In 1991, Alex Kotlowitz’s “There Are No Children Here” changed the way that people thought about the residents of public housing. His gripping account of the lives of two young men growing up in the Henry Horner Homes was one of those books you stay up all night reading. Kotlowitz’s new book, “The Other Side of the River,” is also a meditation on the tangled web of race and class in America. In the book, he explores the death of a young man from Benton Harbor, Mich., and examines how that mostly African-American community and the town across the river, St. Joseph, Mich., responded to the tragedy. Kotlowitz will read from the book at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Printers Row Book Fair. Call 312-987-9896 or visit www.chipublib.org/prbf.html
Q: Was it hard to decide if the mystery of the young man’s death would make a good book?
A: There were a couple of dilemmas I faced. One was, I wasn’t sure if this story alone would carry a book. … The other thing is, as a storyteller, that I faced a dilemma. If I ultimately found out what happened to Eric, I knew that it would vindicate one town or the other, and it would take some very clever writing to get around that. On the other hand, I knew that if I didn’t for certain find out what had happened to him, I was left with this mystery. So I wrestled with that for a long time before I committed myself.
Q: But in some ways, isn’t that appropriate, given that race relations in this country are far from being resolved?
A: You’re right, in some ways the lack of resolution is the power of the story, it’s sort of a reflection of the ambiguity that surrounds race. My hope was that as readers would read through it, and get whipsawed along this journey, as did I, (that they would) then reach their own conclusions.
Q: Has anything about the death come to light since the book was finished?
A: I’ve gotten a few tips and there have been a few minor leads, but nothing (major) has surfaced that I know of. I know that the FBI began to look back into it, and (local police) have had their ears to the ground.
Q: What was the reaction to the book in the two towns?
A: The reaction to the book was kind of interesting. The book, not surprisingly, was embraced by much of the black community in Benton Harbor. I think for them it gave some affirmation to their stories and their experiences. In St. Joseph, it’s been a mixed response, but, somewhat surprisingly to me, there are a large number of people there who’ve embraced the book as well. In fact, there’s been a lot of activity (since the book was published). The newspaper has re-examined and retooled its coverage and writing on race. The local Rotary Club, which invited me to speak there a couple months ago, has formed a commission with their neighbors across the way on racial diversity. There’s been a real effort to begin a conversation. For me, (the new dialogue and debate about race) is somewhat encouraging, because here you have this white community wrestling over this issue of race, something that might not have occurred just six months earlier.
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