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Chasing the Red Car
"Chasing the Red Car brings the reader vividly into the San Fernando Valley of the 1950s and brings alive the pervasive fear and disruption that ordinary families experienced under McCarthyism." -Julia Harumi Mass, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Northern California Transplanted from her home in the Bronx to the burgeoning San Fernando Valley of 1947, Kim LeBow is faced with trouble on every side. Her home life is rocky and emotionally unpredictable, and the McCarthy-era communist witch hunts strike all around, threatening Kim's father and even reaching into her high school. The political struggles and personal cataclysms that follow change Kim from an open and caring young girl into a political activist and educator, while leaving emotional scars that only time-and the return of the great love of her life-are able to heal. Drawing parallels between the political repression of the 1950s and the abuses of executive power after 9/11, Chasing the Red Car reminds us that all politics is personal and that the truth of George Santayana's maxim about history repeating itself can be seen all around us every day.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 19, 2012
Chasing the Red Car
Author: Ellen Ruderman
Who would want to leave the Bronx? Certainly not Kim Lebow whose parents have decided to uproot the entire family to California. While sitting on the stoop of her apartment on Bolton Avenue she tried to convince herself and her friends that this trip was just a short three-month vacation. But, Kim and her sister, Jonna, knew better. Jonna was truly upset and when she voiced her opinion to her mother, she was told in no uncertain terms that the decision was not hers but her parents. Arthur, their father, was up for a job at a major University and was glad to be leaving his present position at City College. Politics can often come into play in many jobs and expressing his feelings obviously created dissention for him. Convincing herself that the Route 66 trip would be fun she related to her friends how excited she was about even seeing Roy Roger’s horse Trigger, Dale Evans and some movie stars. As the author relates the beginning of the story I have to say that living in Pelham Parkway up until a few months ago this story brings back great memories. The trip to Lydig Avenue, which is still filled with great stores today and going to the RKO Pelham, really brings back great memories. Jonna had only one friend, Harry. Jonna was truly shaken up about leaving the one person who made her feel safe. Kim was concerned about her mother who never seemed to leave her bed and when she did she was always in a foul mood. Many people leave places for different reasons and Kim began to understand her father’s more after taking this special walk with him.
The trip to California was exciting in some respects and enlightening in others. His father’s friend lost his job because of his political viewpoint. A discussion at dinner one night would enlighten the reader and both children to the political dissent going on in the country and to her father’s outspoken ways. Listening to her mother, as I did mine living in the Bronx, playing Mah Jongg brought back great memories. When Kim’s vision is to ride the Red Car with her father when she gets older. The Red Car is his way of getting from place to her and her link to another world. Kim is bored and the hot valley summers and the tension between her parents and the political unrest causes her to want to take that ride in that Red Car over the Cahuenga Pass and find out what is on the other side.
As the story continues we meet many of Kim’s mother and father’s new friends, hear their discussions concerning the political arena, their concerns for many of the jobs of the college professors and the hint that the colleges are going after anyone that might be considered a Communist. The turbulence of the times takes its toll on many people as one teacher pays the price for his free thinking opinions and his ability to draw the students out and allow them to question. One teacher refuses to allow her students to question causing others to wonder why she is there and for what reason. Kim and her fellow students are devastated when this one teacher is discharged as he helped draw her out using the school newspaper as an outlet for her thoughts and ideas. Both Kim and Andrea helped support a Senatorial Candidate and once again the shift was pointed against her as Nixon’s smear campaign not only caused her to lose but also tarnished her reputation accusing this candidate of being a Soft Communist or Red. The end result is tragic and one young girl loses more than just a good mentor and friend. As the story continues we learn more about the political situation and Kim is now in college overcoming many other hurdles. But, the one thing that is constant and in the back of her mind is the volatile situation between her parents and the lack of care for her sister left behind. Jonna shows and has a great deal of resentment for her mother Lila and feels neglected in so many ways. Kim is torn and turned into many different places as she is constantly called upon to come home when her mother takes too many pills and tries to end her life. The last incident more serious than the rest and her father nowhere in sight. With only the help of her Aunt Marion, who she finally bonded with, Kim needs to decide where her life is going. Meeting a young man named Lucien and hearing their discussions about the political issues is truly enlightening as the author brilliantly brings the reader back in time to this period where just a mere sentence or a few words expressing a different opinion could get you tagged or labeled as a Red and losing your job or even more. When the Red Car is dismantled and the people of the Valley are left with only a bus, Kim and her friends become disheartened. Trying to follow her dreams and her aspirations of becoming a great writer, this is one more thing that makes you wonder whether these people really lived in a democracy at the time or was censorship going to be the norm.
As the years move on we learn that Kim’s family has many tragic endings as she loses her mother, sister and father for different reasons. Each death has a different impact on her and many of her ideals and relationships change as a result. Truths come out and Kim learns the secrets that have been hidden for so many years as her Aunt Marion relates the truth behind her relationship with her father and much more.
A circle has no beginning and no end as Kim finds out. Flashbacks to the past come full circle in the present as her thoughts and her department heads questions voice as The First Amendment is tested once again. Just what the end result is and how her life turns out you will have to take the ride on the Red Trolley Car yourself to find out what happens at the last stop. From 9/11 to the Bush Administration to 2006 when the same things started over again, just when will open thinking be aloud and just where does Kim wind up? The Red Car was the “spirit of freedom and unity and linked those in the Valle with the city beyond.” The ending will definitely surprise you and many more secrets and truths revealed as Kim learns that something’s never change and the world is still the same as it was when she was growing up but one thing does change: Her ideals, thoughts and goals. Keep Chasing those Red Cars and your path will remain solid. This is one book that provides much research about a many highly volatile periods in America’s history and that of many other countries when these Witch Hunts might have started in the 50’s but after 9/11 they continued front and center as you learn from the author and you hear Kim’s final thoughts when she receives an important letter. This is one book that everyone should read.
Fran Lewis: reviewer
Let’s give this book: FIVE RED TROLLEY CARS TO FREEDOM
August 22, 2021
I imagine this book about a young girl whose family was affected by McCarthyism in the 1950's is autobiographical, and I think I would have liked it more if it had been written as a memoir. As it is, the protagonist is too self-assured to be entirely likable. It was certainly interesting to learn that at one point there was a functioning public transportation system between the San Fernando valley and Los Angeles.
December 5, 2011
Article first published as Book Review:Chasing The Red Car by Ellen Ruderman on Blogcritics.
We often hear the old adage that history often repeats itself. Occasionally, when threats against the nation happen, like those of the atomic bomb or later the 9/11 tragedy, we see parallels in how these situations are handled, that can be construed in such a way.
Ellen Ruderman has given us a novel of a young woman coming of age during the McCarthy age, when fear of atomic weapons and communism was uppermost in everyone’s minds. In Chasing the Red Car, Ruderman allows us a picture of a time when many freedoms were put to the test, and many accusations were leveled against different groups, especially many of those from the Hollywood crowd, as well as those in academics. We follow Kim Lebow as her family moves from New York and on to the San Fernando Valley, through the turmoil’s of a time that affected the lives of many. Through her upbringing with an outspoken father, and throughout her years and the grief she encounters throughout these times, we watch a young woman expand and grow into a woman strong with political understanding and heavy into education.
Kim seems to have a knack of finding those who believe in her, and who hold thier beliefs close. Life was difficult and Kim had more than her fair share of vicissitudes. We follow her through love and loss, and her own pursuits throughout the years, and she maintains her focus throughout. Ruderman also draws parallels with the policies and practices put in place after 9/11, focusing again on executive power and how some of the happenings mirrored earlier years. This is a well-written, and emotional work that draws you into the lives of those most affected.
Ruderman does a wonderful job of creating characters of honor and standing. They have both their strengths and their flaws, and you come to care about them through her prose. She captured much of what we have heard and seen during the McCarthy era, the meetings and trials of the times. We see much of the devastation that happens to the families accused, even with no proof. Jobs were lost to suspicions, and many lives were changed.
She continues with her story bringing it up to the more recent present with her character continuing to grow and evolve within the political arena. She draws the correlation of power between the then and now, and the concerns and lives of families again affected.
If you like history and are interested in this period of time when upheaval was the order of the day, you will enjoy this work. The history is interesting and the story makes it all more personal. This would be a great book for a reading club, with a look at a view from the outside from a young girl’s point of view.
This is an in-depth look at the politics of the times, and how different lives were affected in different ways, depending on your beliefs.
This book was received as a free copy. All opinions are my own based off my understanding of the material.
We often hear the old adage that history often repeats itself. Occasionally, when threats against the nation happen, like those of the atomic bomb or later the 9/11 tragedy, we see parallels in how these situations are handled, that can be construed in such a way.
Ellen Ruderman has given us a novel of a young woman coming of age during the McCarthy age, when fear of atomic weapons and communism was uppermost in everyone’s minds. In Chasing the Red Car, Ruderman allows us a picture of a time when many freedoms were put to the test, and many accusations were leveled against different groups, especially many of those from the Hollywood crowd, as well as those in academics. We follow Kim Lebow as her family moves from New York and on to the San Fernando Valley, through the turmoil’s of a time that affected the lives of many. Through her upbringing with an outspoken father, and throughout her years and the grief she encounters throughout these times, we watch a young woman expand and grow into a woman strong with political understanding and heavy into education.
Kim seems to have a knack of finding those who believe in her, and who hold thier beliefs close. Life was difficult and Kim had more than her fair share of vicissitudes. We follow her through love and loss, and her own pursuits throughout the years, and she maintains her focus throughout. Ruderman also draws parallels with the policies and practices put in place after 9/11, focusing again on executive power and how some of the happenings mirrored earlier years. This is a well-written, and emotional work that draws you into the lives of those most affected.
Ruderman does a wonderful job of creating characters of honor and standing. They have both their strengths and their flaws, and you come to care about them through her prose. She captured much of what we have heard and seen during the McCarthy era, the meetings and trials of the times. We see much of the devastation that happens to the families accused, even with no proof. Jobs were lost to suspicions, and many lives were changed.
She continues with her story bringing it up to the more recent present with her character continuing to grow and evolve within the political arena. She draws the correlation of power between the then and now, and the concerns and lives of families again affected.
If you like history and are interested in this period of time when upheaval was the order of the day, you will enjoy this work. The history is interesting and the story makes it all more personal. This would be a great book for a reading club, with a look at a view from the outside from a young girl’s point of view.
This is an in-depth look at the politics of the times, and how different lives were affected in different ways, depending on your beliefs.
This book was received as a free copy. All opinions are my own based off my understanding of the material.
Read
November 7, 2011A book about politics, a young girl's life, her liberal attitude, and US history during the McCarthy Era.
Kim's liberal attitude started at home. She called her parents by their first names without any objection from them, but even though Kim was free to call her parents by their first names, she had to walk on egg shells because of her mother. She never knew what would set her off. Her parents' constant fighting was very unsettling for Kim and her younger sister. The summer before Kim was to enter high school, her father had a job change, and a move was necessary.
Their move from New York to California was quite traumatic for Kim, but her mother was excited. The move/drive to California actually was a humorous part of the book.
When they did arrive at their new home, not much had changed with her parents, and the teenage concern about school and finding friends was utmost in Kim's mind. She did find a good friend with whom she shared adventures….they remained friends into adulthood. Kim commented: "No matter how bad things get at home, when I'm on this trolley and were going someplace, life is good." Page 55.
School also became a haven for her writing and for her political views that were published in a school newspaper. Her haven became as chaotic as her home life after tragedy struck her favorite teacher, Mr. Samuels.
High school ended, and Kim enrolled in UCLA. The troubles at home continued, but she met a man who helped her through them and through school. He made her forget what was going on at home and what had made her the way she has been her entire life. Lucien made her realize she had to live her life and complete whatever she needed to do for herself. He was the love of her life and she of his….so they thought.
The book moves through Kim's life at the university and then jumps forward to her adult life. She had a great deal of heartache in her life because of family problems...tissues needed at times.
The story of Kim Lebow kept my interest for the most part, but since I am not political or liberal, portions of the book were not to my liking. The storyline veered away from liberalism as it moved into Kim's adulthood and was on a more personal level, but then her life and the story came full circle and many answers were revealed to her. The book was very well written and brought attention to social as well as mental issues which can ruin lives.
Not sure what to rate it....I liked the personal level, but truly didn't like the political and liberal aspect.
Kim's liberal attitude started at home. She called her parents by their first names without any objection from them, but even though Kim was free to call her parents by their first names, she had to walk on egg shells because of her mother. She never knew what would set her off. Her parents' constant fighting was very unsettling for Kim and her younger sister. The summer before Kim was to enter high school, her father had a job change, and a move was necessary.
Their move from New York to California was quite traumatic for Kim, but her mother was excited. The move/drive to California actually was a humorous part of the book.
When they did arrive at their new home, not much had changed with her parents, and the teenage concern about school and finding friends was utmost in Kim's mind. She did find a good friend with whom she shared adventures….they remained friends into adulthood. Kim commented: "No matter how bad things get at home, when I'm on this trolley and were going someplace, life is good." Page 55.
School also became a haven for her writing and for her political views that were published in a school newspaper. Her haven became as chaotic as her home life after tragedy struck her favorite teacher, Mr. Samuels.
High school ended, and Kim enrolled in UCLA. The troubles at home continued, but she met a man who helped her through them and through school. He made her forget what was going on at home and what had made her the way she has been her entire life. Lucien made her realize she had to live her life and complete whatever she needed to do for herself. He was the love of her life and she of his….so they thought.
The book moves through Kim's life at the university and then jumps forward to her adult life. She had a great deal of heartache in her life because of family problems...tissues needed at times.
The story of Kim Lebow kept my interest for the most part, but since I am not political or liberal, portions of the book were not to my liking. The storyline veered away from liberalism as it moved into Kim's adulthood and was on a more personal level, but then her life and the story came full circle and many answers were revealed to her. The book was very well written and brought attention to social as well as mental issues which can ruin lives.
Not sure what to rate it....I liked the personal level, but truly didn't like the political and liberal aspect.
January 14, 2012
Ellen Ruderman's characters were realistic, and there was an interesting balance between the different personality types. I found the timeline a little difficult to follow at times when flashbacks were mixed in with the story. Also, Kim mentioned "my beliefs" many times--to the point of being repetitive--without ever really saying what those were except for a couple of vague comments about human rights. I would have liked to have seen how such a young girl came by whatever her beliefs were and a little discussion of what was so radical. However, I can guess that since that wasn't really the point of the book, the author wanted to focus more on the feelings and emotions of this coming of age story. All in all, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a good commentary on how politics affect us all.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews