House of Good Hope
Subtitle: A Promise for a Broken City (River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize)
Publisher: Bison Books
Published: April 1, 2007
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 326
ISBN-13: 9780803260122
Subjects: Social issues; Urban communities; Social Science; Sociology; Connecticut; Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General; Regional Subjects - New England; Sociology - Urban; Social Science / Sociology / Urban; Hartford; High school athletes; People with social disabilities; Youth with social disabilities
Description: "Combining a reporter's eye for detail, the breathless narrative rush of an action movie and the generous heart of a hometown boy desperately trying to make sense of a place gone terribly wrong, Downs examines the social and economic disintegration of Hartford, Conn., in the 1990s through the coming-of-age of five African-American teenage boys. These young men-track stars, football players, scholars-try to make the right decisions while local and state politicians squabble over money, drug gangs roam the streets and the middle class-both white and black-flees to the suburbs. Harvey, Derrick, Eric, Hiram and Joshua make a pledge that no matter their future path, they will return to Hartford to rebuild their shattered city. The first half of the book flows with the power and grace of a finely tuned magazine article. Then Downs loses his focus and gets bogged down in a lengthy recounting of the boys' track coach's trial. The narrative shifts from the boys-now young men with growing families and burgeoning careers-to Downs's own struggle with his identity and the declining health of his grandfather. If the narrative splinters, perhaps it is an apt metaphor for the boys' pledge. Just one-Joshua-returned to Hartford. (Apr.)"--Publishers Weekly.