Customer Reviews

Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lee Stringer's writing so impressed me that I began sharing it with students in my writing courses to illustrate a variety of points--the power of emotion in honest writing, the plight of the homeless in a rich country, the power of writing to pull a soul from the mire. If my introduction doesn't tempt you to read this book, Kurt Vonnegut's will.

In this short book, Stringer tells his street stories which have the power to make a grown man swear and choke back tears at the same time; I've witnessed this myself more than once. This book is written with a mix of grit and fragmented paragraphs to produce an amazingly unique style that illustrates the dark and haunted caverns in the writer's mind. Stringer found his way off of drugs and mean streets by writing about his experiences and sharing them in the homeless publication Street News which he later went on to edit. His stories are raw and loud.

This country cares too little for its disenfranchised, and too easily looks away from the homeless and downtrodden (Stringer says,"They see only a phenomenon to which they have already adjusted"). Stringer's words will thread readers' hearts with the compassion they require to truly live an examined life in the USA. And besides, the guy is so quotable: "It's the guilt, fear, and stones in your own heart that take you down;" or "Heroism, as I see it, requires a deliberate decision to assume avoidable risks specifically--not incidentally--for the sake of another." Stringer's is an important voice. Do not miss this book.

To come away from this book with a new compassion for "the homeless" is to completely miss the point. Stringer's contribution is so valuable precisely because it shows us that there is no such thing as "the homeless" as if it were some pathetic, faceless, homogeneous mob. Rather, his storytelling challenges us to see each person on the street as an individual with his or her own character, needs, desires, and flaws. Some are deserving of compassion, but others are not. By showing us this, Stringer avoids being patronizing and gives homeless people the dignity that comes with personhood. Indeed, it is interesting that the characters he tells us about are not necessarily unhappy with their lives and looking for some way to get out. Stringer himself speaks of embracing the street life because of the liberation it offered and leaves when he chooses to because he is finally sick of it.

Lee Stringer can write! This book is what more books should be, entertaining. It's amazing to get this man's thoughts and philosophies from the precise time when he was homeless and addicted to drugs. Wonderful to read and fun to discuss. I speak with confidence when I say "You will enjoy this book."

Several reviewers criticize Stringer's Grand Central Winter for what they see as its lack of information about life on the streets as well as an absence of narrative cohesion. While I sympathize with both of these complaints, I also think they're misguided.

In the first place, Stringer doesn't claim to be writing social commentary or advocating social reforms. His book is a memoir, pure and simple. His stories are from the street, as the book's subtitle announces, but not necessarily about the street. Obviously in describing his life on the streets, Stringer necessarily sheds some light on what street life in general is like. Just as obviously, he also has a few things to say in passing about public policy (he's especially bitter about the "antiseptic Good Samaritanism" of large-scale relief agencies). But the focus of his book is sharing his own experiences living on the street.

And this takes us to the second point: Stringer's writes about selected experiences. He's not really trying to tell a neatly packaged story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. (Philosophers might describe his approach as "phenomenological.") I don't know why Stringer chose to write about the episodes in his life he did. Some of them are probably consciously chosen; others may've forced themselves onto the empty page. But the point is that they're vignettes, not sequential episodes that together tell a full-fledged story.

For my money, the vignettes are wonderfully written. Their minimalist style sets an almost photographic tone: to the point, revelatory, unsentimental, sometimes grim. Stringer successfully resists the temptation to demonize or romanticize.

Although I have not yet read Mr. Stringer's memoir, I did have the pleasure of meeting him this morning--at the Body & Soul Ministries, here at Dallas' St. Paul's Methodist Church--right before the free feed. Having written for many years myself, and having been homeless for over two years, I listened to him read a chapter from his book to the crowd of over 100 homeless men and women gathered for the weekly occasion. While his reading was an inspiration to us all, a testament of courage, risk and fortune, I couldn't help but think of the times I have tried to sell my work to the two newspapers here in Dallas: The Dallas Observer and The Dallas Morning News. Considering that I am indeed homeless, well, I suppose that is one chalf mark against my reputation. Stonewalled, humiliated, ridiculed and put down for trying to better myself, I have to admit that I know first-hand what it is like to struggle through the night in an abandoned parking garage, or to risk being knifed simply because I act differently than the run-of-the-mill homeless person. Therefore, after hearing only one chapter from Mr. Stringer's book, I have to congratulate him on his success, and wish him well for the future. I sincerely doubt some New York publisher is going to walk up to me and say, "I've read your stuff! Wanna write for us?" After all, those in Dallas who have the power to do just that have, without a doubt, violated my sense of the general worthiness of modern American ethics. In other words, we are a bunch of spoiled brats, and the homeless, for one reason or another, scare the living daylights out of us. Finally, when I asked Mr. Stringer if his publisher ever worked him over real good to see what he was worth before handing over the advance he received, he exclaimed, "What? They gave me $3,000 right off the bat! I smoked it all up!" Any questions? Dallas, by the way, is the home of the First Baptist Church, the number one stronghold of the so-called Christian conservative movement.

Lee Stringer takes his place next to Jack Black and George Orwell-writers who lived as outcasts. Black was a true hobo, and Orwell followed Jack London, but Stringers' sub level reportage is genuine and terrifying. Dodging razor blades and knives, selling papers and cans to finance his crack hunger, his clear eyed compassion never deserts him even at his most desperate. To survive over a decade on the 'sidewalks of New York' is a miracle for this gifted writer. The book is a triumph!

From the rave reviews in the press and the number of eager customers I've sold this book to lately, I really expected something that would be, if not great, then at least special.

I was disappointed. Stringer CAN write, which he proves by including in this undemanding (but refreshingly unassuming) autobiography extracts from his magazine column, which are eloquent, finely crafted and full of attitude. Why then, does his book seem so rushed, unstructured and sloppy in comparison?

Sure, his story is an interesting one, and he does tell it with admirable (and enjoyable) honesty. But it seems like a cobbled together hodgepodge of sacharine memories, scraps of previously published material, and disjointed annecdotes and stories. The overall impression is one of a manuscript that fell short of the required number of words, was padded out with unimaginative extras, and repetition of previous sections (with slightly different wording) then dropped carelessly, only to be equally carelessly gathered back up and delivered to the publishers without being set back in some sort of order.

I have the utmost admiration for Stringer, his honesty and eventual progress. But I get the feeling that most people are basing their opinions of this book on their own admiration for the author, rather than its literary qualities, which, unless we're talking about different books here, are rather scant.

Really enjoyed the clear eyed view of living on the streets in NYC. While the prospect of following Lee's path isn't particularly attractive, his story supports the notion that we can all endure more than we suspect. Many preceding comments hone in on Lee's addiction, and it certainly hastened his descent toward homelessness, but it does not dominate the book. Instead it is Mr. Stringer's acceptance and, at times, enthusiasm that is most impressive. Although the book only skims the surface of many issues relating to the social ills of the day, it may be that the words would have been wasted anyway. The jist of the book, as far as solutions are concerned, is that for real change to occur, we need to make some major changes in the way we think. It didn't seem like Lee was betting the farm on that happening either.

Three cheers for Lee Stringer. Grand Central Winter is a trenchant, yet lucid view of the underside of life. As he weaves the reader through the netherworld of crack cocaine addiction and homelessness, there are many poignant scenes of humanity and humility, juxtaposed with the brutal hardness of urban street life. After reading this tome you'll think quite differently about the next homeless person you encounter, and hopefully feel grateful that their plight hasn't become your fate.

My view of the homeless people I encounter will change as a result of reading Stringer's tale, and I suppose shattering the ignorant, apathetic, uninformed myths I believed is reason enough to read it. Stringer forces the reader to view the homeless as real people, with pasts and stories to tell and reasons for being in their predicament. He is sharp and creative in his attempts to stay fed, clothed and sheltered. He must be. He shows hope, which I once believed many homeless men and women to be without. He describes the homeless as people desperately trying to be alone, which is one of those nuggets that makes you put the book down and really think it through. Bravo to Stringer for not only showing the world what he has been through and overcome, but for doing it eloquently and firmly. My only real criticism of the book is its length (or lack thereof). For twenty bucks, I'm expecting smaller type, smaller leading and, in general, more.