‘A sprawling epic … An absorbing fictional chronicle of a city and its place in American history.’

‘A sprawling epic … An absorbing fictional chronicle of a city and its place in American history.’

‘There is much of the panache of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas here: it is an epic story that sweeps the reader from a single log-house to a mass of steel-frame skyscrapers. It moves from bloody tragedy to financial skulduggery and farce, all through a subtle variety of narrative voices and perspectives. A notably rich, rewarding read.’

‘Daring and unruly … Jonathan Carr ambitiously attempts a reconstruction of the development of Chicago … Often entertaining and very readable.’

‘A wondrous, bold and playful first novel. Seductively fascinating characters, real and imagined, populate this fiction with their interweaving and intergenerational stories. But the hero’s journey belongs to the city itself … An exhilarating ride.’

‘Carr's debut novel is an impressive literary experiment blending epistolary narratives, fragmented journal entries, and historical book chapters into a sprawling chronicle about the founding and development of Chicago in the 19th century … An ambitious literary debut that occupies a liminal space between alternative history and experimental literature.’

‘Carr's kaleidoscope debut embroiders fact with fiction to tell an alternative history of Chicago's 19th Century in a symphony of voices. Using real-life historical figures, colorful stories and fictional journal entries, Carr traces Chicago's rise to an industrial titan and all-time great American city.’

‘Make Me A City is a thrillingly ambitious and ingeniously accomplished first novel. This is a stunning debut by a new and instantly important literary voice.’

‘Jonathan Carr’s brilliant novel could not be more relevant to today’s world. Make Me A City explores the nature of history itself — both the official record and the suppressed stories that lie beneath. Covering a century, from mid-western wilderness to the bustling modern city of Chicago, it has a correspondingly large cast, but incidents and characters are interwoven to create not just a satisfying narrative but a working model of how civilisation comes into being, for better or worse. This novel itself is a city, one that contains the myriad hopes, ambitions, disappointments and loves of its citizens, as they work like coral insects to build the structure in which they live and die.’

‘These mini biographical sketches impart serious commentary on aspects of history such as racism, greed, and love.’

‘Carr’s prose is often amusing and heartfelt and pulls readers through the joys and pains of the people who made Chicago a city … if you are looking for a gritty, unapologetically unique “alternative” history of the Windy City, this is the place to start.’

‘Make Me A City is a multitude of novels all rolled into one — a wonderfully sprawling epic about Chicago’s founding fathers (and mothers), a searching exploration of colonialism in action, and a compelling collection of stories about people and places. But it is something else too, the one thing that is known to all of us, namely a single, tender map of the human heart. In Make Me A City Jonathan Carr draws on his considerable talent to tell the story of Chicago through the eyes of its many inhabitants, exploring life, death and what is left behind with admirable deftness and style. This is a bold, thrilling debut from a seriously good writer.'

‘Absolutely magnificent. Carr grasps the complexity of a city’s history, the individuals who shape it, those who gain and those who suffer. The prose is graceful and vibrant, the gradual unfolding of the interrelated lives of these people is superbly done. This is an elegant, richly enjoyable book.’

‘Make Me A City’s scope and scale is quite breathtaking. It digs deep into the history of Chicago to uncover hidden stories about the people who built it. Its clever way of dealing with competing historical narratives is very exciting. A real pleasure to read!’

‘The rise of Chicago in the 19th century provides the frame for a trove of colorful stories and characters in this entertaining debut novel … Carr has a sure touch, and in many extended anecdotes, his narrative skills show exceptional detail, pacing, and tension. A solid storyteller enlivens a rich patch of American history.’

‘An enticing debut ... a gritty and entertaining fictional history of a great American city.’

‘I've had the pleasure of reading this novel through its draft stages. An epic tale of the foundation of Chicago. A must-read for historical fiction fans!’

‘Carr’s intricately woven debut evokes the history of nineteenth-century Chicago while showcasing important but little-known historical figures and fictional people from different walks of life who contribute to its development. The chronologically arranged chapters vary in style, from straightforward narrative to spot-on pastiches of news articles and diaries to excerpts from a compiled ‘alternative history’ text whose contents are cleverly self-referential … Ambition, injustice, and opportunity all play roles as Chicago expands outward and upward. Over time, the disparate stories, which span the entire century, intersect in delightfully unexpected ways.’

In between periods spent living in the UK, Kenya, Gambia, Greece, and Louisiana, USA, Jonathan Carr first visited Chicago in 1983. A graduate of Cambridge University, he has worked as a travel correspondent, a book reviewer, and a teacher of English. He holds a PhD from Bath Spa University in Creative Writing. Make Me A City is his first novel.