Kings County, David Goodwillie
Kings County, David Goodwillie
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Kings County

Author: David Goodwillie

Narrator: Marin Ireland

Unabridged: 14 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/28/2020


Synopsis

A Brooklyn love story, set to music: Kings County “crystallizes how it feels to be young and in love in New York City” (Stephanie Danler).

It’s the early 2000s and like generations of ambitious young people before her, Audrey Benton arrives in New York City on a bus from nowhere. Broke but resourceful, she soon finds a home for herself amid the burgeoning music scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But the city’s freedom comes with risks, and Audrey makes compromises to survive. As she becomes a minor celebrity in indie rock circles, she finds an unlikely match in Theo Gorski, a shy but idealistic mill-town kid who’s struggling to establish himself in the still-patrician world of books. But then an old acquaintance of Audrey’s disappears under mysterious circumstances, sparking a series of escalating crises that force the couple to confront a dangerous secret from her past.

From the raucous heights of Occupy Wall Street to the comical lows of the publishing industry, from million-dollar art auctions to Bushwick drug dens, Kings County captures New York City at a moment of cultural reckoning. Grappling with the resonant issues and themes of our time—sex and violence, art and commerce, friendship and family—it is an epic coming-of-age tale about love, consequences, bravery, and fighting for one’s place in an ever-changing world.

About David Goodwillie

David Goodwillie is the author of the novels Kings County, American Subversive, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and the memoir Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. Goodwillie has written for the New York Times, New York magazine, and Newsweek, among other publications. He has also been drafted to play professional baseball, worked as a private investigator, and was an expert at Sotheby’s auction house. A graduate of Kenyon College, he lives in Brooklyn. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Celeste on June 01, 2020

Thank you Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I have mixed feelings about this book. There were parts that were interesting and made me want to read further - specifically Audrey's work with bands and moving up the ladder in the music industry, as well as T......more

Goodreads review by Neil on May 10, 2020

I'm calling this a mystery, because there is a mystery at the heart of the book, but it's more like a sprawling novel about life in New York in the manner of Tom Wolfe. Most of the book takes place in Brooklyn and it's about a particular kind of young person who gravitates toward the city with a des......more

Goodreads review by Megan on August 30, 2021

I wasn't invested in this book until I became deeply invested in this book. The characters are wonderful and the plot is a true slow burn. Definitely a sleeper hit!......more

Goodreads review by Roswitha on April 14, 2021

A novel focused on a trendy scene that everyone flocks to could easily be a satire in the mode of Bruce Wagner, whose Los Angelinos are so repugnantly cynical that you lose faith in humanity just reading about them. But this one is actually good. The characters are sympathetic and engaging, not simp......more

Goodreads review by Anna on May 03, 2020

Highly recommend this book! I took my time reading it, but easily could have finished quickly. The characters were very well-developed, which I have not experienced in some other recent reading. I have found myself thinking about the characters and their stories many times since I finished. This was......more