Visitation Street

By: Ivy Pochoda

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Chosen by Dennis Lehane for his eponymous imprint, Ivy Pochoda’s Visitation Street is a riveting literary mystery set against the rough-hewn backdrop of the New York waterfront in Red Hook.

It’s summertime in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a blue-collar dockside neighborhood. June and Val, two fifteen-year-olds, take a raft out onto the bay at night to see what they can see.

And then they disappear. Only Val will survive, washed ashore; semi-conscious in the weeds.

This shocking event will echo through the lives of a diverse cast of Red Hook residents. Fadi, the Lebanese bodega owner, hopes that his shop will be the place to share neighborhood news and troll for information about June’s disappearance. Cree, just beginning to pull it together after his father’s murder, unwittingly makes himself the chief suspect, but an enigmatic and elusive guardian is determined to keep him safe.

Val contends with the shadow of her missing friend and a truth she buries deep inside. Her teacher Jonathan, a Julliard School dropout and barfly, wrestles with dashed dreams and a past riddled with tragic sins.

Visitation Street - An odd place to visit

This book defies categorization, in my view: part mystery, part class struggle study, part mood piece. Interesting characters and situations, the story told in overlapping vignettes from various character's points of view. It all adds up to a well written slice of life in a seemingly contemporary New York neighborhood, its residents alternately struggling not to slide into poverty, or struggling to rise from it.

The narrator seems sluggish at first, but stay with him - he improves as the story revs up and the characters develop. He does a good job with the variety of character types, each distinguishable without specific identification for each conversation. it may also be just really good writing.

Don't listen to this when in the mood for fast-paced action. It is in there, but this is a story primarily about the perception of individuals about their surroundings. A very satisfying character study.

Love this! Raw, strong, intense

I’ve read a few of Ivy Pochoda’s books and this was another one that didn’t disappoint. The voices of the characters, the intense story telling and the world creation is masterful.

Writer's Envy

The way Ivy Pochoda writes is breathtaking. Her characters are thoughtful and dynamic. If I had more time to write nice things on this review, I would. I've read another of her books, which takes the same care into development and eloquence. Thank you... All I think when reading these works os "MORE, PLEASE!"

A rare book.

Any additional comments?

This is a rare book that becomes more interesting, more compelling, and more evocative as it progresses. Too often, it seems an author has a wonderful idea, but can't sustain it. I hope Ivy Pochoda has a long and fruitful writing life. She seems to have confidence in her reader, as well as in herself.

Wonderful

Took a chapter or two to get into it, but a beautiful story, well narrated.