Customer Reviews:
 Jersey - Now I know why you can keep it February 19, 2007
This is the autobiography and family history of Helene Stapinski of Jersey City. She has a family as dysfunctional as any you're likely to encounter, from a grandfather who threw a woman down the stairs for asking for money (and later trying to shoot his whole family), to pretty much everyone for four generations - involved in crime, from bookmaking to bribery and theft. Intertwined is the history of Jersey City and the politicians who run it. They follow the same revolting patterns as her family, only on a larger and uglier scale. It would be hard to believe this story is true, except that almost daily, headlines coming from that pimple continue to keep the legend alive. Crooked judges? Not much different today. Corrupt mayors? Still being investigated even as we speak.
The most affecting line, repeated several times, is that you can never really leave Jersey City. It keeps dragging you back, by embarrassment, as a place to hide, as a result of failure, because a relative is in need... on and on. Leaving its clutches seems to be tough. Everyone is compromised to some degree. Everyone is corrupted. No one is spared. This is the New Jersey we love to hate. The stench and the pollution that is the visible legacy of New Jersey rates very little examination. It's almost trivial by comparison to the human waste. The total lack of Christian values - despite the Catholic upbringing from both sides (Italian and Polish) of her family - is compounded by the corruption and hipocrisy of the church as well. Totally consistent with the rest of the story.
Sadly, it is all true. In this book, it's all normal. It unravels as if it were a typical family in a typical town in a typical state. Very engaging.
|
