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Them: A Novel
The author of the bestselling memoir Makes Me Wanna Holler presents a profound debut novel -- in the tradition of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities and Zadie Smith's White Teeth -- that captures the dynamics of class and race in today's urban integrated communities.
Nathan McCall's novel, Them, tells a compelling story set in a downtown Atlanta neighborhood known for its
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Halfway through this book, I would have given it 2 stars. Most of the characters are mere stereotypes and I felt that the interactions between the African American residents and the incoming white gentrifiers were way over the top. I am very familiar with the area about which McCall is writing - it's only a few miles from my home and I pass through it several times a week. Very little in McCall's description rang true to me. A pet peeve of mine as an African American is the unnecessary and inacc...more
So I'm almost but not quite done with this, but I can't see it getting any better so: I picked it up cause I saw it on some top books of the year list and was interested in the topic. It's a novel about the gentrification of an old black neighborhood in Atlanta, telling a story from both the black and white sides.
Being a white girl from a privileged background living in a neighborhood that worries my coworkers, I thought maybe this could, I don't know, better educate me about the is...more
Being a white girl from a privileged background living in a neighborhood that worries my coworkers, I thought maybe this could, I don't know, better educate me about the is...more
Interesting premise (gentrification/ reverse white flight, and the irritation it causes in the black community.) Except the author beats you over the head with the irony. Terrible writing. The author conveys the story through stereotypes and unpersuasive character voices. Think John Grisham but without the suspense. The author hasn't a clue of how yuppie whites act, think and talk. Same with urban, working poor blacks-- I don't think the author effectively captures their voices either. The...more
In a word - fantastic! McCall has hit the nail right on the head with his incredibly accurate portrayal of the gentrification of the Old Fourth Ward, an historic neighborhood (birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr and location of the King Center) in Atlanta. If he did not experience this transition personally, he certainly spent a great deal of time interviewing and observing those who did.
Barlowe is a middle aged, hardworking black man who watches his neighborhood change as white...more
Barlowe is a middle aged, hardworking black man who watches his neighborhood change as white...more
Former Washington Post reporter Nathan McCall's previous work includes a memoir and a collection of essays. Like the characters in this debut novel, reviewers agreed that the ground covered in Them is valuable, but they disagreed over how it should be treated. While all critics thought that Barlowe is a complex protagonist and a fascinating black voice, many thought that McCall's white characters are little more than stereotypes. Some reviewers interpreted these characters' lack of depth as sati
...more
Nathan McCall, once-famous as a reporter for the Washington Post, and subsequently for his autobiography Makes Me Wanna Holler (1994), detailing the determination of this young African American to escape his neighbourhood and the life his peers fell into, of crime and injustice, and though he spent three years incarcerated, McCall turned his life around.
Them, his 2007 novel, is his first work of fiction. It concerns the gentrification of an Atlanta suburb, close to where Martin Luther ...more
Them, his 2007 novel, is his first work of fiction. It concerns the gentrification of an Atlanta suburb, close to where Martin Luther ...more
Gentrification and human clash in an Atlanta neighborhood
McCall came to Portland, Or to promote his novel, and this booksigning was rolled into a community meeting about gentrification, namely of the Alberta district. First, this was an incredibly effective example of the value of fiction to tie concepts together in a matter that is accessible and cohesive. The discussion to which this book and the subject matter led was inspiring, fiction bringing people together.
As for...more
McCall came to Portland, Or to promote his novel, and this booksigning was rolled into a community meeting about gentrification, namely of the Alberta district. First, this was an incredibly effective example of the value of fiction to tie concepts together in a matter that is accessible and cohesive. The discussion to which this book and the subject matter led was inspiring, fiction bringing people together.
As for...more
I could probably write two pages on this book, but I will keep it to a couple of paragraphs.
This is a story that takes place in the Sweet Auburn Avenue of Atlanta, Georgia. This is a poor, predominately black area that was once considered the richest mile of black business in the world. Today, it is the haunt of prostitutes, drug dealers, and alcoholics.
Barlowe Reed is a black man living in this area and has a job as a printer. He is renting a house with his cousin Ty,...more
This is a story that takes place in the Sweet Auburn Avenue of Atlanta, Georgia. This is a poor, predominately black area that was once considered the richest mile of black business in the world. Today, it is the haunt of prostitutes, drug dealers, and alcoholics.
Barlowe Reed is a black man living in this area and has a job as a printer. He is renting a house with his cousin Ty,...more
Them is a book about the white gentrification of a historically black ward in Atlanta - and the resistance and outrage the existing residents feel as white people start moving in, property taxes go up, and the local minimart becomes a latte house.
This read like a YA novel in that the theme was belabored and oversimplified - the words they and them were frequently italicized in the text, just in case the reader didn't get the connection to the book's title. The language choices and d...more
This read like a YA novel in that the theme was belabored and oversimplified - the words they and them were frequently italicized in the text, just in case the reader didn't get the connection to the book's title. The language choices and d...more
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This is not very elegant, but it's an intriguing premise that delivers on that premise. It's set in the Atlanta neighborhood--predominantly African American--that houses the Martin Luther King Center. As the novel develops, whie homeowners begin moving into the neighborhood & restoring the Victorian houses. We see this all through the eyes of an African American high school dropout, who has a steady job & income as a printer & who takes enough pride in his rented home that he'd like to buy it. B...more
I loved most of the characters, especially Barlowe and Sandy, but also many of the minor characters whose portraits were extremely well drawn. The subject, black-white relationships in a black neighborhood which is becoming "gentrified," is complex and McCall does a fantastic job of conveying the subtleties of mistrust and misunderstanding which happen between neighbors. The history of Martin Luther King in Atlanta in the Fourth Ward and the way it affects those who worked with Marti...more
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Started off strong but kind of crashed midway through.
This book, written by a former Washington Post reporter, covers the very sticky subject of gentrification in a poor Atlanta neighborhood. McCall gets into the heads of characters on both sides--both the poor blacks and the slightly-less-poor whites buying up the cheap property.
The problem, I thought, was while Barlowe seemed like a decently well-rounded character, the white characters were all so stupid. Sandy and Sean...more
This book, written by a former Washington Post reporter, covers the very sticky subject of gentrification in a poor Atlanta neighborhood. McCall gets into the heads of characters on both sides--both the poor blacks and the slightly-less-poor whites buying up the cheap property.
The problem, I thought, was while Barlowe seemed like a decently well-rounded character, the white characters were all so stupid. Sandy and Sean...more
A brilliant look at gentrification. In focusing on gentrification of Atlanta from the fictional perspective of black and white residents in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s old neighborhood in novel form. McCall's use of language, analysis of present-day realities and reasons for their existence allowed this book to be able to shift how I look at gentrification of homes, neighborhoods and lives. I highly recommend for folks to read this book.
Neighborhoods are interesting organisms. Anything can throw a neighborhood off balance - a new car, crying baby, a shuttered business. Gentrification is probably one of the hottest issues today that is affecting our neighborhoods. McCall does a admirable job of creating a story around gentrification of a neighborhood in Atlanta. Although the main characters are bland and stereotypical, there are a few interesting ones (e.g. Ricky) which I would like to have seen more of.
A quote on ...more
A quote on ...more
Elizabeth
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
absolutely NO ONE!
Recommended to Elizabeth by:
anyone who wants to get blocked from my communication list.
This is a book of buffoonery. I can not believe a Black man would write such garbage. That goes to show you that just because you're a college professor does not mean you're enlightened.
Up until this point in my life, I could not fathom why people would burn books. Now, I see why. This is a piece of garbage that no one should waste their time reading. It's a load of stereotypes, ignorance, and absolutely NO originality.
Mind you, I didn't pick this book. This is th...more
Up until this point in my life, I could not fathom why people would burn books. Now, I see why. This is a piece of garbage that no one should waste their time reading. It's a load of stereotypes, ignorance, and absolutely NO originality.
Mind you, I didn't pick this book. This is th...more
Candice
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Ellen
Recommended to Candice by:
Carol
This was a very good book that left me with so many things to think about. It's a "there goes the neighborhood" story told mostly from the point of view of a Black man living in the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta, not far from Ebeneezer Baptist Church. White people are moving into the neighborhood and there are so many changes. I viewed it as more than just a racial struggle; it's also a class and culture struggle. I liked the main character a lot. Barlowe Reed, a Black man of about 4...more
The best example of telling rather than showing, to get some perennial writing advice backward, I’ve seen in a long time, McCall’s Them is nonetheless a provocative read. Taking on issues of race and class in a gentrifying Atlanta neighborhood, McCall throws subtlety aside, so you’re guaranteed to understand just how complicated it is. Two things really annoyed me: “them” is italicized way too often, and it seemed to me he falls back on stereotypes for his characters. Whether that is deliberate,...more
This is a tough review b/c I really liked the main character Barlowe Reed. A well developed, complicated fellow that holds the whole book together. The flip side to this is that McCall's stereotypes are just way too heavy handed. Time after time I got the feeling that the other felt the need to explain things to his audience rather than letting literary conventions to do their job.
This certainly feels like a first novel, and it's one I enjoyed reading at times but wanted to toss it ...more
This certainly feels like a first novel, and it's one I enjoyed reading at times but wanted to toss it ...more
I was excited to read this for book group, and, although I'm not so excited about McCall's writing style, I'm glad I did.
The story is the story of both gentrification and racial tension, but I will argue that because the racial tension occurs everywhere and is so violent, it becomes the primary focus of the novel. Those individuals of the same race, even if they are of different "classes," are able to mingle to one degree or another, while those of different races are not ...more
The story is the story of both gentrification and racial tension, but I will argue that because the racial tension occurs everywhere and is so violent, it becomes the primary focus of the novel. Those individuals of the same race, even if they are of different "classes," are able to mingle to one degree or another, while those of different races are not ...more
I didn't love this book but I didn't hate it either. It was actually kind of boring to me. Sandy drove me crazy. If the author was trying to write her as a kind empathetic characther working to bind racial ties he failed miserably b/c to me she came across as pathetic.
I sometimes have to give American writers the benefit of the doubt. They seem to be good story-tellers, but have a hard time developing any characters of depth. "Them" was a fairly good story, stocked with fairly stereotypical characters. In reality, I think race/class relations in respect to gentrification are a lot more nuanced than McCall depicts. I found Sean and Sandy to be so shallow as to be parodies of 'white' people. I'm not sure with as much thought as they approached th...more
"Them" is a fictionalized story of gentrification set in the historic old Fourth Ward where MLK Jr grew up and was buried. There are times when I felt like a ping -pong ball, at first sympathizing with "them" and then going back to understanding the reasoning for "us". This is a “them/us “ book as it is the author's intent and he carries this theme out brilliantly. There are seeds of hope in this book however deeply buried they may be. I also learned that it seems ...more
I wish I liked this book more. I enjoyed the storyline, the subject matter and the clear culture clash that still happens because of the color of someone's skin. What I didn't enjoy were some of the interactions between the main character and his next door neighbors. I understood what was trying to be accomplished with all the anger, but it felt a little forced at times.
Some parts struck me as so untrue (especially the final incident) that I just took it with a grain of salt and accep...more
Some parts struck me as so untrue (especially the final incident) that I just took it with a grain of salt and accep...more
For the most part, I enjoyed the book, especially the beginning. I liked the main character and seeing the world from his perspective. As it developed, the book and I had a sort of falling out and I became pretty irritated by some of the characters (Sandy) and felt that while some characters were developed well, others were not, even to the point of ridiculous. I did enjoy reading about the 4th ward and other local spots, and thought that added a bit to the book for me. It sort of train wrecked...more
This book is not great. In fact, it's some of the worst writing I've ever read. The subject matter kept me interested for 2/3 of the book. But I finally came across a passage that made me realize how lazy the author really is. After setting up his main character has a noble simpleton, he writes: "If Barlowe could have assembled the words that reflected his knowing, he might have said something like this..." It doesn't even matter what follows, just that I can't comprehend why Mccall di...more
I'm sorry, but this novel is just awful. I lived in the exact neighborhood which is the subject of this novel, and was one of the first white people to move in during the mid-1990s. While I understand that this is a work of fiction, and that it is not intended to portray the attitudes and actions of real characters, I think the author took a very lazy approach to his research and his writing. In fact, many black residents of this neighborhood (Mtamanika Youngblood among them) worked tirelessl...more
I actually don't know that this is the best novel, but I think it was great that McCall took on this topic, and think it made sense to do so in the form of a novel. I didn't find any of the characters that believable, but I thought all of their sentiments were very believable.... if that makes any sense.
I wish it had included more stories that got at the mechanics of gentrification and also had included some hints about how communities might respond to the problem. I feel like the ch...more
I wish it had included more stories that got at the mechanics of gentrification and also had included some hints about how communities might respond to the problem. I feel like the ch...more
Nathan McCall treats fear and prejudice with humor in Them, his first piece of fiction that appears to be about gentrification but is really about how fear drives prejudice and misconduct. While many characters lend to the telling of this story, it is "Barlowe Reed" that McCall uses to encourage readers to consider the merits of racial loyalty and those merits for upholding principles that transcend race.
"Barlowe" is a middle-aged black man longing to own a home ...more
"Barlowe" is a middle-aged black man longing to own a home ...more
No status updates--I read this straight through, with one short nap break.
Although the writing is sometimes uneven, and the ending is a bit rushed, this book stands out for its neat inversion of the "There goes the neighbourhood" idea, with middle-class whites taking advantage of low property values in a predominantly black neighbourhood of Atlanta.
At times, the white characters felt a bit thinly characterised, especially Sean, who moves in next to protagonist B...more
Although the writing is sometimes uneven, and the ending is a bit rushed, this book stands out for its neat inversion of the "There goes the neighbourhood" idea, with middle-class whites taking advantage of low property values in a predominantly black neighbourhood of Atlanta.
At times, the white characters felt a bit thinly characterised, especially Sean, who moves in next to protagonist B...more
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