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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
When I read the blurb about this book I thought it would be a good read but as I got further into the story I realized that I didn't care for any of the characters. They had no depth and I had no interest in any of them attaining their goals. It seemed that stereotype after stereotype was offered up for characters and nothing else was offered to connect with. The end with the so called wrap up was a nice way to end the book but again the lack of affinity left me wanting.
Full review at http://www.everydayiwritethebookblog.com/2018/07/the-submission-by-amy-waldman/
Amy Waldman’s The Submission takes a look at the political aftermath of 9/11 through the setup of a competition to design a memorial at Ground Zero. The book was written in 2011, but it’s set a few years after the attacks, when a jury of art bigwigs, city officials and a 9/11 victim’s wife are choosing the winning design. The final choice – a garden – turns out to have been submitted by a Muslim-American named Mohammad. Once word gets out that the winner is Muslim, the outcry is swift and passionate, with various groups protesting the choice and others defending the architect’s right to see his winning garden through to completion.
There are a number of characters here – the architect, the guy in charge of the jury, the widow, the widow of a Bangladeshi immigrant who was also killed on 9/11, the brother of a firefighter who lost his life in the Towers, the ambitious journalist who broke the story, etc. They each have their positions, extensively articulated by Waldman in impressive detail.
I bought The Submission many years ago – close to its publication date – but didn’t start it until this summer. In the end, it didn’t work for me, and here’s why. First, context. I think America has other issues on its mind right now than how it feels about Muslims. Our enemy is coming from within these days. The book felt outdated to me and I had a hard time feeling passionately about the questions she raised. Maybe I would have felt differently pre-Trump.
Second, Waldman – a journalist herself – seems to have listed the points of view she wanted to express and then assigned characters to those points of view. As a result, they were one-dimensional – stock characters used solely to round out the discussion with the needed talking points. With the exception of Mohammed, they were predictable and not at all complex. In the end, I didn’t care about any of them.
Third, The Submission was sooo slow. The narrative moved along at a snail’s pace, with lots of wordy dialogue as points of view were expressed over and over. Waldman is not a bad writer, but this didn’t feel like a novel, per se. It felt more like a transcript of a documentary. I had a really hard time getting through it. This could have been a really interesting book – maybe in Tom Wolfe’s hands? – but as written, it wasn’t.
Amy Waldman’s The Submission takes a look at the political aftermath of 9/11 through the setup of a competition to design a memorial at Ground Zero. The book was written in 2011, but it’s set a few years after the attacks, when a jury of art bigwigs, city officials and a 9/11 victim’s wife are choosing the winning design. The final choice – a garden – turns out to have been submitted by a Muslim-American named Mohammad. Once word gets out that the winner is Muslim, the outcry is swift and passionate, with various groups protesting the choice and others defending the architect’s right to see his winning garden through to completion.
There are a number of characters here – the architect, the guy in charge of the jury, the widow, the widow of a Bangladeshi immigrant who was also killed on 9/11, the brother of a firefighter who lost his life in the Towers, the ambitious journalist who broke the story, etc. They each have their positions, extensively articulated by Waldman in impressive detail.
I bought The Submission many years ago – close to its publication date – but didn’t start it until this summer. In the end, it didn’t work for me, and here’s why. First, context. I think America has other issues on its mind right now than how it feels about Muslims. Our enemy is coming from within these days. The book felt outdated to me and I had a hard time feeling passionately about the questions she raised. Maybe I would have felt differently pre-Trump.
Second, Waldman – a journalist herself – seems to have listed the points of view she wanted to express and then assigned characters to those points of view. As a result, they were one-dimensional – stock characters used solely to round out the discussion with the needed talking points. With the exception of Mohammed, they were predictable and not at all complex. In the end, I didn’t care about any of them.
Third, The Submission was sooo slow. The narrative moved along at a snail’s pace, with lots of wordy dialogue as points of view were expressed over and over. Waldman is not a bad writer, but this didn’t feel like a novel, per se. It felt more like a transcript of a documentary. I had a really hard time getting through it. This could have been a really interesting book – maybe in Tom Wolfe’s hands? – but as written, it wasn’t.
A nation's tragedy brings out the best and the worst in its citizens. Amy Waldman places her story at the center of America's tragedy, two years after the devastation. A contest for a 9/11 memorial where the World Trade Center once stood brings to a boil all the simmering hurt and mistrust and fear about the future. What is it that causes this firestorm of media distortion and political posturing? What revelation leads to threats and accusations and even violence? Just a name. The name of the contest winner.
"Mo" is as American as can be. He's an architect, born and raised in Virginia. His immigrant parents proudly gave him the name of a beloved prophet. Never would they have imagined that a few decades later that name would become like poison to many Americans. "Mo" is Mohammad Khan. A Muslim name. Suddenly his design, "The Garden," becomes suspect, and the selection committee backpedals on its decision.
This story felt so real that it sometimes made my heart ache for my country, my world, my species. How easily we let ourselves be distracted, led away from the harmony we say we want. When the media and special interest groups push our buttons, they can make us forget why we've come together and what we hoped to accomplish. The voices of reason and reconciliation are often the most gentle and the hardest to hear amid the din of controversy.
It's challenging to give a plausible ending to a novel with real-life parallels. This book poses more questions than it answers, which is as it should be. Given the complexity of the issues, I think Waldman found a strong and believable finish. Our hope for the younger generations is powerful. Those who are too young to remember September 11, 2001 and its aftermath may be our best chance for a balanced perspective and, ultimately, for healing.
"Mo" is as American as can be. He's an architect, born and raised in Virginia. His immigrant parents proudly gave him the name of a beloved prophet. Never would they have imagined that a few decades later that name would become like poison to many Americans. "Mo" is Mohammad Khan. A Muslim name. Suddenly his design, "The Garden," becomes suspect, and the selection committee backpedals on its decision.
This story felt so real that it sometimes made my heart ache for my country, my world, my species. How easily we let ourselves be distracted, led away from the harmony we say we want. When the media and special interest groups push our buttons, they can make us forget why we've come together and what we hoped to accomplish. The voices of reason and reconciliation are often the most gentle and the hardest to hear amid the din of controversy.
It's challenging to give a plausible ending to a novel with real-life parallels. This book poses more questions than it answers, which is as it should be. Given the complexity of the issues, I think Waldman found a strong and believable finish. Our hope for the younger generations is powerful. Those who are too young to remember September 11, 2001 and its aftermath may be our best chance for a balanced perspective and, ultimately, for healing.
My opinion of this book started out fairly high. The beginning showed tremendous promise. Waldman penned a fluid narrative that flowed between many different characters without confusion. The initial debate (which never mentioned the big words like 9-11 or Twin Towers) posed a powerful question with, initially, reasonable reactions and responses. After this great start, Waldman's narrative degenerates into cliché. Ultimately, she fails to help the reader connect to any of the characters.
(As a side note, the sexual innuendos were completely unnecessary in this book, quite gratuitious and jarring.)
(As a side note, the sexual innuendos were completely unnecessary in this book, quite gratuitious and jarring.)
3.5 stars. The first 2 chapters were dull yet confusing--but then it picked up. I enjoyed the chapters that have different characters' voices. Yet then the end slowed down again. Almost anticlimactic, because really, how else could the situation be resolved?
I did like the 20-years-in-the-future last chapter.
All in all, a clever idea for a novel.
I did like the 20-years-in-the-future last chapter.
All in all, a clever idea for a novel.
An interesting thought experiment, but maybe not such a great novel. The writing is competent, the characters closer to archetypes than people. Reminded me a bit of Jodi Picoult (although this is better). I did like the ending, and I suppose the way the book depicts American society in the aftermath of 9/11 will be interesting to future historians, but it didn't really work for me.
This story takes a look at a fictional scenario; suppose a contest were held for designs for the 9-11 Memorial at Ground Zero, and suppose the winning entry was submitted by a Muslim. This story takes a look at the scenario from many different views: Family members of the deceased, politicians, public figures who specialize in hate, and the journalists who not only report the news, but also cause it to happen.
This story is set two years after the towers fell, and everyone involved is still very raw emotionally. The tone of the book heavy with angst, and every decision seems to have a multitude of views, and no one seems happy with anything.
This story is set two years after the towers fell, and everyone involved is still very raw emotionally. The tone of the book heavy with angst, and every decision seems to have a multitude of views, and no one seems happy with anything.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia
I'm actually a little surprised how much I liked this - I generally enjoy character-driven novels that work hard to convince me that Person A would have said X and done Y. And this used its characters as props and plot devices a bit more than I'm usually OK with, giving them clever, profound lines and insights. It's not at all shocking that the author is a journalist; much of the book sounds like quotes a writer would kill for from an interviewee.
But the writing is flawless and incisive and works in the gray areas super well. It doesn't shy away from hard to read, complicated feelings or try to resolve things neatly. It's really like...let's throw this scenario at America, and see what happens. And as much as it brought me back to a slightly earlier version of culture and politics (uh oh, 9/11 is nearly historical fiction territory at this point, huh?), it's...unpleasantly relevant to read now.
If you need a novel with no easy answers or good/bad guys, with zero sentimentality but plenty of compassion, and you're willing to put up with some intellectual verging on pretentious discussions, I recommend this one.
But the writing is flawless and incisive and works in the gray areas super well. It doesn't shy away from hard to read, complicated feelings or try to resolve things neatly. It's really like...let's throw this scenario at America, and see what happens. And as much as it brought me back to a slightly earlier version of culture and politics (uh oh, 9/11 is nearly historical fiction territory at this point, huh?), it's...unpleasantly relevant to read now.
If you need a novel with no easy answers or good/bad guys, with zero sentimentality but plenty of compassion, and you're willing to put up with some intellectual verging on pretentious discussions, I recommend this one.