Upper East Side Girl

One of the things Parker Livingstone loves about his apartment at 822 Fifth Avenue is that it reminds him of the vanished mother who left it to him. The old building seems almost immune to the passage of time: its foyer, its furnishings, its etiquette are from another era. And once Parker discovers an out-of-service elevator with room to sit and write, he finds he can escape from the present completely. Not so at his job as a junior literary agent, where he faces a demanding boss and an intrusive coworker. He features them both as characters in his novel, the theme of which is his great preoccupation: time. Parker believes that time ultimately renders everything meaningless, and that the present is just an illusion. When Parker meets Sarah, however, he suddenly sees his future. She is all he has ever wanted in a woman: charming, beautiful, smart, confident, cultured. But she is elusive: a chance meeting in the Park, a picnic in the old elevator, and then she is gone again. As Parker’s boss and coworker grow increasingly suspicious - demanding to see his manuscript--Parker grows increasingly paranoid about losing his job and obsessed with his mystery woman. Who is she? Why are his neighbors silent on the matter? Where does she disappear to? And what might he have to forfeit to be with her? Upper East Side Girl is a moving portrait of a man in love and in crisis, as well as a thoughtful meditation on the nature of time itself.

Bernard F. Conners, former publisher of The Paris Review, has had a distinguished career in government, business, publishing, and film. He is the best-selling author of Dancehall, Tailspin, The Hampton Sisters, Don’t Embarrass the Bureau, and Cruising with Kate. Mr. Conners lives in Loudonville, New York.