Central Square

by George Packer

When Joe arrives in Boston and is mistaken for African-- rather than African American-- he quickly discovers that letting the illusion stand generates magic. A job, a place to live, even a kind of deference he's never known before are suddenly casually endowed upon him, a man who surely must have a closer connection to life's hidden possibilities. Central Square bustles with the complexities and contradictions of today's urban existence as it tells what happens when the enigmatic Joe meets up with several other disparate characters. There is Paula, the social worker whose loneliness is intensified with each sad story she hears; Eric, the writer who struggles in a world that ignores his work and whose wife has abandoned him for pregnancy; the mysterious community group that has posted titillating "feel-good" signs around the city. As characters collide with circumstances, and each other, George Packer's bold novel explores the conflict between personal desires and social constraints, and the unattainable balance between private life and the life of a community. Unafraid to expose the difficult truths about contemporary society, Central Square asks how we can find something decent to which to commit our lives.

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I lived in the Boston area for 14 years--haha--11 different residences during that time, including abodes close to Central Square in Cambridge, East Cambridge, "Lower" and "Upper" Allston, and Somerville. This meant that I was in Central Square a lot, and so I was eager to see what a novel set there would be like. Well, Packer's Central Square is a whole lot different from what I experienced, and not in a good way. This novel is utterly bleak, devoid of humor or fun. Want any mention of the Middle East? TT the Bear's? Any clubs at all? Any rock 'n' roll? Not here. It's the story of a black man, originally from San Francisco, who spent time in Africa and experienced horrific atrocities, and who arrives in Cambridge and passes himself off as an African native. He comes to be seen as a healer with spiritually transcendent qualities. Other characters include a miserable social worker and her married struggling novelist paramour, her down and and out clients, and a pretty nicely satirical portrayal of a rich man who sees "Joe"'s spiritual potential. But Packer, a longtime journalist for the New Yorker, is interested in showing hopelessness here, and not much else. From my reading of him in the New Yorker, he seems to be a liberal who hopes for social salvation in politics and is continually disappointed. Too bad for him and his characters in this novel.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

There needs to be a way to shelve books that I picked up, put down, and want to avoid...I don't want to claim that I've read this because I haven't, and don't intend to. The writing was awkward and the narrative felt contrived. "Bailed on" will have to do for now.