A short reading list for Manhattanhenge – Modern Mrs Darcy

Thanks to the magic of blogging, I can pinpoint exactly when I discovered the phenomenon that is Manhattanhenge: it was just after the first occurrence of 2016 that took place on May 30 of that year, and in the aftermath the internet generally and my feed in particular was flooded with images from the spectacle and my inner urban planning geek could not get over it.

The term “Manhattanhenge” was coined by Neil DeGrasse Tyson to describe the moment in time when the setting sun perfectly lines up with the Manhattan street grid. (Unlike at Stonehenge, from which Manhattanhenge clearly takes its name, Manhattanhenge does not occur on the summer solstice because Manhattan’s street grid does not lay on a precise north-south axis.) This also means that Manhattanhenge occurs twice a year: once in late May and once in mid-July.

This phenomenon happens in other cities that have a tidy street grid and an unobstructed horizon, like Chicago, Toronto, Baltimore, and Montreal—but it was Manhattanhenge itself that went immediately on my must-see list.

Prepare yourself for an anticlimactic story: when we learned back in the spring that Manhattanhenge 2024 falls on my brithday, Will and I briefly thought of making this the year we see it in person. Our kids are a little older now, so not snag a cheap summer flight up to New York and spend the weekend eating good food, walking twenty miles a day, and watching the sunset?

Well, it turns out we had a lengthy list of reasons why not for this particular birthday weekend timing, but I still intend to vicariously enjoy Manhattanhenge through online photos plus a bit of literary armchair travel.

If you are similarly curious about the Manhattanhenge phenomenon, or simply enjoy a novel in which long walks through New York City feature prominently, I hope one of these jumps out at you. And of course I would LOVE to hear your suggestions in comments. Please share your picks there!

A short reading list for your vicarious Manhattanhenge experience

A friend talked me into reading this 2017 novel after she shared that every member of her diverse book club loved this—the twenty-somethings and the sixty-somethings. The story takes place on New Year’s Eve 1984, when 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish takes a purposeful walk in late-night Manhattan. She travels from her Murray Hill apartment to her favorite Italian restaurant, stops at a bodega for gifts, dines at the iconic Delmonico’s, pops into a friend’s party in Chelsea, and lingers by her old employer R.H. Macy’s in Herald Square, from where, on a different (but clear) night, she could have enjoyed a fantastic view of a Manhattanhenge sunset. Along the way she recounts significant memories from her life, plus a few minor ones, reflecting on what she experienced and what might have been. More info →

If you only read one Manhattanhenge novel, make it this 2019 novel that inventively combines the phenomenon with history, mystery, and love story. On December 5, 1937, Joe first meets Nora, a beautiful woman who seems to have appeared out of nowhere in the concourse of Grand Central Terminal. She seems a little disoriented; her dress is endearingly out of style. But she’s witty and warm and fun, and Joe is instantly smitten. There’s just one problem: when Joe tries to walk Nora home, she vanishes, seemingly into thin air. When he calls the number she gave him, well, that’s when things get really strange. Don’t worry, readers, he’ll see her again, and puzzling out the how, where, and why it’s so complicated is half the fun of reading. More info →

Cole’s 2011 novel introduces us to Julius, a Nigerian-German man in his last year of psychiatric residency at a New York City hospital. We meet him on his lengthy walks through Manhattan, which serve as a stress release after his long days as a resident, as well as a chance to make sense of a recent breakup and other events in his life. The voice hooked me from the first paragraph when he begins in Morningside Heights and heads south on a long walk, and I was all-in on this engaging and richly textured character study of a contemporary flaneur. More info →

There are any number of books you could read to better understand the NYC grid and the Manhattanhenge phenomenon—astronomy, city planning, NYC history, and more! If you enjoy this particular list, I have more promising book recommendations for you, particularly these 130 recommended reads for those traveling to New York City (or who want to) and these 14 books about walking and hiking. Happy reading!

Have you experienced Manhattanhenge in person? What books would you recommend to those who, like me, are seeking to get a taste of Manhattanhenge from their favorite reading chair this year?