Reviews for Investigating Change in American Society

The average rating for Investigating Change in American Society based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-09-25 00:00:00 Sergio Lima This is one of those finds that I think bookstores and conversation are one of the few ways one could decide upon reading it. Its the quick glance inside that gets you and nails you to the wall. I wasn't even looking for this book. That's generally the way it happens when you find a great bookstore, you leave with your arms weighed down and your pocketbook vanquished. Something pushed it into my hands off the 'Rebecca Reccomends' shelf of Greenlight Bookstore in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. I read Winik's intro and then the first story and then headed to the cashier. I've just finished all of the remembrances in this extremely short book and I think you all should read this. It is particularly imperative if you'll ever die. These 'portraits of the dead' are inspired by the fictional vignettes of Edgar Lee Master's 'Spoon River Anthology' and yet a leap into the contemporary form. Every one is a deep insight into her life and the lives of many she came in touch. The writing is so spare and so crystal at times it as shocking as smashing down a glass of Grandma's favorite crystal at the dinner table. Each of the portraits, drawn from her own rich experiences and those that have touched her life are spare yet concentrated reflection most only amounting to a few paragraphs at best, yet there always are these barbs and lines that stab up from the text and draw one forward, leaving a yearning for a deeper connection to this thing we call life and the other we are all ever spinning towards. Here are a few of my favorite moments, although the whole thing will fall into that realm. I'll probably read it again. It's the perfect book for a train ride, or whey are stadning on a corner waiting for a friend, or when you're sitting in the loo. Enjoy. From 'The Second Grade Teacher' pg.66 "...I heard that C. Green had died of breast cancer, leaving young children of her own. It seemed impossible. Aren't elementary school teachers eternal and ageless--like Santa Claus--holding open the heavy steel doors to the future as the babbling river of children runs through and through." From 'The Man of Letters' pg. 73 "Look, here we all are in the boardwalk at Bradley Beach, New Jersey, the summer my boys were one and three. The sun is an orange-brown pill bottle in the sky. Lounging on a beach, the men squint through the taffy air at little hands waving from the ferris wheel." (this review originally appeared @ NYWBC ) If you are in the Brooklyn, NY area, or if you want to buy it online from an awesome small bookseller, hit up Greenlight Bookstore.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-09-16 00:00:00 Glenn Harned Every chapter is a tiny little vignette about a person that Marion Winik knew who is now dead. Sometimes it's a close friend or relation, other times it's the town dentist. Some of these little stories hit me hard and others felt like a throw away page....and after reading a dozen they all started to blur together. This book is only 96 pages so you can read them all in one sitting but that doesn't do any of them justice. The fact that I can't remember these people lease me a little sadder than when I didn't know them at all.