A review by sawyergolden
Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood by Mark Oppenheimer

5.0

Two things I have learned since I came to college at Pitt is that I love the city of Pittsburgh, and I love reading anthropological work. Dorky and confusing as I feel it is, I think that anthropology and the work it creates gives people the best insights into how certain communities and groups operate, and the ethical lines along which to conduct anthropological work are not super defined, making for an interesting moral argument. I am not sure whether or not Mark Oppenheimer intended for this book to be anthropological or not, but it is the most humane and respectful story of a community recovering from immense tragedy I have ever read. The story focuses primarily on Squirrel Hill and the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and doesn’t glorify the violence of the event or the man who committed it, which I feel is so important when creating a written work centered around something so tragic. I learned way more about the events of October 27th, Pittsburgh, and Judaism than I thought I would, and I have a new appreciation for the city that I have made my transplanted home. A must-read by any measure.