Ok book lovers, strap in I’ve got a wild one for you this week.
New York City Glow is the debut novel from award winning portrait artist Rachel Coad. Just in case it doesn’t come up later, Rachel’s paintings are amazing and yuo should check them out on her website… https://www.rachelcoad.com.au/
New York City Glow’s synopsis is just about the most fun I’ve ever had summarizing a text…
An octopus named Strawberry and a snake named Ray road trip across the continental USA in the late seventies landing in New York in time to save the city from the forces of darkness and secure the future of music forever!
So this is a graphic novel. Rachel’s art blends sepia, photorealistic cityscapes with the cartoonish reptiles and an almost horror movie-like quality to her protagonists tentacles. The overall effect is a kind of phantasmagoric period piece set in 1970’s America.
The story is something of a hero’s quest. Strawberry is a bioluminescent octopus (look it up) whose perennial glow keeps getting her in trouble. She’s got an ex-con with an FBI record but all she really wants is to make music.
During her last prison stint Strawberry was subjected to horrific experiments and on the day she’s released she meets Ray who drives them cross country to New York.
Strawberry seeks fame and stardom in the Big Apple but all she finds in rejection. Finally she winds up as the janitor at CBGB’s and is there front and center to see The Ramones play live on the infamous night in 1977 when the entirety of New York is thrown into chaos as the city blacks out (look it up).
The book is an absolute riot for the senses as Coad goes out of her way to engage her reader on every level.
The story is minimalist but that does not mean it’s lacking (it’s so wild you’d be overrun if anything more happened). Marry this with the gorgeous visuals that offer the reader a world in every panel. To top it all off Coad has a suggested playlist; each page is matched to a song and the whole thing is collected in its own Spotify playlist so you can sing along.
I’m 90% recommending this book because it’s just so much fun. Maybe I don’t emphasize this enough, but these book club reviews are all about books I’ve personally enjoyed and this is one I’ve already read twice.
New York City Glow is not without its themes though and in Ray and Strawberry’s journey in search of meaning I found a little of the existential crisis we all go through as we try to find our way in life.
Sure none of us are glow-in-the-dark cephalopods (and more power to you if you are) but that doesn’t mean Strawberry’s tale won’t resonate. Go and check out New York City Glow and don’t forget to turn it up to eleven!
