The Other Side of the River - Cassette Author:Alex Kotlowitz Alex Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here was more than a bestseller, it was a national event. His beautifully narrated, heartbreaking nonfiction account of two black boys struggling to grow up in a Chicago housing complex spent eight weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, was a made-for-TV movie starring and produced by Oprah Win... more »frey, won many distinguished awards, and sparked a continuing national debate on the lives of inner-city children.
In The Other Side of the River, his eagerly awaited new audiobook, Kotlowitz takes us to southern Michigan. Here, separated by the St. Joseph River are two towns, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Geographically close, they are two worlds apart, a living metaphor for America's racial divisions: St. Joseph is a prosperous lakeshore community and 95% white, while Benton Harbor is a depressed town that is 92% black. When the body of a black teenager form Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two cities' populations also come to the surface. The investigation into the young man's death becomes, inevitably, a screen on which each town projects their resentments and fears.
The Other Side of the River sensitively portrays the lives and hopes of the town's citizens and reveals the attitudes and misperceptions that undermine race relations throughout America. In this fascinating and ultimately profound audiobook, Alex Kotlowitz proves why he is one of this country's foremost writers on the ever explosive issue of race.« less