The Newlyweds (Nell Freudenberger)

Amina is a young woman from India marries an American man after they meet through an online service, and moves to Rochester. It was a lot of fun to read a book with so many local details (though some of them are wrong). I thought the Indian woman and the Indian life she left behind were very well drawn, but the rest of the story was disappointing. Although some ambiguity in a story is a good thing, there was too much of it here for me. Was her husband in love with her? Was he good, or bad? What was up with that other woman; was she seriously trying to be Amina's friend, or was there some nefarious purpose behind her actions? It's not that the author left unanswered questions, it's that these people and situations were not drawn clearly. The story was well told in each incident, but it all felt like nothing more than a series of incidents that didn't really add up to anything. This all sounds more negative than it should. I enjoyed reading the book, but it left me feeling dissatisfied.

In the Neighborhood (Peter Lovenheim)

My book club was interested in this book because it's local; we are all from around Rochester, NY, and some of us live in Brighton, though none on the street that is the focus of this book. The author is disturbed when a murder-suicide happens in his quiet, well-to-do neighborhood, and reflects on the fact that nobody on the street really knew the victim and she had no one there to turn to. This book describes his idiosyncratic attempt to overcome the barriers between neighbors by introducing himself to people and asking if, as an author, he could get to know them, shadow them for a whole day, and even stay overnight in their homes. A few people said yes, and he was able to build a tiny community among a few of his neighbors. On the other hand, the link between a general lack of community on a street like this one, with imposing homes on huge lots, and the death of the murder victim was forced. She did know her next-door neighbors well enough so that her children knew to go there when something went wrong. She just didn't really believe her husband was going to kill her until it was too late. And the community he built was tiny and temporary. Was it worth it? With the communities we all build among more distant folks, is it really important that you be good friends with your next door neighbor? We weren't as convinced as he was.