I’ve been a little homesick for Upstate New York recently, thought it might be a good idea to read about it and place myself there in my mind! Any recommendations for books set in or about Upstate?
The Monster of Templeton by Lauren Groff. Come to think of it, most of her books takes place somewhat upstate
Final-Performance597 on
If you want to go classic, there are always The Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper, including the Last of the Mohicans and The Deerslayer.
fyrefly_faerie on
American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Or for the real story: Murder in the Adirondacks by Craig Brandon
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
OrnetteOrnette on
Big Swiss takes place in Hudson, NY and the author seems to have a lot to say about that town
Also trigger warning for a lot of sex-related content including violence
IntelligentHat7425 on
I’m always homesick for Upstate 😅
Worldly_Price_3217 on
I just read the Horseman by Christina Henry, it’s a retelling of sleepy hollow and is set in New York
ScoopingBaskets on
Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer).
Eddie_M on
Ruchard Russo books
LTinTCKY on
The Millers Kill mystery series by Julia Spencer Fleming is set in a small town in the Adirondacks and the setting often serves as a character unto itself. In the Bleak Midwinter is the first book.
kevka20 on
The Church of Dead Girls (Stephen Dobyns)
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“Upstate” means so many different things; here, other than the Moore, I’m recommending books set from the mid-Hudson Valley up to about Saratoga.
John Langan’s The Fisherman (2015) is an excellent horror novel set in Ulster County.
Lorrie Moore’s Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? (1994) is a beautiful, wrenching look at two girls’ friendship in Ithaca.
William Kennedy’s Albany cycle, beginning with Legs (1975), is a wonderful dive into the hardscrabble life.
Frederick Busch’s Girls (1997) is set around/north of the capital region, and it’s heartbreakingly good and haunting.
Someone already recommended Richard Russo; Nobody’s Fool, The Risk Pool, and Mohawk are all incredible portraits of the decline of areas like Gloversville. They’re funny and lovely in very bittersweet ways.
I really didn’t like Emma Straub’s All Adults Here (2020), but I cannot deny it’s a pretty well-observed portrait of gentrifying Dutchess County around Rhinebeck.
Stephen Dobyns’s mysteries set in Saratoga have great local flavour.
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I live in the Southern Tier of NY 👍🏻
I don’t know of any books relating to USNY, but here are suggestions from Goodreads
[Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/places/5078-upstate-new-york)
The Monster of Templeton by Lauren Groff. Come to think of it, most of her books takes place somewhat upstate
If you want to go classic, there are always The Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper, including the Last of the Mohicans and The Deerslayer.
American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Or for the real story: Murder in the Adirondacks by Craig Brandon
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
Big Swiss takes place in Hudson, NY and the author seems to have a lot to say about that town
Also trigger warning for a lot of sex-related content including violence
I’m always homesick for Upstate 😅
I just read the Horseman by Christina Henry, it’s a retelling of sleepy hollow and is set in New York
Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer).
Ruchard Russo books
The Millers Kill mystery series by Julia Spencer Fleming is set in a small town in the Adirondacks and the setting often serves as a character unto itself. In the Bleak Midwinter is the first book.
The Church of Dead Girls (Stephen Dobyns)
“Upstate” means so many different things; here, other than the Moore, I’m recommending books set from the mid-Hudson Valley up to about Saratoga.
John Langan’s The Fisherman (2015) is an excellent horror novel set in Ulster County.
Lorrie Moore’s Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? (1994) is a beautiful, wrenching look at two girls’ friendship in Ithaca.
William Kennedy’s Albany cycle, beginning with Legs (1975), is a wonderful dive into the hardscrabble life.
Frederick Busch’s Girls (1997) is set around/north of the capital region, and it’s heartbreakingly good and haunting.
Someone already recommended Richard Russo; Nobody’s Fool, The Risk Pool, and Mohawk are all incredible portraits of the decline of areas like Gloversville. They’re funny and lovely in very bittersweet ways.
I really didn’t like Emma Straub’s All Adults Here (2020), but I cannot deny it’s a pretty well-observed portrait of gentrifying Dutchess County around Rhinebeck.
Stephen Dobyns’s mysteries set in Saratoga have great local flavour.