<![CDATA[Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block]]>

false <![CDATA[Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block]]>

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After twenty years as a foreign correspondent in tumultuous locales including Rwanda, Chechnya, and Sudan, Judith Matloff is ready to put down roots and start a family. She leaves Moscow and returns to her native New York City to house-hunt for the perfect spot while her Dutch husband, John, stays behind in Russia with their dog to pack up their belongings. Intoxicated by West Harlem’s cultural diversity and, more important, its affordability, Judith impulsively buys a stately fixer-upper brownstone in the neighborhood. Little does she know what’s in store. Judith and John discover that their dream house was once a crack den and that “fixer upper” is an understatement. The building is a total wreck: The beams have been chewed to dust by termites, the staircase is separating from the wall, and the windows are smashed thanks to a recent break-in. Plus, the house–crowded with throngs of brazen drug dealers–forms the bustling epicenter of the cocaine trade in the Northeast, and heavily armed police regularly appear outside their door in pursuit of the thugs and crackheads who loiter there. Thus begins Judith and John’s odyssey to win over the neighbors, including Salami, the menacing addict who threatens to take over their house; MacKenzie, the literary homeless man who quotes Latin over morning coffee; Mrs. LaDuke, the salty octogenarian and neighborhood watchdog; and Miguel, the smooth lieutenant of the local drug crew, with whom the couple must negotiate safe passage. It’s a far cry from utopia, but it’s a start, and they do all they can to carve out a comfortable life. And by the time they experience the birth of a son, Judith and John have even come to appreciate the neighborhood’s rough charms. Blending her finely honed reporter’s instincts with superb storytelling, Judith Matloff has crafted a wry, reflective, and hugely entertaining memoir about community, home, and real estate. Home Girl is for anyone who has ever longed to go home, however complicated the journey. Advance Praise for Home Girl “Although I always suspected that renovating a house in New York City would be a slightly more harrowing undertaking than dodging bullets as a foreign correspondent, it took this charming story to convince me it could also be more entertaining. Except for the plumbing. That’s one adventure I couldn't survive.” –Michelle Slatalla, author of The Town on Beaver Creek “After years of covering wars overseas, Judith Matloff takes her boundless courage and inimitable style to the front lines of America’s biggest city. From her vantage point in a former crack house in West Harlem, she brings life to a proud community held hostage by drug dealers and forgotten by policy makers. Matloff’s sense of humor, clear reportage, and zest for adventure never fail. Home Girl is part gritty confessional, part love story, and totally delightful.” –Bob Drogin, author of Curveball “Here the American dream of home ownership takes on the epic dimensions of the modern pioneer in a drug-riddled land. Matloff’s story, which had me crying and laughing, is a portrait of a household and a community, extending far beyond the specifics of West Harlem to the universal–as all well-told stories do.” –Martha McPhee, author of L’America

2754687

2008

Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block

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3 1 false false Wed Jun 11 08:13:44 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 11 08:18:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 08:23:43 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 08:35:18 -0700 2009 once more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun May 17 20:32:30 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 20:32:50 -0700 2009
After twenty years as a foreign correspondent in tumul-
tuous locales including Rwanda, Chechnya, and Sudan,
Judith Matloff is ready to put down roots and start a
family. She leaves Moscow and returns to her native New
York City to house-hunt for the perfe...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 15:11:01 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 15:11:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 03:43:22 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 04 03:59:47 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Sep 26 17:26:26 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 04 12:30:32 -0800 2009
Perhaps I was looking more for The ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 16 21:34:37 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 25 16:08:24 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 21:34:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 18:51:14 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 08:47:50 -0700 2008 Home Girl enough. Judith Matloff is like that friend that everyone wishes they had. She has traveled the world, visiting the sites of terrible wars and international incidents as a foreign cor...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 18:56:59 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 19:00:03 -0700 2008 I place this book in my "non-celebrity does something a little different and interesting and is able to write well about it" genre. I am ALWAYS drawn to it. This book started off a bit slow in my opinion, and I was worried. I didn't feel a connection with Matloff in Part One; I wo...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 11:24:27 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 11:34:39 -0700 2008 Judith Matloff

4.5 out of 5

I have read a lot of memoirs written by foreign correspondents. I have to say that [Home Girl] puts a whole new perspective on reporting from the far reaches of the world even if it is ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 20:37:28 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 17:46:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Dec 29 13:00:33 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 24 11:54:11 -0700 2009
Matlo...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 06:50:27 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 06:52:05 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 25 09:38:41 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 19:28:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 09:56:43 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 10:20:06 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 16:48:32 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 16:48:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 07:33:11 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 30 12:26:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Jun 26 08:03:21 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 08:11:22 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 04:15:49 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 04:19:43 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 29 13:49:13 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 13:56:42 -0700 2008