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 |
