In 1998, a bitter rivalry between two groups of teenagers results in the terrible murder of Erica Lynne Davis, a well-liked and promising high school senior. This event shocks the Northeast Philadelphia community, none moreso than her close-knit circle of friends, including her boyfriend Lenny Mitchell, his sister Jane, and Jane's boyfriend (Lenny's best friend) Neil Desrosiers. By 2008, all have gone their separate ways but when Neil, now a successful playwright living in Brooklyn, returns to the old neighborhood on family business, he reunites with Lenny and the old gang, and rekindles his romance with Jane. However, ghosts from the past as well as new troubles end up leading this reunion toward another tragedy as well as a revelation that shocks everyone and changes their lives forever.
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Apr 16, 2011
I just finished Chris Tait's book, the Great Northeast. It's a long book and I am a slow reader. I've been with this book for a while. What a ride! Chris is a first-class novelist. The story comes alive with wonderful detail about the characters. I feel I know Lennie, Neil and Jane, in particular, pretty well. This book is darker than his more recent novel, October and Everything After, and there were parts that were difficult to get through. Not because it was poorly written; on the contrary, I was so involved with the characters that I felt their despair and depression in their darkest hours. This is no quick-read, feel-good beach book. However, if you are looking for a well-written story with depth that pulls you in, I highly recommend that you give it a read. (PS: It has a surprise ending, to boot.)
