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A review by felinity
Good Neighbors by Ryan David Jahn
4.0
This is an incredible story, and even more so for being a debut novel. Kat, the night manager at a bar, is almost home when she's attacked right outside her front door. She thinks she'll be okay, because many of her neighbors are home - in fact, she sees their lights on, and they see her after she screams. But each one of them has a different reason for not calling 911: a more pressing personal problem, someone starts talking, they don't want to tie up the lines with redundant calls... Obviously this is a fictionalized retelling of the Kitty Genovese story, but it's so much more than that. (For those who have had CPR training, this is precisely why you are taught to single out one person and say, "YOU, call 911 and come back".)
Each neighbor's story is examined and drawn into the storytelling weave, not just what happened that night but also some of their history. Each neighbor becomes a real person, despites only having a few chances to develop. Each has motivations, problems, relationships, a story. And each person can share in the guilt and shame of knowing they watched a girl being attacked and did nothing to stop it, and left the anonymous "other people" to help her. Not one called for help, even though they thought "Poor girl".
When you read this, let the truth sink in. Promise to yourself that you will never leave the responsibility for a simple phone call to other people when you have the ability, even if it means you're the 100th caller about an incident, because you never know if yours is the call that will make the difference.
Each neighbor's story is examined and drawn into the storytelling weave, not just what happened that night but also some of their history. Each neighbor becomes a real person, despites only having a few chances to develop. Each has motivations, problems, relationships, a story. And each person can share in the guilt and shame of knowing they watched a girl being attacked and did nothing to stop it, and left the anonymous "other people" to help her. Not one called for help, even though they thought "Poor girl".
When you read this, let the truth sink in. Promise to yourself that you will never leave the responsibility for a simple phone call to other people when you have the ability, even if it means you're the 100th caller about an incident, because you never know if yours is the call that will make the difference.