The El - by Theodore C Van Alst (Paperback)

About the Book

"A Vintage Books original"--Copyright page.

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF THE CHIRBY FICTION AWARD - From the co-editor of the bestselling anthology Never Whistle at Night, a semi-autobiographical novel that follows a group of teenage gang members as they trek across Chicago to a momentous meeting, inspired by the cult classic The Warriors

"Cool and real as hell." --Tommy Orange, bestselling author of There There

An ordinary day in August 1979 dawns hot and humid in Chicago. Teenager Teddy is living with his dad after being kicked out of his mom's house due to his gang activity. But Teddy has thrived in the Simon City Royals, and today, he'll be helping to lead a posse of the group's younger members south across the city to Roosevelt High School to attend a gathering of gangs forming "the Nation"--a bold new attempt at joining forces across racial lines. This holds particular importance for Teddy, as his branch's only Indigenous member.

But when the meeting breaks up in gunshots and police sirens, Teddy must guide the Royals back across hostile territory, along secret routes and back alleys, and stop by stop on the thundering tracks of the El. In the face of violence from rival gangs and a secret Judas in the Royals' ranks, Teddy is armed only with a potent combination of book smarts and street smarts, and by the guiding spirit of Coyote, who has granted him the power to glimpse a future only he may survive to see.

Immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the author's beloved city, The El will transport you to that singular sun- and blood-soaked day in Chicago. It is a love letter to another time, to a city, and to a group of friends trying to find their place and make their way in a world that doesn't want them.

Review Quotes

WINNER OF THE CHIRBy FICTION AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CHICAGO READER'S BEST NEW BOOK OF 2025
ONE OF THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025

"The El is one of our most anticipated novels of 2025, and for good reason. Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. delivers a vibrant, dangerous, and utterly cool vision of Chicago. . . . The El is one of those rare novels that delivers on its thrills while also offering a new look at Chicago that will stand the test of time."
--Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books

"Van Alst's love for his story is palpable in his juicy prose . . . as is his love of Chicago, both its broad shoulders . . . and its beauty."
--Cory Oldweiler, Minnesota Star Tribune

"Plays with . . . themes [of] finding leadership and loyalty in suspect groups."
--Ed Aymar, The Washington Post

"The El . . . is one of the 'Chicagoest' books I have ever read. Van Alst Jr. . . . has recreated a highly specific slice of Chicago life in 1979 that is so vividly depicted that you can practically hear the metallic screeching of the Ravenswood trains as they round a bend of tracks."
--Michael Antman, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

"Gritty, mystical and full of heart, this book is a fierce ode to urban Native culture and an unabashed love letter to Chicago. Van Alst, Jr. . . . has penned a rich and searing coming of age story that will transport readers and stay with them long after they've finished it."
-- Chicago Public Library, "Our Favorite Books of 2025"

"[Van Alst] is so off-handedly smart, and cool and real as hell. He writes the city beautifully, the way it chokes and breathes out the lives of its people, in too many ways to track, on one of its trains say, crowded and loud. Van Alst writes exactly like himself, a true original, writing about Native people in Chicago, about Native people involved with gangs, and with relationships to the city. He writes about the internal lives of what we have to call criminals, but that term itself is a misunderstanding in a stolen country, where laws made to benefit its thieves only make sense justice-wise in the same way that America called itself the land of the free even while it was led by leaders who owned slaves. Everything he writes is beautifully wrought, mean and bright, and surprisingly tender."
--Tommy Orange, bestselling author of There There

"Chicago will never die. Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. won't let it."
--Stephen Graham Jones, bestselling author of The Only Good Indians

"A Chicago novel inspired by the cult classic The Warriors? Sign me up! . . . I love Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.'s work, so I'm thrilled to see him deliver his Chicago classic."
--Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books

"Transplants the grimy 1979 New York classic The Warriors to the CTA."
--Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune

"Epic."
--Kelley Engelbrecht, Chicago Magazine, "Summer's Required Reading"

"A lively, poetic novel about finding beauty in unexpected places, about seeing things that others don't see, and seeking love outside of the family of your birth. And it has passages that take your breath away."
--Mary Wisniewski, NewCity Lit

"[Van Alst] brings a unique perspective to this volatile era. . . . Van Alst's telling inflects the story of betrayal and violence with genuine compassion. . . . Kaleidoscopic. . . . Van Alst adds distinctly personal details that bring the singular cross-section of Indigenous culture and 1970s Chicago to life. . . . A gritty, vibrant page-turner with real heart and unmatched authenticity."
--Diego Báez, Booklist (starred)

"Vivid. . . . Conjures a gritty and colorful view of late-1970s Chicago with realistic dialogue and well-rounded characters. Readers looking for slow-burn action will devour this."
--Publishers Weekly

"A love letter to the city of Chicago. . . . With strong imagery, dreamlike sequences, and gritty considerations of family, love, spicy potato chips, and gun violence, this unusual story will capture and hold the imagination. . . . The El is utterly intriguing at every turn, shifting pace from high-drama action scenes to contemplative minutes and hours spent rocking in rhythm with public transit and the city itself. Van Alst portrays a strong sense of both time and place as his characters grapple with race, class, and culture. . . . [A] shape-shifting, kaleidoscopic novel of big risks and dreams."
--Julia Kastner, Shelf Awareness

"The El is utterly intriguing at every turn, shifting pace from high-drama action scenes to contemplative ones. Van Alst portrays a strong sense of both time and place as his characters grapple with race, class, and culture. He gives us tragedy as well as beauty, and a sharp, loving portrait of a very particular big city."
--Shelf Awareness

"Van Alst . . . has made it his mission to preserve and celebrate the stories of working-class and Native communities in Chicago. . . . Van Alst's commitment to authenticity has resonated with readers and critics alike."
--The Pinnacle Gazette

"A lyrical and magical ride on Chicago's El, in the golden era of tribal, mutli-racial gangbanging. Rooted in the day that established the origins of our city's decades-long civil war that still rages on. Theodore Van Alst is the storyteller Chicago's been needing for a long long time."
--Bill Hillmann, author of The Old Neighborhood

"Chicago is built on stolen land, but its writers remain free to build their own cities of words, to reclaim their collective past and assert their individual present. In The El, constructs a new edifice for Chicago's collective textual city. No obscure gang-banger graffiti tag symbolically claiming territory the powerful think they own, his contemporary indigenous, working-class, and poetic voice develops a whole new neighborhood. Read The El, and you will understand the El, and Chicago, from a vital new perspective."
--Bill Savage, editor of Chicago by Day and Night

About the Author

THEODORE C. VAN ALST JR. (enrolled member, Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians) is the co-editor of Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, and the author of the story collections Sacred Smokes, winner of the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing; Sacred City, winner of the Electa Quinney Award for Published Stories; and the final book in the Chicago-based trilogy, Sacred Folks.