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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Contra Costa County Library.
Oct 01, 2020stagemom rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I want to say I enjoyed this book. I really, really do. I think the idea of the writing behind the book is magnificent. The idea that you, the reader, could watch New York grow up through a foreigner's eyes and experience events you might never have known about otherwise? So interesting. The execution, however, was poor. While the characters were generally interesting and complex, that was about the only thing done right in this book. The author missed so many opportunities to really show off New York's history, to really explore themes of loss and transition and death. So many of these ideas seemed to start at the end of an era, and then die off before the reader could really get a glimpse into the deeper meaning behind them. Much of Hamill's writing just falls flat, and so do the "lessons" he attempts to teach throughout the book. The first instance of this comes when he tries to convince the reader that indentured servitude is the same... as slavery. Yes. Slavery. You know indentured servitude? That voluntary transaction of services where one man/woman agrees to work for someone for a set period of time in exchange for passage to America? And you know slavery? That terrible act of oppression where people rip others from their friends and family to force them to perform involuntary, uncompensated labor for the rest of their lives? Hamill says these are the same thing. Several times. Another thing about Hamill's writing that really doesn't sit well with me is the way he describes women all the way through the book. If I have to hear the word "full-breasted" to describe a woman that the main character plans on sleeping with one more time, I swear I will set this book on fire. And, not only are these descriptions of women very objectifying, they are llooonnnggg. There are multiple women throughout the book with over a paragraph of description, and that's on top of all of the other, smaller ways Hamill finds to remind you that: yes, this woman is sexy. Finally, while this likely just ties in to my first point, Hamill spends so much (definitely too much) time describing Cormac's personal life. There are nearly 100 pages dedicated to watching him stay in a mansion, play the piano, and be sad. This time could've been used so much more effectively. To show off New York at this point in history, or actually observe the murder cases Cormac writes about for the newspaper. It was really disappointing that so much of the book was spent on personal revelations about water and love, when it could've been spent teaching the reader something they haven't heard a million times.