Place and Connection

The profusion of stories in Ghosts of New York effectively illustrates the radically interwoven nature of city life. In this joyful jumble of narratives, the reader revels in an intimate and specific sense of place. The structure of Lewis’ novel depends entirely on the connections between apparently disparate stories. Stephanie comments that life in New York “was like being in some vast hive, each cell giving way to another…” (220). Her apian imagery here nicely mirrors Lewis’ larger description of the city. Like a beehive, New York contains seemingly endless and distinctly individual lives that, together, form a powerfully interdependent and infinitely complicated whole. This duality—of lives that are separate yet wholly inextricable—lies at the heart of Lewis’ characterization of the city.

Lewis’ myriad descriptions of pedestrian life in New York further extends his attention to the infinite daisy-chain of stories that loops...