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A review by bookgoonie
Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff
3.0
Original review posted @ www.bookgoonie.com July 2011
http://wp.me/p1h3Ps-nC
This book has been described as a rough gem. A rough gem--not because it isn't polished, but because it is real. Set on the streets of Brooklyn, rough, broken, not pretty to the average person...the perfect backdrop. Reading Kid's story felt like watching an art film. You felt like you were there. A kind of day in the life. I wasn't sure if there was going to be a happy ending for Kid. Life can't always do a 180 in 200 pages, so I wasn't sure if Kid was going to make it to the other side.
[Felix to Kid] I felt him shrug against me. "I like the sunrise," he said. "But I prefer the sunset, because at least it's honest."..."The sunrise is the rebirth, the promise the sun makes every morning: 'I'm here to stay,'" Felix said. "But it's bullshit. Because every night, it just leaves again."
Kid lives on the street, partially due to her dad and part her own decision. When her father refers to her as "this", my heart broke. What makes it sad is that this isn't an isolated incident. There are so many parents that degrade their children with words or actions. Whether it is over gender identity or career choice, words hurt. Gender identity and preference is part of the angst of this book. I was frustrated not knowing at first, but by the end I think it was why I liked it. Not knowing allowed me to look at Kid and Scout as people. Kid is a great character. She is strong, a great artist, and maintains her innocence. Besides drinking, she doesn't get involved in any of the darker aspects of living on the streets. Her street family is made up of a unique cast of characters, but you love them for their sincere love and caring about Kid.
The music scenes in the book are beautiful. Like poetry themselves. They are what originally drew me into the story. I stayed around for the tortured artist story and got something much better.
"The tone was like honey, better than anything Felix had ever gotten out of the amp, and your voice was more delicious still--warm and sweet, but there was a darkness in it, and it showed me all those places I'd seen in your eyes."
http://wp.me/p1h3Ps-nC
This book has been described as a rough gem. A rough gem--not because it isn't polished, but because it is real. Set on the streets of Brooklyn, rough, broken, not pretty to the average person...the perfect backdrop. Reading Kid's story felt like watching an art film. You felt like you were there. A kind of day in the life. I wasn't sure if there was going to be a happy ending for Kid. Life can't always do a 180 in 200 pages, so I wasn't sure if Kid was going to make it to the other side.
[Felix to Kid] I felt him shrug against me. "I like the sunrise," he said. "But I prefer the sunset, because at least it's honest."..."The sunrise is the rebirth, the promise the sun makes every morning: 'I'm here to stay,'" Felix said. "But it's bullshit. Because every night, it just leaves again."
Kid lives on the street, partially due to her dad and part her own decision. When her father refers to her as "this", my heart broke. What makes it sad is that this isn't an isolated incident. There are so many parents that degrade their children with words or actions. Whether it is over gender identity or career choice, words hurt. Gender identity and preference is part of the angst of this book. I was frustrated not knowing at first, but by the end I think it was why I liked it. Not knowing allowed me to look at Kid and Scout as people. Kid is a great character. She is strong, a great artist, and maintains her innocence. Besides drinking, she doesn't get involved in any of the darker aspects of living on the streets. Her street family is made up of a unique cast of characters, but you love them for their sincere love and caring about Kid.
The music scenes in the book are beautiful. Like poetry themselves. They are what originally drew me into the story. I stayed around for the tortured artist story and got something much better.
"The tone was like honey, better than anything Felix had ever gotten out of the amp, and your voice was more delicious still--warm and sweet, but there was a darkness in it, and it showed me all those places I'd seen in your eyes."