The
Star-Telegram October
26, 2003
The
Journal News October
25, 2003
Los
Angeles Times October 7, 2003
The
New York Times September
21, 2003
San
Francisco Chronicle September 14, 2003 Oakland
Tribune September 11, 2003
New
York Daily News September 2, 2003
Denver
Post August 31, 2003
Book
Page September Review
Publishers
Weekly, August 11
Starred review
MIDDLETOWN, AMERICA: One Town’s Passage from
Trauma to Hope
With nearly 50 victims, the commuter hamlet of Middletown, N.J.,
and its environs suffered the “largest concentrated death toll” on
September 11 of anyplace in America. A “town with no middle,” Middletown
consists of affluent financiers and working-class police officers
and firefighters—two groups that were hit particularly hard
in the attacks. Bestselling author Sheehy (Passages;Hillary’s
Choice; etc.), who spent almost two years observing the residents’ reactions
to the staggering loss, explores how this high-end suburb, for which
the closest thing to a social fabric was a ferocious sensitivity
to social status, dealt with the tragedy. Sheehy ignores governmental
machinations in order to describe the welter of emotions ordinary
Americans experienced. The enemy of cliché is detail—and
Sheehy’s months in the town yield subtle, detailed portraits
that confound easy images of “strength” or “denial” (although
those are also present). Sheehy implicitly critiques modern American
life: any salutary community bonding suggests a prior lack of cohesion,
just as the emphasis on financial assistance tends to obscure more
fundamental psychological needs. In a community filled with “prefeminist” housewives, “loss
of self” became a substantial problem—who am I, if not
this or that victim’s spouse? Fortunately, in addition to the
considerable generosity the town evinced, survivors were able to
form an “intentional family” united by grief. One sometimes
hears that everyone “knows” what happened on September
11. This admirable book tells precisely the stories we could
stand to hear more about. 8 pages of photos not seen byPW.(Sept.
2)
Forecast:More focused than Steven Brill’sAfter,
and aided by Sheehy’s track record and a nine-city
tour, this could jump onto bestseller lists. This is a
BOMC main selection, and a featured alternate at QPB,
the Literary
Guild and Doubleday Book Club. 100,000 first printing.Gail
Sheehy.Random, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 0-375-50862-7 |
