Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach is a 2017 novel by American writer Jennifer Egan. Born in Chicago and raised in San Francisco, Egan, now a New Yorker, did much of her research for the novel at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Using oral histories, photographs, and other supporting documents, she reconstructed the vibrant world of the wartime Brooklyn Naval Yard and Coney Island. The novel won the 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, was long-listed for the 2017 National Book Awards, and was chosen by the city of New York as its “One Book, One New York” selection.

Exploring 20th-century history through characters’ personal pasts, Manhattan Beach is Egan’s sixth novel and echoes themes from her previous fiction, including the 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad.

Plot Summary

In the 1930s, 12-year-old Anna Kerrigan accompanies her father Eddie on a visit to Dexter Styles, a former bootlegger and current nightclub owner who may be able to find work for Eddie, who lost much of his wealth in the 1929 stock market crash. Anna, already schooled in discretion, knows not to mention the visit to her mother Agnes, who stays at home, caring for her disabled sister, Lydia.

Eddie disappears when Anna is 14. By age 19, she has left Brooklyn College and started working at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. She befriends Nell, who takes her to Moonshine’s nightclub, where she discovers that Dexter is the owner. When they are introduced, she changes her last name to “Feeney” so that he will not recognize her. Lydia becomes increasingly unwell, and Anna asks Dexter to drive them to Manhattan Beach. Lydia initially revives at the sight of the sea, but soon declines and dies.

Agnes, who cannot bear her New York life any longer, returns to her family home in Minnesota. Now alone in New York, Anna pursues her dream of becoming a diver. Although female divers are unheard of, Anna persists and passes the test. High on her newfound confidence, she goes with Mr. Voss to Moonshine’s nightclub. When she sees Dexter again, she spurns Mr. Voss and gets into Dexter’s car; they drive to the boathouse near Manhattan Beach and have sex. Afterward, Anna reveals that her last name is Kerrigan and asks Dexter to help her find her missing father. Dexter tells her that such a quest would be dangerous.

Dexter, meanwhile, tires of his life of crime. He works for the notorious Mr. Q. because his wealthy father-in-law, Arthur Berringer, is unwilling to help him make money legitimately. Still plagued by Anna’s wish to find her father, Dexter helps her dive into New York Harbor to find her father’s remains. They find Eddie’s pocket watch and presume he has drowned there.

But Eddie is alive. In trouble with Dexter’s men—and eager to get away from his family—he took a job as a ship’s third mate in San Francisco. When his ship sails near Africa, Eddie has a near-death experience, and he ends up on a lifeboat near Somaliland. He comes to terms with his feelings about Lydia’s disability, and he experiences intense regret for abandoning his family.

Back in New York, Dexter finds himself outplayed and dropped by Mr. Q. On the order of his old boss—as well as his father-in-law, who has been in league with Mr. Q. all along—Dexter is shot dead in his boathouse by a former subordinate. When Anna learns the news, she vomits; she is pregnant with Dexter’s child. Seeking the advice of her Aunt Brianne, Anna leaves New York behind and moves to San Francisco to become a diver on Mare Island. Before she leaves, Anna learns that Eddie has been alive all this time, and he has been communicating with and sending money to Aunt Brianne.

When Eddie visits the apartment Anna shares with Aunt Brianne and her baby boy, Leon, Anna is angry. Then, watching the ships go by, she and her father eventually reconcile.