Gotham Diaries

Tonya Lewis Lee and Crystal McCrary Anthony’s Gotham Diaries is a savvy, witty, and intriguing expose of the upper echelons of New York’s African American society. At the center of the story is Manny Marks, an ambitious native of Alabama who finds success as the realtor to elite clients including Lauren Thomas, wife of billionaire Ed Thomas, whose wandering eye makes Lauren doubt her worth as a wife and a woman. Things heat up when Tandy Brooks, a widowed socialite, finds herself broke and desperate, and calls on Manny to help cure her of her financial woes. Along the way, secondary characters like the d+class+-yet-filthy-rich Coffee and Daryl Raye add laughter and absurdity when Manny takes them on an apartment tour and finds himself kowtowing to their Feng Shui specialist Niche (“I like the elevators … the smoky mirrors are very metaphorical…”). A welcome addition to the growing list of Gossip Lit novels that include favorites such as The Devil Wears Prada and Bling, what Gotham Diaries lacks in editorial sophistication it most certainly makes up for in authenticity.Written by the wives of two men who clearly have access to these circles (Lewis Lee is the wife of filmmaker Spike Lee and McCrary Anthony’s husband is former New York Knick Greg Anthony), Gotham Diaries is nothing if not thorough in its complete exposure of the pitfalls that often accompany extreme wealth. And while no character is particularly likeable, which can make it difficult for readers to identify with anyone, it hardly seems to matter. For Gotham Diaries does exactly what its title suggests–it offers readers an insider’s glance into a world few of us will ever actually experience. –Gisele Toueg