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A review by sjgrodsky
S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C. by Rubén Castañeda
3.0
Three related stories, each strong on narrative (what happened) but weak on analysis (why did it happen, what does it mean). There were so many questions left unprobed and unanswered. What, for example, happened to the strawberries Ruben used and disposed of? What made Baldie tick?
But if you are a Washingtonian (Guilty. Born in the now defunct Columbia Hospital) you can't help but be fascinated. Ruben gets so much right. I especially liked his describing the PG county police as having a culture of brutality (I experienced a small, dilute drop at the University of Maryland), contrasted with Montgomery County's prosperous and refined environment. Yup.
The stories don't quite meld together and the last 50 pages, in particular, have a hurried, slapdash feel, with careless sentences and misspellings (example: "ledes" for "leads").
But I can only thank Ruben for being willing to venture into those rough neighborhoods and reporting what he saw. I would never have dared. It's not where you're likely to find a nice Jewish girl from Montgomery County.
But if you are a Washingtonian (Guilty. Born in the now defunct Columbia Hospital) you can't help but be fascinated. Ruben gets so much right. I especially liked his describing the PG county police as having a culture of brutality (I experienced a small, dilute drop at the University of Maryland), contrasted with Montgomery County's prosperous and refined environment. Yup.
The stories don't quite meld together and the last 50 pages, in particular, have a hurried, slapdash feel, with careless sentences and misspellings (example: "ledes" for "leads").
But I can only thank Ruben for being willing to venture into those rough neighborhoods and reporting what he saw. I would never have dared. It's not where you're likely to find a nice Jewish girl from Montgomery County.