The House in Town

In an elegant New York brownstone on "Millionaire's Row" (West 23rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues), Sam Hammer, a Jewish department store tycoon and his non-Jewish wife, Amy, bid their last few guests farewell with a parting wish - "A better year ahead"

But, as that pivotal year begins, the shadow of the enormous London Terrace apartment complex under construction looms over their home

The shadow also portends Wall Street's impending collapse, and the growing strain upon the Hammer's marriage

Though Amy and Sam seem devoted to each other, their marriage has been childless, leading to a "what's-the-point" abandonment of sexual relations

The looming Great Depression is likely to put a crimp in the lavish lifestyle of the Hammers and their friends - just as the rapidly rising giant London Terrace apartments across the street are about to rob their house of much of its light

"Greenberg deserves acclaim for writing sensitively about time and how it passes ... he once again shows us a world on the brink of upheaval and populates it with characters who greet it, or fret about it, with relentless eloquence" ~ NY Magazine

"Greenberg's work takes place inside fevered indeterminacy ... The skill of the writing constantly holds your interest" ~ Village Voice