WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Last week, the New York Public Library released a map of novels set in each New York City neighborhood.
While the project highlighted many memorable reads, the map failed to mention any books set in Washington Heights or Inwood.
The farthest north the NYPL ventured was West 135th Street, one of the settings for Ralph Ellison’s "Invisible Man."
But thanks to some help from DNAinfo readers, we've remedied that situation.
Here are nine books, mostly novels, in which Washington Heights or Inwood play important roles:
Soledad by Angie Cruz
Soledad, a talented art student who lives in the East Village, has fought hard to escape the Dominican neighborhood of her youth. However, at age 20 she is called back to her childhood home on West 164th Street to help her aunt care for her ill mother and try to tame her wild cousin.
The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Although most of Diaz’s acclaimed novel is set in various parts of New Jersey and the Dominican Republic, the book’s unlikely hero does make a trip to Washington Heights for a pivotal scene.
The Little Red Lighthouse and The Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde H. Swift
This classic of children’s literature explores the friendship between two of Uptown’s most iconic landmarks: the lighthouse, which has fallen out of use, and the bridge that has replaced it.
Forgiving Maximo Rothman by A.J. Sidransky
This murder mystery explores the relationship between the Dominican community and the Orthodox Jewish community living along Bennett Avenue in Washington Heights. It includes flashbacks to Sosua, a Jewish settlement in World War II-era Dominican Republic.
When Tito Loved Clara by Jon Michaud
This story of first love between two young Dominican immigrants contrasts the Inwood of today with that of the 1990s, when it was considered “the forgotten part of Manhattan," Michaud writes.
The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll
Carroll’s breakthrough work chronicles his years as a teenage basketball star-turned-heroin addict. The conservative Irish Catholic enclave of Inwood, where Carroll grew up, figures largely into the book. The final diary entry reveals Carroll staring at the Cloisters from the flophouse where he shoots up, wishing “to be pure.”
Academy Street by Mary Costello
Irish author Mary Costello tells the story of Tess Lohan, from her childhood in 1940s Ireland to her immigration to 1960s Inwood, when the neighborhood was an Irish stronghold.
Forever by Pete Hamill
In this magical tale, the main character is granted immortality so long as he does not leave the island of Manhattan. Through the centuries, the untamed wilderness that eventually becomes Inwood Hill Park plays a vital role in the story.
Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus
Rory Hennessey, the 13-year-old protagonist of this young adult series, has the ability to see Manhatta, a spirit world that exists alongside modern-day Manhattan. Manhatta is populated by characters such as Native Americans who have lived in Inwood Hill Park since before the island was settled by the Dutch.
