The Good People of New York

When Roz Rosenzweig meets Edwin Anderson fumbling for keys on the stoop of a Manhattan walk-up, the last thing on her mind is falling for a polite Nebraskan-yet fall for him she does. So begins Thisbe Nissen's breathtaking debut novel, a decidedly urban fairy tale that follows Roz and Edwin as they move from improbable courtship to marriage to the birth of daughter Miranda-the locus of all Roz's attention, anxiety, and often smothering affection.

As Miranda comes of age and begins to chafe against the intensity of her mother's neurotic love, Roz must do her best to let those she cherishes move into the world without her. On crowded subways, in strange bedrooms, at Bar Mitzvahs, in brownstone basements and high school gymnasiums, Nissen's unforgettable characters make their hilarious and wrenching way-and prove, indeed, that good things thrive in New York City.