Set in Newark, told in a continuous monologue from patient to psychoanalyst, explores turbulent mind of one lust-ridden young Jewish bachelor named Alexander Portnoy. One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years “Deliciously funny . . . absurd and exuberant, wild and uproarious . . . a brilliantly vivid reading experience”—The New York Times Book Review “Touching as well as hilariously lewd . . . Roth is vibrantly talented”—New York Review of Books
* Unsheltered (2018) * American Pastoral (1997) * Goodbye, Columbus (1959) Roth's National Book Award-winning first novel, tells story of Neil Klugman and pretty, spirited Brenda Patimkin, he of poor Newark, she of wealthy suburban Short Hills, who meet one summer break and dive into an affair reflecting social class and tensions over love.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is set in Newark follows the life of Seymour "Swede" Levov, a successful Jewish-American businessman whose life unravels when his daughter becomes involved in political radicalism during the 1960s
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth (2005) Set in an alternate history where Charles Lindbergh becomes president, leading to the rise of fascism in America and the persecution of Jewish families like the Roths. becomes president, this novel takes place largely in Newark and explores the impact of a rising tide of anti-Semitism on Roth's fictionalized family. "Goodbye, Columbus" - This novella, part of a collection of the same name, is set in Newark and the affluent suburbs of Short Hills, depicting the clash between the working-class Jewish protagonist and his wealthy love interest.
first book in the best-selling Stephanie Plum series largely set in Trenton, introduces readers to Stephanie, an untrained and often bumbling bounty hunter, who has lost her job and faces unpaid bills until she picks up $10,000 bounty for tracking down a cop wanted for murder; novel combines humor, action, and suspense as Stephanie tries to bring in a wanted man who also happens to be her former high school crush.
Novel profiles student life at Princeton University where the protagonist, Amory Blaine is enrolled, exploring themes of love, ambition, class, and disillusionment of the post-World War I generation.
Winner of: Pulitzer Prize; National Book Critics Circle Award; Anisfield-Wolf Book Award; Jon Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize; Time Magazine #1 Fiction Book of the Year. Novel, partly set in Paterson, tells story of Oscar de León, an overweight Dominican boy obsessed with science fiction and fantasy, and explores his family's tragic curse that spans generations and countries.Winner of:
Set in the fictional town of Haddam, New Jersey, (Princeton) this novel is first of three tracing life of Frank Bascombe, a sportswriter entering his 40s struggling with the loss of his son and the dissolution of his marriage. captures the quiet introspection of suburban life as Bascombe gives up goal of writing novels to become a real estate broker, which is also profiled as he ages in Ford's subsequent novels Independence Day and The Lay of the Land (also set on the Jersey Shore where Bascombe relocates selling homes). New York Times Book Review-- Frank Bascombe, "who “has earned a place beside Willy Loman and Harry Angstrom in our literary landscape ... with a wry wit and a fin de siècle wisdom that is very much his own”
Set partially in Mount Ephraim, small borough in Camden County of less than 5,000 people, as well as a village in upstate New York, tells story of the Mulvaney family, whose seemingly idyllic life is shattered by a traumatic event, leading to the family's gradual disintegration and long path toward healing. Oates now an emeritus professor at Princeton University and long-time Princeton resident. Among her many books, Oates also edited the anthology New Jersey Noir, “Oates’s introduction to Akashic’s noir volume dedicated to the Garden State, with its evocative definition of the genre, is alone worth the price of the book . . . Poems by C.K. Williams, Paul Muldoon, and others―plus photos by Gerald Slota―enhance this distinguished entry.” ―Publishers Weeklyttps://amzn.to/4emfGHe
Based on a true story of abuse and murder in Indiana, dark and graphic novel explores horrific abuse of two sisters during the 1950s in a fictional New Jersey suburb, mystery elements revolve around uncovering depth of the cruelty behind closed doors.
Tenth mystery published in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series, novel follows Bernie, a gentleman burglar who targets a wealthy suburban home in New Jersey until things spiral out of control, leading to a tangled mystery involving murder, blackmail, and deceit.
Set in fictional suburb of Oakwood, New Jersey, one of series of humorous mysteries centering on science fiction writer Zack Walker, who moves his family from the city to New Jersey suburbs, only to find himself entangled in a murder investigation as he tries to solve the crime while dealing with suburban life.
First young adult novel of the "Mickey Bolitar" series by Newark native and current Bergen County resident and prolific mystery writer Harlan Coben. Features teenage nephew of Coben's popular protagonist Myron Bolitar forced to move from Los Angeles to a fictional New Jersey town after his father dies in a car crash.
2023 eLit Gold Medal for Literary Fiction; 2023 BookFest Book Award for Historical Fiction Set in fictional 'New Jersey Home for Retired Circus and Carnival Performers', features life stories of residents of the Home. Profiles life in New Jersey, along with settings as diverse as 1880s Brooklyn, 1920s Mississippi, 1940s Detroit, 1950s New York City, exotic Havana, pre-revolutionary Kiev, and Washington DC on eve of World War I, mixes historical events with its both fictional and real characters.
The Forgetting Place by John Burley (2015) Set in psychiatric hospital in rural New Jersey, psychological thriller where. Dr. Lise Shields uncovers chilling mystery involving one of her patients, leading her to question everything she knows about the facility and the corrupt people who run it.
Set in the fictional suburban town of Farbrook, New Jersey, this coming-of-age novel by Elizabeth native Judy Blume follows 11-year-old Margaret Simon as she navigates adolescence, religious identity, and peer pressure, with the plot later adapted into a major movie. A Time Best Young Adult Book of All Time.
Another Blume novel, In the Unlikely Event is set in Blume's hometown of Elizabeth and inspired by real-life events in the early 1950s after a series of plane crashes devastated the local community and the lives of various characters affected by the tragedies.“Makes us feel the pure shock and wonder of living.... Judy Blume isn’t just revered, she’s revolutionary.” --The New York Times Book Review
Coming-of-age story set in 1980s suburban New Jersey, follows a group of disillusioned young adults as they navigate the uncertainties of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness in the Garden State.
While never explicitly named, best-selling young adult novel’s suburban setting appears based on areas in New Jersey as “wallflower” Charlie passes through between adolescence and adulthood in first dates, family drama, and new friends. .
Though not entirely set in New Jersey, features significant scenes in the state with surreal, alternate-history version of world where Nazi-occupied Paris and a fantastical New Jersey intersect
Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey serves as center for family life in 1930s and 1940s, at the stand where they sell homemade French fries amid the roar of the Cyclone roller coaster and world's biggest salt-water pool, until it closes in 1971.
