This novel concerns four close college friends who move to New York, where they remain best friends. Sara's organized (she's the least developed of the five main characters) and she loves George, a schlumpy astronomer with a drinking problem. Jacob is fun when he's in the mood, with a cutting wit and he's mysterious and unpredictable. Irene is the free-spirited, brilliant artist who never discusses her past; a manic pixie dream girl that they all love so much. And then there's William, who was never worthy of being included into their group when they were in college, but begins a relationship with Irene when they meet up again at a holiday party.

I'm not going to be very nice to this book. The quality of the writing is good; Jansma knows how to write a sentence that stays out of the way of what he's trying to say, and there's some interesting writing segments at the beginning and end of the novel that bring Joshua Ferris's Then We Came to the End to mind. The heart of the novel is fine, if done to death already; four friends graduate and discover adulthood is complex and not as easy as they thought. It was in the execution that this book fell flat for me. It's predictable and not different enough from all the other novels by MFA holders living in Brooklyn to stand out.

The first segment of the novel is the tragic tale of the untimely illness and death of one of the characters. Nothing new is said, although the parts about chemotherapy felt educational. The second segment involves a character with the same name as a character in the first segment, although this character is a very different person. This segment is the story of a guy who grows up a bit and finds purpose in trying to help out one of the patients at the psychiatric institute where he works. The final segment is about two other characters who have to get over their deep feelings of grief and move on with their lives.

There are female characters in this book, but Jansma leaves them as ciphers and objects of some variation of affection rather than fully rounded characters. He's kind to them, though, and may well move beyond this in later novels. Jansma shows promise and it would be interesting to see what he does when he isn't writing about stock situations and characters and allows his imagination to do more. ( )

Kristopher Jansma's follows with his second novel, WHY WE CAME TO THE CITY, a poignant, coming-of-age tale, of five twenty-something friends after 9/11 in New York City. Beginning at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis—recession; from tragedy, life, loss, grief, and friendship.

A journey to adulthood. A dream. Success. Failure. Misfortune. Crisis. Loss. Grief. The ashes. Survival. Mortality. A city can take from us and give. Sometimes we need to say good-bye. Both personal and professionally.

My city is not your city. A different city than the one we knew. What happened to the city fifty years before? A city where we lost and loved. New York has always been about the American dream.

Jansma writes with stunning literary prose, with deep insights, mixed with humor-- a close group of friends. Five years after college: They are flawed. Sara- editor; boyfriend astronomer -George, poet -Jacob, investment banker-William, and Irene, artist. They are at a party toasting the new year. However, as they make their way through the city -- life’s unexpected twists. turns, and tragedies.

Irene is diagnosed with bone cancer and forced to undergo draining chemotherapy sessions. They each confront their own demons, fears, and issues. Rethinking and exploring their dreams, ambitions, hopes, love, careers, and aspirations. If there could be a do over. Time. How to be someone new. Get through the tough times with support of one another.

From the romance with the city, love, passion, and cancer. How the cancer and surrounding elements affect the group--grief, discovery, reconciliation.

As mentioned in several online articles, the storyline reflects similarities of the author’s personal life from moving to New York City as a young man, grad school at Columbia, fell in love and got married, and – along with his fiancé – cared for his sister in his cramped one-bedroom apartment as she battled cancer. His ever-changing relationship with the city while considering moving to the suburbs.

Not only is the book related to New York City, the themes and experiences are relevant to cities everywhere.

“We came to the city because we wished to live haphazardly, to reach for only the least realistic of our desires, and to see if we could not learn what our failures had to teach, and not, when we came to live, discover that we had never died.”

Life can be based on Idealism (based on a conception of things as they should be, or wish them to be with a tendency to be imaginary or visionary), OR Realism (based on a conception of things as they are, regardless of how one wants them to be---practical and pragmatic.

These perspectives also have an impact on how individuals deal with success or failure in their lives. It is very rare to find someone who is a complete and absolute idealist or realist. Events in our life change our perspectives.

Beautifully written, moving, and absorbing will make the reader reflect upon the moment, and appreciate life and those around you --in the present.

I listened to the audiobook, and Edoardo Ballerini delivered an engaging performance. ( )

Why We Came To The City is an interesting look at a group of Friends as they move through the stages of early adulthood. At the center of the group is a couple who have been together since college and are planning their wedding. Around them are an artist, a poet, and a literature major who went into a financial field and is doing well. All of these characters are struggling with something, and money isn't always at the center of these trials. The book addresses disillusionment and acceptance from different angles as the group experiences loss as well as triumph.

Note: I was given a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

A few years back, I had the great fortune of receiving an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of Kristopher Jansma's The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards. I enjoyed it. It was filled with breathtaking sentences and magic. The structure, the metafictional elements, the style—it all reminded me a tad of David Mitchell, but in no way did I feel Jansma was trying to emulate Mitchell; Jansma had a voice all his own. I was hooked.

So I was excited to get my hands on a copy of Jansma's follow-up, Why We Came to the City. Once again, I had the pleasure of finding an ARC. What an amazing novel it is. And, oh, how so different from the author's earlier work.

Why We Came to the City is the tale of five friends, in their twenties, trying to make a life in New York City. One of the friends has an inscrutable past that haunts her. Then tragedy strikes and everyone must chose if they'll collapse under the strain or press on. Sound familiar? Yeah, it's a trendy premise, right? Most notable is last year's buzz book, A Little Life. But in all the ways I felt A Little Life failed—unbelievable scenarios, incomprehensible characters, a disconnect from realism—this book succeeds. These are realistic characters with realistic struggles who are put into realistic scenarios. Given Jansma's previous novel, I was quite surprised by all this realism myself.

But oh how gorgeous it is. These kinds of stories are the reason I read. Primarily, I read because I want to feel, I want to have empathy for someone from a different walk of life. Why We Came to the City reached deep into my chest and pulled out my beating heart. I admit, I was a little disappointed that Jansma barely tapped the magical style he so clearly is skilled in, but the magic of this novel happens in the heart, not the brain.

I really hope this one takes off. Obviously, it's too early to award any “Best of the Year” prizes, but I think this one will make quite a few of the lists. It's a beautifully rendered story and so much more accessible than its contemporaries. ( )