ISBN: Ostalo
Godina izdanja: 1967
Jezik: Engleski
Autor: Strani

U dobrom stanju

To Brooklyn with Love
Gerald Green
Trident Press 1967 Hardcover
Book Club of the Month selection.

Gerald Green (April 8, 1922 – August 29, 2006) was an American author, journalist, and television writer. He attended Columbia College, where he edited the Jester, starred in several Varsity Shows, and was a member of the Philolexian Society. He graduated from the college in 1942 and, after serving in the US Army in Europe during the Second World War, where he was also the editor of the army`s Stars and Stripes newspaper, he returned to New York to attend the Columbia Journalism School.

As in Gerald Green’s memorable The Last Angry Man, the setting is Brownsville, a decaying yet stubbornly vital neighborhood of old two-story homes and crumbling tenements. The time is the Depression, that era of murdered hopes and betrayed promises, and the action takes place on a single breathless day in July, 1934. The Ulysses of Mr. Green’s narrative is Albert Abrams, twelve—nearsighted, undersized, cursed with weak ankles and flabby muscles, the last man chosen for the ringalevio teams even though he boasts the highest IQ in the history of Public School 133. Scorned by the athletes and wildmen, Albert finds strength in Kipling, Conrad, and Jack London. Moreover, he is the greatest scorekeeper in the annals of Longview Avenue sporting events such as punchball, stickball, and “indoor” baseball. Albert’s father is a doctor, and the Depression casts its shadow over Dr. Abrams’ life; he is tortured with fears of a sickening fall from sanity, a total loss of confidence. Paralleling his father’s crisis is Albert’s serio-comic striving for an ounce of status, a smidgen of bravery in a street of terror. For Longview Avenue in midsummer is a breeding ground for ogres, like the insatiable Bushy Feinstein, captain of the Raiders, or his rival, the monstrous Isadore (Zetz) Zetzkin, a Gorgon of such horrible mien that Albert cannot look upon him, or the savage little Lee Roy. The book abounds in the rich vigorous characters for which Mr. Green is noted: Hannah Abrams, the doctor’s dignified wife, serenely reading Gissing and listening to Caruso records amid the slum clamor and stink; Benny Otzenberger, legendary political boss of Brownsville (“a louse, a ruffian and a scoundrel” according to Dr. Abrams); Teddy Ochab, Achilles and Hector in one skinny Polish boy; the mystical Yussel Melnick, teacher of the Word, who harbors a Biblical secret in the synagogue basement. All of these play a part in Mr. Green’s timely theme: the search for courage, the art of survival under stress. As Albert struggles to overcome his cowardice, so Dr. Abrams must summon up the strength to resume his daily battle against disease, death, stupidity, and ingratitude. And there would appear to be, Mr. Green argues, two important weapons in the struggle—the healing warmth of unselfish love, and the sensible application of the intellect. It is the doctor’s unqualified, selfless love for his son, and Albert’s confused response, that lie at the heart of this poignant, honest memoir of American city life in the troubled thirties.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerald Green was born in Brooklyn in 1922. He is the author of eight books including The Legion of Noble Christians, The Heartless Light and The Last Angry Man. Mr. Green holds two degrees from Columbia University. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a director of the Columbia College Alumni Association. Since 1950, he has held a variety of jobs with NBC News. He is married to the former Marie Pomposelli, has three children and lives in Connecticut. Mr. Green speaks acceptable French, Italian, and German, and plays weak but enthusiastic tennis, relying on lobs, placements, and psychology.