Books

" Entertaining . . . outsized . . .  The World of Tomorrow views its teeming cast of characters as though from the observation deck of one of the city skyscrapers that seem to 'burst from the pages of a comic book.' . . . Reveling in bold twists and fantastic coincidences, Mathews's  big, expressive debut inhabits a world that's neither of the past nor the future but wholly of the imagination."âۥ Sam Sacks,  Wall Street Journal

"This Doctorow-esque debut novel shimmers with the swing and swank of 1939 New York . . . Mathews's urban epic is as rich and raucous as the city it celebrates."âۥ O., The Oprah Magazine

" Mathews has a big, rambunctious talent . . . He is a wonderful scene-setter, whether he's describing the streets of Manhattan in the wee hours or conjuring the glories of then brand-new Rockefeller Center . . .  The gusto of his prose and vividness of his characters keeps the novel gyrating with zany energy . . . An exuberant debut novel."âۥ Michael Upchurch,  Chicago Tribune

" The World of Tomorrow is that rarest of historical novels, a book that catches a moment in a jar, holds it aloft, and displays it for what it really is: Somebody else's day before tomorrow, the instant right before the future comes . . . Mathews's entire novel takes place over the course of one week in June of that year,  culminating at the World's Fair itself, in a fast-paced finale worthy of a Scorcese long-take. And I love this about the book. I love the bright-eyed joy of it. The meticulous attention to detail that actually serves the plot . . . And I like that  Mathews made this big book so intimate . . . One of the strengths of his story is the way it sprawls and loops. It finds odd little corners of time and place and character to get into and, in those corners, it finds both a balancing seriousness and a wideness of vision."âۥ Jason Sheehan,  NPR

"A promising writer . . . Mathews is an able prose stylist, and breathing life into so many diverse characters is no mean feat . . . The possibility of dramatic transformation amid historical ferment is at the heart of  The World of Tomorrow, a fat novel stuffed with well-drawn characters grappling with different versions of themselves . . . Mathews has a flair for bringing street scenes to life, and his hopscotching narrative-from a Harlem jazz joint to a Bowery art studio to a Fifth Avenue palace-makes for an enjoyable tour of a vanished city . . . An affable debut novel."âۥ John Freeman Gill,  Washington Post

"This is one of those books that you jump into with its first line, like a diver into an inviting pond, and just happily swim for more than 500 pages . . .  Mathews creates a crowded, bustling world that's insanely fun to inhabit. I didn't want this book to end . . . Just read it already."âۥ Moira Macdonald,  Seattle Times

"A madcap rollick tinged with a touch of menace,  The World of Tomorrow delights in sending its characters pinging around pre-World War II New York, on the run from Irish gangsters, fascist regimes, and crazy relatives . . . Mathews's breezy epic captures a hustling spirit soon to be subsumed by a world at war . . .  A dazzling literary debut."âۥ Chris Vognar,  Dallas Morning News

" The World of Tomorrow is a big American novel, filled with ordinary people on the verge of extraordinary changes. By week's end, each will have made a pivotal choice whose consequences ripple far beyond their own lives . . . As with many novels that feel quintessentially American, immigrants and refugees are lead characters . . .  This is Mathews's first novel, but you would not know it from the depth of its characters or the tight-as-a-snare-drum pacing. He connects multiple narratives in gratifying and often surprising ways, which makes this nearly 600-page story fly by faster than many books half its size . . . Mathews infuses  The World of Tomorrow with the sights, sounds, and smells of 1930s New York: the energy of the dancers in Harlem's Savoy Ballroom when the band is running hot; the island-unto-itself nature of a Park Avenue mansion; the savory delicacies from a pushcart on a crowded Bowery street . . . Mathews takes exquisite care in creating even marginal characters and locales . . . [He gives] a sense of an entire neighborhood in a few phrases . . .  It's rare to read a book whose range and ambition so aptly fit its title. Page after page, The World of Tomorrow lives up to its notable name."âۥ Carol Iaciofano,  WBUR

" Mathews writes extraordinarily well . . . His plot, rife with geopolitical intrigue, is nicely calibrated . . . His characters are likable and clever . . . They're Depression-weary, ready to transcend 'the sordid history of the Old World and looking boldly to the future.' This is an expansive theme, and from it, the first-time author has carved a commendable novel."âۥ Kevin Canfield,  Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Mathews deftly handles a large cast of characters in  The World of Tomorrow . . . Perhaps the most vibrant character of all, however, is New York itself. In hard-boiled prose that ranges from gossipy to poetic, Mathews takes us from humble Bronx homes to rowdy Manhattan jazz clubs, from grimy back alleys to palatial Fifth Avenue estates . . .  The World of Tomorrow is a sweeping, impressive accomplishment . . . Mathews has written an insightful immigrant epic, not to mention a first-class literary thriller."âۥ Tom Deignan, BookPage

 

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Brendan Mathews, a Fulbright Scholar to Ireland, has published stories in Glimmer Train, the Virginia Quarterly, and the Cincinnati Review, among other publications, and his fiction has twice appeared in The Best American Short Stories. He lives with his wife and their four children in Lenox, Massachusetts, and teaches at Bard College at Simon's Rock.