Posted on 05/11/2008 11:26:55 PM PDT by a_chronic_whiner
Fear was a New Yorkers constant companion in the 1970s and 80s. We lived behind doors with triple locks, some like engines of medieval ironmongery. We barred our ground-floor and fire-escape windows with steel grates that made us feel imprisoned. I was thankful for mine, though, when a hatchet turned up on my fire escape, origin unknown. Nearing our building entrances, we held our keys at the ready and looked over our shoulders, as police and street-smart lore advised; our hearts pounded as we tried to shove the heavy doors open and slam them shut before some mugger could push in behind us, standard mugging procedure. Only once was I too slow and lost my money. A neighbor, who worked at a midtown bank, lost his life.
So to read Saul Bellows Mr. Sammlers Planet when it came out in 1970 was like a jolt of electricity. Just when New York had begun to spin out of controlsteadily worsening for over two decades until murders numbered over 2,200 a year, one every four hoursBellows novel described the unraveling with brilliant precision and explained unflinchingly why it was happening. His account shocked readers: some thought it racist and reactionary; others feared it was true but too offensive for a decent person to say. In those days, I felt I should cover my copy with a plain brown wrapper on the subway to veil the obscenity of its political incorrectness.
The book was true, prophetically so. And now that we live in New Yorks second golden agethe age of reborn neighborhoods in every borough, of safe streets bustling with tourists, of $40 million apartments,
(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...
Lengthy but very worthwhile in my opinion. Thanks for posting it.
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