At the Strangers' Gate

I felt like I was reading a book about the 1950's instead of the 1980's. Gopnik writes in the style of Atlantic Monthly and New Yorker magazine writers of that time. Of course he did write articles for these and other magazines in the 1980's when he arrived in NYC. He is very droll, witty and insightful starting with the tiny one-room apartment he and his wife rented for 3 years before moving to a loft in Soho . . . his various jobs and inadequacy for them though they were all stepping stones to something better . . . his desire to socialize and befriend the best in New York's art and social circles that came to fruition, etc. What shines through the entire book is his love for his wife and for NYC and he pays tribute to both of them in a shining manner.