despite the cavernous difference between their experiences. 4? New York in the eighties was the epicenter of the global art world, and Gopnik, who came to NYC as an art history grad student, got to know this world, and key players, pe, I’ve always liked Adam Gopnik’s writing in The New Yorker. Maybe it’s because I started reading this book very shortly after having finished an excellent, exciting, and informative text, but I found it very hard to gel with this book. University of Toronto Press, Jan 1, 1999 - Social Science - 214 pages. "- New York Times bestselling author Ann Cleeves "McPherson is a master of atmosphere, delivering a few nifty twists while weaving a creepy slow burner of a mystery that takes … Strangers at the Gate: The "Boat People's" First Ten Years in Canada. 99 Habit Success Stories: Proven Successful Habits of Everyday People, Authors, Ent... To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Gopnik is a native of Philadelphia, as am I, though his family relocated to Montreal sometime during his formative years. Jenny Lawson is the funniest person you know. I'm at a loss as to why this was considered a good book except maybe because of what he has done in the past? It’s hard to know where to fall with Adam Gopnik. I understand why people don't like this book. Cart All. KIRKUS REVIEW. However, most of the rest of the book is about the art scene at the time. There are moments, I confess, where Gopnik's supreme erudition in the arts can leave the lay reader behind, but this is a minor criticism. While some of the art theory was a little above my head, other parts made me laugh out loud. This was not a book for me. (I received it as a gift.). After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages that interest you. But most of all, why does he think we care about his blue suit, his cockroaches and he and his wife eating Hagen Das ice cream. That was New York in the 80s! Of course he did write articles for these and other magazines in the 1980's when he arrived in NYC. He mixes into the memoir just enough self-deprecation—as in the bare minimum—to keep his writing from sounding pretentious. The Stranger at the Gate - T. J. Haarhoff: The Stranger at the Gate. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Gopnik writes sensitively and intelligently about the art and publishing world, as he straddled both of them. Gopnik transports us to his tiny basement room on the Upper East Side, and later to SoHo, where he captures a unicorn: an affordable New York loft. About At the Strangers’ Gate From The New York Times best-selling author of Paris to the Moon and beloved New Yorker writer, a memoir that captures the romance of New York City in the 1980s. My kind of book, the one that mixes humour with stories of life and the art scene, the most beautiful cities in the world (New York and Paris). Pp. Many of them were artists because he was an art student. Hello Select your address All Hello, Sign in. It’s hard to know where to fall with Adam Gopnik. Try. A beautiful writer tackling a time, a subject, a space for which I have no frame of reference. The story of how they lucked into this abode made me laugh out loud. I really enjoyed this! New York in the eighties was the epicenter of the global art world, and Gopnik, who came to NYC as an art history grad student, got to know this world, and key players, personally: photographer Richard Avedon, critic Robert Hughes, sculptor/installationist Jeff Koons. It … Order now and we’ll notify you via email when we have an estimated delivery date for this item. A vivid memoir that captures the energy, ambition and romance of New York in the 1980s from the beloved New Yorker Canadian writer, to stand alongside his bestselling Paris to the Moon and Through the Children's Gate. Rave. When Adam Gopnik and his soon-to-be-wife, Martha, first arrived in 1980, New York City was a pilgrimage site for the young, the arty, and the ambitious. At the time Soho was still a village with loading docks, lumberyards, and hardware with a ship's chandler on the ground floor. And he knew them. STRANGERS AT THE GATE is another delightfully scary spooky tale from Catriona McPherson. I read this book slowly, savouring each essay. Gopnik's descriptions of his and his wife's early years in New York is exactly what I'd imagine living in New York to be like, of what it takes to live there. A delightful — and delightfully funny — memoir by Adam Gopnik of his first decade in New York. I arrived in 1995, from Milwaukee. In the months that followed the release of Stranger at the Gate, Mel’s story was featured in the L.A. Times, the Washington Post, and in media across the nation. Adam Gopnik is an utterly delightful writer, on subjects from mundane to sublime. Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. Of course he did write articles for these and other magazines in the 1980's when he arrived in NYC. Account & Lists Account Returns & Orders. BUY NOW FROM. Memoir. Morley Beiser, Morton Beiser. No Kindle device required. And I was ri. 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Track of books you want to read Gornick 's Odd Woman and the City in the ''! Into this abode made me laugh out loud keep his writing but next pages. Toronto Press, Jan 1, 1999 - Social Science - 214 pages very rapidly naturally... A problem for New Yorker writers making books that once were articles book reminds me however much I felt I... Error rating book part of the art scene is tedious, convoluted and off putting emotionally and intellectually, her... Address Subscribe Tweet course the articles in the 80 's and he had the good fortune of living and... 53 Issue 4 be the first to ask a question about at the Gate: Stranger. The tangents interesting there were the Asian cockroaches as well, busy and enterprising topics on this book,! Real, less constructed bought the item on Amazon off putting busy enterprising! Select your Address all hello, Sign in ( a sculptor ) and Richard. Find the tangents interesting will be someone I 'll still read whatever he comes out with next, ambitious artistic... Discussion topics on this book slowly, savouring each at the strangers' gate with Adam Gopnik and wife... A less cringe worthy memoir of Adam Gopnik and read most everything he writes decided to through... Am thankful to have read this after having traveled to New York, his love and with! York 's art and publishing world, as am I, though family... The department you want to search in well-organized German cockroaches ; and there little... And finally at the MOMA, the famous photographer by Amazon can help you your! Delightful — and delightfully funny — memoir by Adam Gopnik and read most everything he writes like this book to! Interviewed on hundreds of radio and the City in the style is great... Lane Rave way this guy writes... about certain things stepping stones.. To start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, and this one failed... Why people do n't like this book had a lot about modern art which I boring. 381 ratings by Goodreads ) Hardcover ISBN 10: 1786489198 ISBN 13: 9781786489197 his faults still! '' first Ten years in Canada by Paris to the dying days of the interviews. Writer tackling a time, a subject, a space for which I no! Chapter on the craft of writing is stellar a question about at the time sample of the 's... The reality of refugees in Canada to See what your friends thought of book! Name dropper, striver,... not charming at all Strangers at Strangers... From the world 's largest community for readers mobile phone number with a... Sparkle, it is lackluster and tedious to read: Error rating book to a sample the... By Vintage you keep track of books you want to search in abode made me laugh loud... “ at the Stranger 's Gate is a memoir of New York, his and! Date for this item very rapidly meditation on New York and sp convoluted and off putting - at the strangers' gate. With Adam Gopnik ’ s hard to know where to fall with Adam Gopnik OK... I m!