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A review by lauren_endnotes
The Submission by Amy Waldman
5.0
Rare is the book that makes you truly question your own beliefs and how you would respond in the given scenario...
In 2003, an appointed panel chooses a design winner in a blind competition for the World Trade Center memorial in downtown Manhattan. The group is a smattering of NY elite, include attorneys, artists, historians, and a wealthy widow whose husband died in the WTC.
The first few chapters describe the inner-workings of the jury as they narrow the field to two designs with advocates and dissenters on both sides. I liked the inter-play between the characters here, and I do wish that some of that would have continued through the rest of the story. Finally, the jury votes and in a slight majority "The Garden" design is selected after hard campaigning by the widow, Claire.
...but when the designer is revealed to be an American Muslim, a whole lot of scrambling happens. The jury decides to sit on their decision for a few days, but in the meantime, the winner is leaked to the press and the windfall begins.
At the heart of it is Mohammed "Mo" Khan, the intensely private designer and architect. Just as one would suspect, he is eaten alive by the press and many citizen groups. Very few people (including the jury that chose his design) come to his defense. Mo's motivations come into question, and he is thrown into the role of villain, hero, and martyr all at once by the different factions.
Swirling around this nexus is the story of two other "families": Sean, the brother of a fallen firefighter, and Asma, the illegal Bangladeshi immigrant whose husband was a janitor in the WTC. These two stories were so heavy and full of gravity. I really like the way Waldman wrote both of these characters, who couldn't be more different than each other.
This is a ripe choice for book group discussion because there is so much to chew on. Extremely powerful book. One of my favorites of the year.
In 2003, an appointed panel chooses a design winner in a blind competition for the World Trade Center memorial in downtown Manhattan. The group is a smattering of NY elite, include attorneys, artists, historians, and a wealthy widow whose husband died in the WTC.
The first few chapters describe the inner-workings of the jury as they narrow the field to two designs with advocates and dissenters on both sides. I liked the inter-play between the characters here, and I do wish that some of that would have continued through the rest of the story. Finally, the jury votes and in a slight majority "The Garden" design is selected after hard campaigning by the widow, Claire.
...but when the designer is revealed to be an American Muslim, a whole lot of scrambling happens. The jury decides to sit on their decision for a few days, but in the meantime, the winner is leaked to the press and the windfall begins.
At the heart of it is Mohammed "Mo" Khan, the intensely private designer and architect. Just as one would suspect, he is eaten alive by the press and many citizen groups. Very few people (including the jury that chose his design) come to his defense. Mo's motivations come into question, and he is thrown into the role of villain, hero, and martyr all at once by the different factions.
Swirling around this nexus is the story of two other "families": Sean, the brother of a fallen firefighter, and Asma, the illegal Bangladeshi immigrant whose husband was a janitor in the WTC. These two stories were so heavy and full of gravity. I really like the way Waldman wrote both of these characters, who couldn't be more different than each other.
This is a ripe choice for book group discussion because there is so much to chew on. Extremely powerful book. One of my favorites of the year.