Ian Frazier, one of our best observers and describers, has been walking the Bronx for 15 years. PARADISE BRONX goes deep into the eventful and tumultuous history of this amazing New York City borough, a super-vibrant in-between place that attaches the rest of the city to North America. From Jonas Bronck, who bought land from the local Lenape tribes, to the formerly gang-wracked South Bronx, which gave birth to hip-hop, Frazier’s loving exploration of this singular cityscape is a richly textured, raucous, moving tour de force about the polyglot culture that is the United States today.

Structured as a daybook of sorts, Ian Frazier’s first novel, which is based on his widely read columns for The New Yorker, follows the Cursing Mommy --- beleaguered wife of Larry and mother of two boys --- as she tries (more or less) valiantly to offer tips on how to do various tasks around the home, only to end up on the ground, cursing, surrounded by broken glass.