A Crime in the Neighborhood

by Suzanne Berne | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0805055800 Global Overview for this book
Registered by quinnsmom of Hobe Sound, Florida USA on 10/18/2003
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11 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by quinnsmom from Hobe Sound, Florida USA on Saturday, October 18, 2003
will read, let go.

Journal Entry 2 by quinnsmom from Hobe Sound, Florida USA on Monday, January 26, 2004
I'm listing this book here in case someone wants it before I read it. If I read it before someone takes it, I'll review.

Journal Entry 3 by quinnsmom from Hobe Sound, Florida USA on Friday, May 14, 2004
off to goatgrrl

Journal Entry 4 by goatgrrl from New Westminster, British Columbia Canada on Friday, May 21, 2004
This book arrived in today's mail from quinnsmom in Simi Valley, California (sadly, it didn't bring the sunshine with it!). It was a trade for Barry Maitland's The Chalon Heads. Thanks very much for the trade -- I look forward to swapping more books in future. Best wishes from New Westminster, British Columbia!

Journal Entry 5 by goatgrrl from New Westminster, British Columbia Canada on Wednesday, June 23, 2004
How I loved this book! Suzanne Berne so eloquently describes the spirit and feel of early 1970s suburban North America, I could almost hear the lawnmowers and feel the shag carpeting beneath my feet. But this book is more than a nostalgic glance backwards. Berne captures what I would describe as the “ordinary anguish” of the early 1970s – a time in which marriage breakdown, political corruption and violent crime were fast becoming ordinary, bringing with them the sad, groundless reality so many people now take for granted. Here’s what I mean -- Berne’s description of family life in the ‘70s:

Of course, for many people who grew up in the ‘70s, childhood was spent between parents, rather than with them. If parents didn’t actually divorce, they certainly thought about it, often out loud, and sometimes requested their children’s advice. I’ve heard horror stories about Christmases spent in airports, scenes at high school graduations, photo albums with one parent or the other scissored out. I’ve heard so many of these stories that they’re no longer remarkable – in fact, they have stopped being stories at all and turned into clichés …

Because it’s told from the point of view of a ten year old girl (or an adult woman, looking back at her ten year old self), A Crime in the Neighborhood will make you think of The Lovely Bones, and even Harriet the Spy. Because her broken ankle compels her to spend the summer keeping an even closer eye on her neighbours than usual, I also kept thinking about Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. Berne’s evocation of 1970s suburbia will bring to mind Douglas Coupland, and the elegance of her writing -- and the emotional intelligence that leaps off the page from time to time – made me think of Margaret Atwood. Add to this the fact that the book is, in some respects, a murder mystery and you have all the ingredients for a terrific summer read. Highly, highly recommended!

Journal Entry 6 by goatgrrl from New Westminster, British Columbia Canada on Monday, June 28, 2004
INTERNATIONAL BOOKRAY

Rules of this bookray:
1. This is an international bookray -- if you join, you must be willing to ship anywhere.
2. Please journal the book when you receive it, and again when you mail it out -- that way, everyone will know the book's approximate location.
3. If you don't think you'll be able to read this book within a reasonable time of receipt, please let me know before it's sent to you by the previous reader, and I'll be happy to move your name down the list.
4. Whether you have read the book or not, please do not keep it longer than eight weeks.

Participants:
1. gretchenboyd - Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand - rec'd July 7, 04; mailed July 20, 04.
2. lily43 - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - forwarded to jubby August 15, 04.
3. jubby - Balmain, New South Wales, Australia - rec'd August 15, 04; mailed August 20, 04.
4. Shylock - Skipton, North Yorkshire, UK - rec'd August 28, 04; mailed August 30, 04.
5. arturogrande - Coalville, Leicestershire, UK - rec'd September 3, 04; mailed September 15, 04.
6. spiderchic - Rochdale, England, UK - rec'd September 22, 04; mailed September 28, 04.
7. Ramya - Plainsboro, New Jersey, USA - rec'd October 4, 04; mailed January 15, 05.
8. Metropolitan - São Paulo, Brazil - rec'd March 3, 05; mailed April 13, 05.
9. nike127 - Ginsheim, Hessen, Germany - rec'd April 26, 05.

Journal Entry 7 by goatgrrl from New Westminster, British Columbia Canada on Wednesday, June 30, 2004
I'm mailing this off today to gretchenboyd in Christchurch, New Zealand. Happy trails, Crime in the Neighborhood! At left: the Fraser River, as seen from the top of my street in New Westminster, British Columbia.

Journal Entry 8 by gretchenboyd from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Wednesday, July 7, 2004
Just arrived. Thanks for the pencils!. Will re-post in two weeks.

Journal Entry 9 by gretchenboyd from Christchurch, Canterbury New Zealand on Monday, July 19, 2004
Found it quite inteesting, as New Zealand was very British, (rather than American) and isolated in the 70's.
Postong off tommorrow.

Journal Entry 10 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Sunday, August 15, 2004
I've taken this from my friend Lily43. She didn't really have the time (or the knowledge of the workings of a bookring - she's a newbie), so she passed onto me.

Won't read myself, as I have enough to get on with :(, so will contact the next bookcrosser on the list and pass on.

Happy travels little book.

Journal Entry 11 by jubby at BookRing in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Friday, August 20, 2004
Released on Friday, August 20, 2004 at Bookring in Bookring, A Bookring Controlled Releases.

Posted to Shylock in Skipton, Norht Yorkshire, England on Wednesday.


Journal Entry 12 by Shylock from Skipton, North Yorkshire United Kingdom on Saturday, August 28, 2004
Rec'd safe & sound thanks jubby-and a lovely RABCK to restore my faith in internationalism(my internat rings die). Have heard of/read reviews of this & really looking forward to it.

Journal Entry 13 by Shylock from Skipton, North Yorkshire United Kingdom on Sunday, August 29, 2004
I found this quite compelling & read it over half the bank holiday weekend. It reads more like a true story than a novel. I agree there are similarities with The Lovely Bones, and i thought the cataloguing of small domestic details that show the passing of our daily lives around larger events reminiscent of Carol Shields.

I found the narrator odious-sneaking about, eavesdropping,making notes & stirring up trouble,no excuse just cos homelife ain't goin' to your liking. Another similarity was with Michael Frayn's Spies,two kids looking out for german spies during the war.

I found myself weighing up all the 'crimes' in the neighborhood: the murderer's, the narrator's,father & ada's,the twins',the misfit Boyd's,the bachelor in a 'family neighborhood', the neighbors' ...and came to the conclusion that Spring Hill in reality never was innocent & crimefree.

Many thanks goatgrrl, thoroughly enjoyable & very thought-provoking.

Journal Entry 14 by arturogrande from Coalville, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Friday, September 3, 2004
Book arrived this morning - thank you very much goatgrrl - you do some great rings :) I'm going away to the Dolomites for almost two weeks - I'll take this book with me and make a full journal entry when I get back.

Journal Entry 15 by arturogrande from Coalville, Leicestershire United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 15, 2004
By quite a bizarre coincidence, this book arrived through my door the morning before I was going on holiday and I packed it in my bag along with three other books I was planning to take with me - among them The Lovely Bones.
I had seen Goatgrrl and Shylock draw comparisons between the two and having read them both, I have to agree (although I've only read the first five chapters of The Lovely Bones so far).
Marsha is an interesting narrator - although at times a very unlikeable one, as she sneaks around the beighbourhood, twisting the truth, making up blatant lies and basically wrecking the life of another human being.
The whole mood of the book was very evocative, and it was beautifully written.

Now on its way to Spiderchic. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

Journal Entry 16 by spiderchic from Droylsden, Greater Manchester United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Received this book today. Shall start it straight away - thanks.

Journal Entry 17 by spiderchic from Droylsden, Greater Manchester United Kingdom on Sunday, September 26, 2004
Have just finished reading this book and really enjoyed it. I too can see the similarity with The Lovely Bones which I read earlier this year.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Shall pass on to Ramya next.
Sent on 28th September.

Journal Entry 18 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Monday, October 4, 2004
Received in today's mail.

Journal Entry 19 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Friday, December 17, 2004

Time has been moving FAR too quickly. This has finally moved up to the position of "next to be read", but I just realized how long I've had the book. I'll be sending it off to Metropolitan as soon as I get an address. At some point, I'll read a copy from the library, but in the meantime, I'll read with interest everyone else's comments.

Thanks, goatgrrl, for sharing this book!

Journal Entry 20 by Ramya from Plainsboro, New Jersey USA on Saturday, January 15, 2005
I did end up reading this book. I hadn't been able to take the time away from work to get to the post office (a lot of working though my lunch break during a particularly hectic time), so I arrived home from work late and worked my way through this and other ring books.

I found this story, written from a 10-year old's point of view, interesting and well-written. For me personally, there was, throughout the book, a jarring sensation with some of the descriptions of her parents: in 1972 (? don't remember the exact year of the story and no longer have book), I was about the age of the twins, but my parents were older than average when they married, so they were older than Marsha's folks and there's no way could I imagine my mother wearing a mini-skirt or my dad with sideburns! Mini-skirts were what my peers and I were wearing (I went to a Catholic girls high school, so my exposure to young men, with or without sideburns was minimal [g])

I found some similarities with another ring book, Twopence to Cross the Mersey, a memoir of growing up impoverished in 1930's Liverpool. In that case, the narrator was a 12-year old girl, also struggling with a devsatated home life and emotionally distant parents. The circumstances were quite different, but I found interesting similarities between the two girls and the fact that in both cases, the changed circumstances of the families (divorce in one case, extreme impoverishment in the other) resulted in isolation from their circle of friends and acquaintances and especial hardships for the children, resulting in changed behaviours to which the parents were either oblivious or indifferent. I think Marsha's nastiness was not deliberate, but simply the attempt of a child to regain some control over a life that gone out of control over supper one evening.

I sent this off to Metropolitan this morning. (With 5 other international rings also going in the mail today, I had to ship surface mail -- 4-6 weeks travel time.)

Thanks, goatgrrl, for sharing this fascinating story.

Journal Entry 21 by Metropolitan from São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil on Thursday, March 3, 2005
The book arrived safely. I have two other ring books to read, but I'll get to it as soon as I can. Thanks!

Journal Entry 22 by Metropolitan from São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil on Monday, April 4, 2005
I enjoyed this book. Marsha's craving for attention is understandable, but the consequences of her snooping seemed tragic to me.
I haven't read The Lovely Bones yet, but I am now curious about it!
Thanks for sharing,goatgrrl.

Journal Entry 23 by Metropolitan from São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil on Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Finally got the book mailed to Nikel27. Sorry for the delay. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 24 by nikel27 from -- Irgendwo / Somewhere --, Hessen Germany on Tuesday, April 26, 2005
arrived safe at my house, look's like I am the Last in this BookRay for the moment

update:
What a great read, thanks for sharing this book with me.

Released 18 yrs ago (7/25/2005 UTC) at Lifetime Release Challenge in worldwide, Lifetime Release Challenge -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

thanks for taking part in my Lifetime Release Challenge.

EnJoy the book !!!!

Journal Entry 26 by Esvin-Guatemala on Monday, August 8, 2005
i HAVE JUST RECEIVED THE BOOK

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