A Decent World

by Ellen Hawley

Summer Dawidowitz has spent the past year caring for her grandmother, Josie — a lifelong Communist, a dedicated teacher, and the founder of an organization that tutors schoolchildren. When Josie dies, everything that seemed solid in Summer's life comes into question. What sort of relationship will she have with the mother who abandoned her? Will she meet with the brother Josie exiled from the family? Does she really want to go back to the non-monogamous household she was part of before she moved in to take care of Josie? Finally, does she still believe a small, committed group of citizens can change the world, and if so - how?

208 pages, Hardcover

Published June 15, 2023

Reviews

[Kaye Fraser · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a puzzle to this reviewer - it combines noble aims with deeply personal stories but does descend into navel gazing at times. Summer is a young activist, working to save the planet, when her beloved grandmother dies. This event causes Summer to reassess everything she has accepted without question up to that point in her life, and the book explores her doubts, her relationships and her visions for the future. For this reviewer, the writing style is over detailed and analytical, making the book a bit of a slog unfortunately - I tried hard to stay the course, but didn’t quite get to the end.

[Wendy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Decent World is about three generations of the Dawidowitz family whose lives are changed by the passing of Josie. A lifelong Communist and founder of an organization that tutors schoolchildren. The family were all aware of Josie's politics, and while they did not all agree with her, they admired her convictions, and that she tried to change the world for the better.

But it is Jose's granddaughter Summer, who lived with and cared for Josie in the years before she died, whose life is particularly affected by Josie's death. Summer may lose the house they lived in together that is now bequeathed to the remaining family.

Summer's mother Zanne, who abandoned Summer at age five to sing and travel with a band, suddenly re-enters Summer's life, triggering old resentments. And there is the mysterious David, Josie's brother, who Josie stopped speaking to years ago. No-one really knows why. David shows up uninvited on Summer's doorstep, wanting to reconnect to the family and uses his wealth to pressure Josie to meet with him.

Josie tries to find her footing by returning to the coop household she lived in before she began caring for Josie. The members of the household, Shar, Zac and Tee, are committed to revolution, anarchy and Occupy Camp, and Shar and Josie are lovers, but Shar also has a relationship with Zac. Somehow the revolution isn't as important to Summer as it seemed before, and sharing Shar with someone else isn't satisfying either.

Having recently seen the movie Oppenheimer, I was reminded of the Red Scare period in US history, and how the fear of communism gave the government authority to pressure people to report political activities of friends and family, tearing them apart. That dynamic plays out in Josie's family, and long-held secrets are suddenly revealed in a new light.

It is a quick and engaging summer read.

[Nathalie (keepreadingbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this book seems to be pretty much unknown, I’ll do something rare and preface my short review with a bit of a summary: Summer was raised by her grandmother Josie, a consequence of several generations’ worth of complicated family relationships. After Josie’s death, Summer is forced to navigate not just her grief, but also those same familial relationships she would much rather do without – not to mention her growing lack of belief in our ability to change the world for the better.

A Decent World is for those of you who like character-driven, introspective novels. It reminds me most, genre- and content-wise, of We All Want Impossible Things and Flight (especially Flight, with its complicated and slightly hostile family dynamics, whereas WAWIT is more about the grief), but doesn’t quite reach their level. It becomes rather repetitive and keeps re-visiting arguments that have already had a measure of closure, keeping them alive in a way that felt forced. Still, the arguments are interesting and highly relevant – not least Summer’s thoughts on what it takes to make a difference in the world – and I like the point the author wants to make, even though it didn’t leave as much of an impact as I had hoped and gets slightly muddied by going in circles. As a consequence, it feels a bit like a debut novel (though it’s not); promising, but not quite there yet.

[Therese Granlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Den här boken, den letar sig in och sen vill jag behålla den i mig länge länge. Summer har tillbringat senaste året med att ta hand om sin döende mormor. Den mormor som blev av med sitt jobb under McCarthy-åren pga att FBI misstänkte hon var kommunist (vilket hon var) och den mormor Summer växt upp med eftersom hennes egen mamma levde ett alltför flyktigt liv som sångerska på ständig turné. Tillsammans med mormoderns tre barn har nu Summer ärvt huset och vad ska de göra med arvet? Summer arbetar annars som fundraiser för olika välgörenhetsorganisationer och bor i ett polyamoröst, queer-hushåll.

När jag skriver det här inser jag att det låter som ganska mycket. Men det är en mycket fint berättad historia om släktskap, aktivism, om att vilja förändra världen, om idealism och pragmatism och kan en grupp inte så mäktiga människor verkligen göra nån skillnad? Jättefin bok!

[wilma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book of the Month 2403 | Modern Fiction

Den här är förvirrande. Så välskriven med vackert språk, har på pappret det jag önskar men glömde bort den kort efter att jag läst klart. Inget fastnade trots att jag uppskattade den vid läsningen. Hur betygsätter man en sån bok ens?

Reading Group: 2,5

[Bookguide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Meade: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The narrator’s grandmother Josie lived her life according to this mantra as a Communist and teacher, later establishing a tutoring organisation for schoolchildren. She never sought revolution. Her aim was simply to create the decent world of the title. Now she has died, her granddaughter Summer is left questioning everything. Should she meet up with Jodie’s estranged rich brother? Does she want to return to her complicated unconventional household with its shifting relationships? Will the older members of the family take away the home where she has cared for her grandmother for the past year? Above all, is it still possible to create a decent world? Lots of interesting characters to get your head around, but an intriguing family saga.

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy from NetGalley. This review reflects my honest personal opinion of the book.