Much like a novel
Written: Oct 16 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well written
Cons: Not necessarily a balanced view of Northampton
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| letrouvere's Full Review: Home Town Books |
Home Town by Tracy Kidder seems very much like a novel, but is purportedly a work of non-fiction. The author has interviewed many of the characters, if one may use that word when speaking of non-fiction, and states that any thoughts that he has attributed to characters were "plausibly described" to him.
The home town of the title is Northampton, Massachusetts. A county seat with a population of approximately 30,000, Northampton is the site of Smith College, one of the most prestigious colleges for women. Kidder's book is about the town and its people, and about the lives of some individuals in particular over a period of several years.
The chief character is Tommy O'Connor, an Irish-American Catholic member of the city's police force. Kidder describes O'Connor's childhood, marriage, and his work for the police. In connection with the latter, we met other residents of Northampton. Among them are a policeman accused of sexual contact with his young daughter, a drug addict from the Dominican Republic who acts as a police informant, and a well-to-do lawyer whose mental illness isolates him from society for a number of years. Another character, whose life is not connected with O'Connor, is a young single mother enrolled in a program at Smith to help older women obtain a college education.
Kidder also provides good descriptions of Northampton and some insight into its history. One possible criticism is that none of the characters are Lesbian, although, as Kidder tells us, Northampton has become well known in the press as a city with a proportionately large population of Lesbians. The focus of the book is primarily on the city's locally born Catholics. That having been said, the book is very well written, seems to be a quite accurate portrayal of Northampton, and is a pleasure to read.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
letrouvere
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Member: John Pierce
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 7 members
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