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A review by book_concierge
Meet Me Halfway: Milwaukee Stories by Jennifer Morales
4.0
From the book jacket: An urban neighborhood must find ways to bridge divisions between black and white, gay and straight, old and young. … In nine stories Morales captures a Rust Belt city’s struggle to establish a common ground and a collective vision of the future.
My reactions:
I love short stories and was expecting that format. But this is really a novel told from nine different viewpoints. It begins when a black teenager, Johnquell, goes to help the elderly Polish widow who lives next door move a bookcase. He is a high school senior facing a bright future, having gotten into a good university. But a tragic accident ends that dream. The subsequent stories reveal more about Johnquell, his family and friends, as well as about Mrs Czernicki and her friends and relations.
It’s an engaging and interesting look at an urban struggle that is all too familiar. Morales explores how one’s opinions might be changed (or at least softened) by more contact, by listening and being open to other people’s stories and viewpoints. She also shows how difficult it is to move from that entrenched position, and how rewarding it is to “meet in the middle.”
This was to have been my F2F book club’s April selection, but that’s been put off to October now. The author is going to join us and I’m very much looking forward to that discussion.
My reactions:
I love short stories and was expecting that format. But this is really a novel told from nine different viewpoints. It begins when a black teenager, Johnquell, goes to help the elderly Polish widow who lives next door move a bookcase. He is a high school senior facing a bright future, having gotten into a good university. But a tragic accident ends that dream. The subsequent stories reveal more about Johnquell, his family and friends, as well as about Mrs Czernicki and her friends and relations.
It’s an engaging and interesting look at an urban struggle that is all too familiar. Morales explores how one’s opinions might be changed (or at least softened) by more contact, by listening and being open to other people’s stories and viewpoints. She also shows how difficult it is to move from that entrenched position, and how rewarding it is to “meet in the middle.”
This was to have been my F2F book club’s April selection, but that’s been put off to October now. The author is going to join us and I’m very much looking forward to that discussion.