Final Books Beneath The Bridge Event: Jill Eisenstadt Reads From 'Swell'

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The Books Beneath the Bridge summer series will come to an end on Monday when novelist Jill Eisenstadt reads from her most recent book, “Swell.”

Eisenstadt will read from her new book, answer questions and sign copies at Granite Prospect on Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park on Monday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m., event organizers announced Friday.

This is the fifth summer the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy has presented its annual literary series, hosting authors such as Martin Amis, Patti Smith, Colson Whitehead, and Paul Auster.

Eisenstadt, a Brooklynite, is the author of three novels — “Kiss Out,” “From Rockaway,” and “Swell” — and her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Boston Review, New York Magazine, and BOMB.

In “Swell,” which hit bookstores in June, Eisenstadt writes about a family that moves to a beachfront house in Rockaway, which is unfortunately haunted, in the wake of 9/11.

The New York Times called Eisenstadt’s third novel, “really nutty” and Newsday noted Eisenstadt’s deft hand at mixing comedy and tragedy.

“Despite the overcrowding and the kookiness of the plot, ‘Swell’ is anchored in real understanding of the people of Rockaway, what they went through in those years and their recourse to black humor.”

Both reviewers cited one character’s favorite joke:

“Knock, knock.”
“Who’s there?”
“9/11.”
“9/11 who?”
“You said you’d never forget.”

Find more information about the Books Beneath the Bridge series on the Brooklyn Bridge Park website here.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park