Reviews of Letchworth Days
"An absolute punch in the gut"
Unsettling, upsetting, feverish, queasy, all in a raw and moving way. I’m haunted and obsessed, dumbstruck with awe and reverence. Its emotions are so dark and from the shadow side of living that this book is an absolute punch in the gut, its effect so powerful and deep-reaching that it’s scary. I have profound respect for Daniel Silverman. This novel should get out in the world in a big way.
"This act of remembrance and meaning-making is why we write"
Letchworth Days occupied my thoughts throughout the days as I read it, and I continue to reflect on it. It is very compelling. Many of these thoughts have orbited around the idea of “otherness” and how you move from otherness as a source of disconnection and alienation to come full circle to it being in some measure the driver that compels us to connect to one another. Within this otherness are people who have been “othered” by the fate of their births and how society has dealt with them. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I found that even Seth's anxiety/separation from the Home Kids represented a kind of othering that occurs through societal racism. Seth may not see it as such, but their attitudes and behaviors strike me very much as the result of marginalization. The Mountain People are the kind of mythic others. And of course, Hannah is an other, but also the appreciator of Seth's otherness. It struck me that virtually everyone Seth encounters is defined by their otherness.
The first chapter drew me in immediately. It is very well structured and creates a sense of walls closing in that matches Seth’s state of mind. I experienced the sense of claustrophobia in the opening of the book attributable in some measure to Seth's yearning to understand his place in the world. Given what he sees in high school and experiences in his interactions with others, he doesn't seem at home in this "known" world. When he first departs to Letchworth, he is heading into an unknown world. He is in both a literal and figurative sense expanding his horizons, learning that the world is a bigger place and one that offers alternatives to the one he has experienced only through high school. I took his alienation to be both in response to his environment, but also internalized, compounded by the difficulties of navigating his sexuality, as a teen especially circa 1979-80. This is yet another unknown world and one can see him yearning to gain access to it, but holding back for fear of rejection. Albert, Danny and Hannah are unknown worlds where he lands safely to find acceptance and love. This I take to be the ultimate expansion of his horizons.
Feeling judged repeats as a theme throughout the book, but Seth struck me as equally judgmental, whether it regarded music or pizza. Even people who present as well meaning can be dismissed by him. It struck me that there were romantic possibilities with Dominic, but that in some way he didn't measure up to Seth's standards. So, while at the end of the book, it seems that Seth has attained some self-acceptance, I'm unclear if he's become more accepting of others.
Letchworth Days’ transformation of the author’s angst into art is an unequivocal achievement. This act of remembrance and meaning-making is why we write.
Bottom line: Letchworth Days held my attention from beginning to end, and most important, made me think. It caused me to reflect on my own adolescence and adolescence in general. (No one ever tells you when you become a parent that you will relive all of the heartache, alienation, and unhappiness of your own adolescence as your kids go through it too). What more can anyone ask for in a book?
Bravo!
"A great piece of writing!"
Silverman beautifully captures the inner turmoil of a teenager trying to understand how the world works, how to get closer to others, and how to figure out other human beings. The extended process of getting to know new people and appreciate their talents, or at least their personalities, naturally suggests the course of life itself. The characters are vividly real, and became more and more so as I read along—especially the narrator of course—while the portrayal of Seth’s father was so realistic I felt I had met him. The descriptions are wonderfully detailed, with an allusive quality that I particularly liked, continually drawing me in closer and closer to the story as it unfolded. I had such strong visual images of Letchworth that I almost feel as though I were there myself! And the allusions to the facility’s dark past grounded the story firmly in reality, as opposed to being a stage set created for a teenager’s inner journey. It turns out also to be about self-knowledge, the ultimate quest. So it succeeds on multiple levels. A great piece of writing!
"A trip back in time worth taking"
After we leave high school, there’s a tendency to avoid thinking about the realities of our raw, unfinished, teen-aged selves. Daniel Silverman’s second novel, Letchworth Days, drops us right back into the thick of that time and invites a sympathetic and unblinking look. It’s a beautiful story, and Silverman’s vivid storytelling makes it a trip back in time worth taking.
The adolescent protagonist of this story is sixteen-year-old Seth Rosenfeld, who is a younger version of the same character from Silverman’s 2020 release, The Birds of Shanghai. There’s a welcome feeling of emotional openness in Letchworth Days that wasn’t as developed in the 2020 book (unsurprising since the bulk of that book was actually written decades earlier). This second novel is more polished, but still painted with the same thoughtful, economic word choice you'd expect from Silverman. The supporting characters are also nicely rounded out and have more depth to them, particularly Seth’s friend Hannah, who is so interesting that she’s a bit of a scene-stealer sometimes.
On page one, without preamble, the author thrusts the reader into a chaotic and emotional scene at a high school. Once we are fully immersed in the protagonist’s unsettled internal world, the author is at leisure to spend the rest of the book gently, skillfully guiding his character (and his readers) little by little, into a stronger and more resilient grown-up brain state.
On the surface, the story is about a lonely, closed-off high school boy growing up in the 1970s, who slowly learns to open his heart to others (and himself) by way of a unique summer job, working at an institution for developmentally disabled adults. As we follow along for a couple of summers, the rotating cast of engaging characters (both the people who live there and the staff) reveal new challenges and new sources of support for this young man, who begins the book so frightened of who he is that daily life feels impossible to deal with.
But there is a deeper story here about the ongoing process of figuring out who we are and what we value, which if we’re lucky doesn’t stop in adolescence. While many of the conflicts and new experiences Seth goes through resonate and remind us of the struggles and growth of adolescence, Silverman leaves ample room in the story for intellectual exploration of who we keep becoming as adults, and even what it means to be an “adult.”
The often hilarious, but occasionally heartbreaking individual stories and anecdotes of working with developmentally disabled adults (or “residents” as they’re called at Letchworth) feel true-to-life. The author’s affectionate spotlight on this often-ignored population is in clear contrast with how the US has tended to hide and dehumanize any people it would rather not see. Seth’s growing connection with the residents in his care allows a little glimpse into an “institutionalized” world most of us never see.
In this story, I love Seth’s vulnerability, his internal thrashing and teen angst, and the tenderness he begins to recognize in others and in himself. I love all the slow reveals as he begins to see the world with a wider lens and begins to develop a deeper understanding and compassion for others. Silverman manages to capture the insecurity and longing and growth of a teen in the 1970’s in a way that feels real across time. The cultural references, the language, and the background descriptions expertly evoke the time period, particularly the details of the music, which is such an integral part of Seth’s life. But as with any good story, the themes here are larger than the setting; the emotional struggles and minor victories of life remain eminently relatable and worth revisiting for both the pleasurable and thought-provoking prose. Highly recommended.
"In the institutions of the forgotten"
Who are the so-called retarded? Daniel Silverman takes us on a sojourn of intimacy to the places of the marginal, where time stands almost still, in the institutions of the forgotten. Who and what we find there are the touchstones that lead his character, young Seth Rosenfeld, to uncover his own self-hood, his own compassion, his own maturity, and his own righteousness. Seth is no ordinary high school kid. A misfit from the start, he brings sensitivity to his volunteer work at the Letchworth institution, and translates his own pain of marginalization to his charges, evoking in them the very best he can bring out.
Written in Silverman’s spare and winning prose, he brings the reader to epiphanies that are a major challenge to those quick to dismiss the outcasts of society. He goes the distance beautifully, and his book is a service as well as an exquisite piece of literature.
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