Morningside Heights

by Joshua Henkin

  Dear Sister,

  I’ve been thinking about you, and Papa and Mama too. I remember Papa coming home from work, smelling of shoe leather. Sometimes I’ll go into a shoe store, just to smell him in there. And Mama behind the cash register. I think of the boys playing handball on Orchard Street. I remember you in the old neighborhood, carrying me on your back…

  Enid read the letter. It was hard to tell what she understood. She folded up the letter and placed it in her dress.

  47

  Pru walked downtown. On 59th Street, outside Central Park, the carriage horses were waiting for their load, eating from feed bags that hung from their throats like appendages. The pigeons paraded across the cobblestone, daring her to get out of the way. Smoke rose from a chimney, and from a steam pipe jerry-rigged to the ground, and from the grill where a vendor was roasting chestnuts. Across the street stood Essex House and Hampshire House. And the Plaza Hotel, home to Eloise—and to Sarah, who, when she was Eloise’s age, started to dress like Eloise and talk like Eloise and insisted that her parents take her to brunch at the Plaza.

  In a store window the dresses hung, and the words came to Pru, Pick a dress, any dress, like the three-card monte dealers who used to assemble in Times Square when she first moved to New York, saying, Pick a card, any card, bilking the tourists.

  She headed back up to Morningside Heights, thinking of their first apartment, on Claremont Avenue, Spence coming home with flowers for her. She thought of the old Woolworth’s on 110th Street. And next to the old Woolworth’s the old Sloan’s. And across from the old Sloan’s the old Daitch Shopwell. She missed them all, the way she missed the neighborhood’s seedier days, when her friends were afraid to come uptown at night and Spence told her to carry pepper spray.

  Past Koronet Pizza she went; past Famiglia, past the West End Bar, though it, too, was gone now. Past the old chocolate store, which had been there so long it might have been formed from the primordial muck. And, finally, the corner of 116th Street, where Chock full o’Nuts used to be. It was the Chinese place now, where the college kids went for takeout.

  She didn’t have dinner plans, so she went inside and ordered some Chinese food.

  A breeze passed through as she walked down the hill: a relic from last winter, a herald of winter to come. A young woman careened up the block with a license plate around her neck like a charm.

  acknowledgments

  I owe a huge debt of gratitude to many people. Jason Dubow, John Fulton, Eve Gleichman, Bret Anthony Johnston, Ernesto Mestre, Brian Morton, Julie Orringer, Eileen Pollack, and Ted Thompson all read early drafts of this novel, and their insights helped me immeasurably to improve this book. For their expertise on everything from Shakespeare to Yiddish to neurology to chess, I am indebted to Irene Tucker, Anita Norich, Mitchell Elkind MD, and Jacob Kaplan. Thank you to my MFA students at Brooklyn College, whose work and commitment always inspire me.

  At Pantheon and Knopf, thank you to Reagan Arthur, Kelly Blair, Katie Burns, Michiko Clark, Tatiana Dubin, Kristin Fassler, Chris Gillespie, Amy Hagedorn, Altie Karper, Pei Koay, Lisa Lucas, Emily Murphy, Sarah New, Tom Pold, Nora Reichard—and especially to my brilliant editor, Lexy Bloom, for her keen editorial eye and general guidance; I’m so fortunate to have her as my editor. Finally, a special thank-you to the late Sonny Mehta, whose support was so important to me over the years.

  At Sterling Lord, where I have found a true home, thank you to Szilvia Molnar and Danielle Bukowski in foreign rights, and to Maria Bell. And, most of all, to my amazing agent Doug Stewart—a man who, among many other things, is so quick on the draw he answers my emails before I’ve even sent them. Thank you as well to my film agent Rich Green at the Gotham Group for his commitment and support.

  Thank you to my family: Alice Henkin, David Henkin, Daniel Henkin, Alisa Henkin, Sammy Henkin, Dahlia Henkin, Ariana Henkin, Sharon Berkowitz, Jerry Berkowitz, Randi Berkowitz, Jon Regosin, Talia Berkman and Greg Berkman, Shachar Berkowitz-Regosin, and Burt Berkowitz-Henkin. And, in particular, to Beth, Orly, and Tamar, without whose love none of this would matter. Finally, to my late father, Louis Henkin (1917–2010), whose love and influence are imprinted on every page of this book, and whose memory endures, now and always.

  about the author

  Joshua Henkin is the author of the novels Swimming Across the Hudson, a Los Angeles Times Notable Book, Matrimony, a New York Times Notable Book, and The World Without You, winner of the 2012 Edward Lewis Wallant Award for American Jewish Fiction and a finalist for the 2012 National Jewish Book Award. His short stories have been published widely, cited for distinction in Best American Short Stories, and broadcast on NPR’s Selected Shorts. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and directs the MFA program in Fiction Writing at Brooklyn College.

  Morningside Heights

  By Joshua Henkin

  Reading Group Guide

  About This Guide

  The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading group’s conversation about Morningside Heights, the moving new novel by Joshua Henkin, author of Matrimony and The World Without You.

  Questions and Topics for Discussion

  Explore the role that Judaism plays in Pru’s life. Why does her observance ebb and flow? At which moments in her life does she reevaluate her commitment to Judaism? Is her Jewishness a central pillar of her identity? Why or why not?

  Discuss Ginny’s role in the Robin-Steiner household. Why does Pru decide to hire Ginny? How does Ginny relate to Spence? What sacrifices does Ginny make in her yearslong service to her employers? How do Pru and Ginny each understand the financial aspect of their relationship?

  How does Arlo’s decision to move in with Spence, Pru, and Sarah alter the family dynamic? Is he embraced equally by all? When and why do tensions arise?

  Explore Spence and Arlo’s early relationship. How does Spence try to connect with his son? Are his attempts successful? Why or why not? How does his approach to parenting Arlo compare to his approach to parenting Sarah?

  Why does Arlo decide to cut Sarah’s hair, and why does Sarah choose not to reveal him to her parents as the culprit? What does this incident suggest about Arlo and Sarah’s understanding of each other? How does this episode affect their relationship in the years to come?

  Discuss Arlo’s understanding of his aunt Enid. Why does his first visit to the rehabilitation center make such an impression on him? Why does he decide to return once more, years later, after his father’s ceremony?

  Why is Arlo so eager to organize a family reunion? What does he hope to gain from it? Does the event rise to his expectations? Why or why not?

  Discuss Arlo’s relationship with his mother. Does he thrive in the itinerant life she provides for him? How does his time in New York affect his perception of her? Does their relationship ever reach a place of peace and understanding? Why or why not?

  Compare and contrast Sarah’s and Arlo’s coping strategies. How does each character make sense of their father’s decline? How does his illness affect their choices and life trajectories? Does either character harbor regrets about their relationship with their father, and if so, how are these regrets manifested?

  Consider the themes of ambition and success as they are depicted in the novel. What are each character’s ambitions, and what obstacles must they overcome in their pursuits? How does each character’s success—or lack thereof—impact the formation of their identity?

  Examine Arlo’s path through higher education and beyond. Why does he lie to Sarah about his admission to Reed, and what is the true story about his time there? How does he carve out a professional niche for himself? How do you make sense of his competing desires to succeed and to reject academia entirely? Has Arlo met his father’s expectations of him?

  Explore Pru’s attraction to Walter. W
hat draws her to him, and what about their relationship gives her pause? How does her connection with Walter compare to the connection she shares with Spence? Do you think it’s ethical for Pru and Walter to pursue a relationship while Spence is still alive? Why or why not?

  Discuss the final years of Spence’s life. How does Pru manage? What helps her come to terms with her husband’s fate? What insight does she glean about her husband and his early life as his decline accelerates?

  Discuss the conclusion of the novel. How would you characterize its tone? Is this the ending you were expecting? Why or why not?

  Suggested Further Reading

  A Regular Guy by Mona Simpson

  All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg

  Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

  Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

  Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer

  The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

  Matrimony by Joshua Henkin

  Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

  Red Hook Road by Aylet Waldman

  We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas

  The Wife by Meg Wolitzer

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