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4.0 out of 5 stars
Not With My Daughter, April 13, 2004
This review is from: The Viaduct (Hardcover)
As a Viet Nam vet, Marin Taylor has seen the horrors of war; mothers and babies who died at the hands of U.S. soldiers, the dog-eat-dog life of the jungle and witnessing his comrades' death at the hand of the Viet Kong. Grace Edwards, in The Viaduct, continues with yet another suspenseful tale set in her native Harlem. Marin still has flashbacks and nightmares from the past. But nothing prepares him for the unbelievable horror of his newborn daughter's kidnapping from the hospital less than twenty-four hours after her birth. With his wife, Margaret, now in a catatonic state because of the abduction, he feels like he is facing the war all over again.
In just a few days Marin's life has changed. One minute he had a job and a future with the woman he loves. Told that he is laid off, he stops at his favorite watering hole to contemplate how he is going to tell his eight month pregnant wife that he is now unemployed. On his way home with his severance pay in his pocket, his mind preoccupied, he is accosted by two street thugs, who rob him. But not before there is a struggle and Marin, in an attempt to save himself, throws one of them over the viaduct. But this is Harlem, 1970s and the police believe because this incident involves black men, it must be a drug deal gone bad.
When Margaret goes to the hospital to give birth a few days later, the last thing the couple expects is that they will go home without a baby. But that harsh fact becomes a reality when Conroy, a street thug, carries out the kidnapping as payback for his brother's death. Removed from reality, Conroy lives in a fantasy world where he imagines himself a big time hustler. In reality, his dead brother, Tito, was the mastermind of their crime sprees; now he owes the local loan shark for the funeral and he has a strong contempt for nine-to five employment.
The viaduct where the robbery occurred becomes a symbol for crime, tragedy and eventually triumph as Marin attempts to unravel the misfortune that has claimed his life. This was no big time mystery nor was there a great deal of suspense. Additionally, Conroy was so dimwitted at times he came across as a caricature and some of the characters, though colorful were somewhat one-dimensional. However, Edwards's strength is her great writing skills and the ability to give the reader a sense of place and time. Her portrayal of underground Harlem as an entity to itself, set apart from the rest of New York, was nicely done. As a first time reader of this author, this reviewer is impressed enough to seek out the rest of her titles which are also set in Harlem. This was a Marcus Book Club pick of Marcus Book Store in Oakland.
Dera Williams
Marcus Book Club
APOOO BookClub
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3.0 out of 5 stars
'70's Harlem Humanity, December 7, 2011
This review is from: The Viaduct (Hardcover)
For a novel written in 2003, it's characters and setting seem to capture '70's Harlem with great accuracy. I am fascinated with that decade in New York's history for it's grim times. And the city provides a great backdrop for a series of unfortunate events. While the plot proves to be ultimately unoriginal, I found myself caring for Marin and Margaret and their kidnapped daughter. Harlem is depicted as it's own village where news can travel fast like a town in the old west. It is dirty, depressed but projects a collective humanity through a few powerfully noble characters making this tale melancholy but compelling.
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