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Apr
20
Book Review: Hold Love Strong by Matthew Aaron Goodman
2009 at 5pm Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Recently published April 14, 2009 by Touchstone (a division of Simon & Schuster)
A description from the publisher, because my words simply won’t do it justice:
Born to a thirteen-year-old in the bathroom of his family’s small apartment, Abraham Sing leton enters a world laden with the obstacles inherent in an impoverished community. In spite of the crack epidemic and the HIV crisis that ravage their neighborhood, the Singleton family — cousins, an uncle, an aunt, Abraham, and his mother — is held together by Abraham’s heroic grandmother, whose deep faith and stoic nature have always given them a sense of wholeness and hope. But when the family goes through several harrowing losses, not even his grandmother may be strong enough to lead them through.
At the center of this story is Abraham, the youngest of the Singletons. Deeply intuitive and cerebral, he is determined to thrive in a place that has destroyed the dreams of those around him. College means opportunity, yet it also means leaving behind those he loves. Abraham’s journey into adulthood will break his heart but ultimately offer the possibility of redemption.
I sat down with this book around 5pm last Tuesday evening. I planned on reading for half an hour so, then starting dinner, watching some TV, and hanging out with hubby. Two hours and nearly half of the book later, I looked up and realized that I had been completely pulled in to this first-person narrative that is so powerfully written, so honest and truthful and compelling, that I had to constantly remind myself that it was fiction.
Hold Love Strong is Matthew Aaron Goodman’s debut novel, and what a debut it is. Narrated by Abraham Singleton, this book tells the story of a life that, by all accounts, seems hopeless. Abraham shows great promise, but he is one of a generation of fatherless young men who, lacking any semblance of a male role model, struggle to discern what kind of men they will be and who, quite often, become men without purpose or direction. He is surrounded by addiction, violence, poverty, and struggle. He has few opportunities, waning motivation, and no one to look to for support and guidance. Every time Abraham leaves his family’s apartments in the Ever Park housing projects in Queens, he risks his life.
Wasn’t this America; wasn’t this the greatest land of all great lands of opportunity? In Ever Park, we were three things: broken, desperate to leave, or soldiers in a war so impossible to win that everything we did, even blinking our eyes, even licking our lips, might be suicide.
Though he has never known his father, Abraham has always had his mother. She didn’t always say or do the right thing, and she wasn’t always as selfless and giving as a parent needs to be, but she has been there for him. When she becomes addicted to crack, Abraham is devastated and feels lost. Who is he without the people who gave him life, who should be giving him an identity?
My mother, she whose sole responsibility was to love me unconditionally, proved I held less value than a small chunk of baking soda and cocaine.
Later,
No matter what I claimed, what I learned in school, how I loved to jump and run, how I played basketball for hours with friends, and alone in the dark of night against imaginary defenders, no matter how I watched TV for hours: I was not free. The absence of my creators enslaved me. And not just me; there were armies of brothers, so many children like me.
Rather than accepting his lot in life and falling into the gang-banging, drug-dealing lifestyle, Abraham becomes enraged. He expresses his sadness and fear alongside profound insights into his world, and this creates a narrative-driven sort of social commentary that packs a powerful punch without being preachy or condescending.
I was from a place where most didn’t get a glimpse of their innate human potential.
Think the thematic material of Toni Morrison brought into a contemporary setting but less academic, more accessible, and absolutely impossible to put down. Hold Love Strong is a gritty, realistic, amazing gift of a book that is told with unbelievable truthfulness and talent that promises great things to come. I can’t stop talking about this book, and I know that I will be thinking of it for weeks and months to come. It is a difficult but necessary read that gives life and a voice to a community that is all too often silence and overlooked, and I’m confident in saying it will be one of the best books of the year. 5 out of 5.
Visit the author’s website to learn more.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Rebecca Schinsky
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[...] Hold Love Strong by Matthew Aaron Goodman [...]
I have to say your review makes quite a compelling case to get the book!!!
Wow! It sounds incredible! I hadn’t even heard of it…so thanks for the review, Rebecca.
All I can say is Wow! This is going on my wish list.
Sounds like a very powerful read, and a good one at that. I’ve never heard of this one either.
I love Toni Morrison, so this sounds great. I worked in a grocery store in an urban low-income area while I was in college, so I’ve seen this type of lifestyle up close. I’ll definitely add this to my TBR list.
Wow… sounds really compelling and disturbing. That’s awesome! Really enjoyed your review — I’ll look for this one!
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[...] “Think the thematic material of Toni Morrison brought into a contemporary setting but less academic, more accessible, and absolutely impossible to put down. Hold Love Strong is a gritty, realistic, amazing gift of a book that is told with unbelievable truthfulness…” Read full review here. [...]
[...] Hold Love Strong is literary fiction. It’s both a great story and, in my opinion, it is told exceedingly well. Reviewers have used words like poignant, lyrical, evocative, haunting, gritty, honest. It’s all that and more. The Book Lady does a pretty good job describing the book here. [...]
[...] Review from thebookladysblog.com: “Think the thematic material of Toni Morrison brought into a contemporary setting but less academic, more accessible, and absolutely impossible to put down. Hold Love Strong is a gritty, realistic, amazing gift of a book that is told with unbelievable truthfulness…” Read full review here. [...]
[...] Hold Love Strong by Matthew Aaron Goodman [...]
[...] Review from thebookladysblog.com: “Think the thematic material of Toni Morrison brought into a contemporary setting but less academic, more accessible, and absolutely impossible to put down. Hold Love Strong is a gritty, realistic, amazing gift of a book that is told with unbelievable truthfulness…” Read full review here. [...]