Life ´In the Neighborhood of True´

Life ´In the neighborhood of true´ is a double-faced game of incertitudes and fears. In exchange for a temporary acceptance, one can agree to give up or hide his or her identity, but this game cannot played for ever. Or if you do on long term, it may damage irremediably your soul. Sometimes though, there are external factors that may put an end to this precarious double game. 

Based on the true story of the 1958 Atlanta synagogue bombing, In the Neighborbood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton is the story about a young teenage Jewish girl, Ruth, moving from NYC to his mother town of Atlanta following the sudden death of her father. Converted to journalism, Ruth´s mother belonged to the white elites, with his father the owner of a local newspaper and her mother, Fontaine, a respected socialite with social anti-semitic views on Jews (´Jews are well accepted at the banks or the law offices, or the hospital or what not. But after dinner? After five o´clock, people like to socialize with their kind´). 

Ruth starts her new life in a private - Christian - school, where she is hiding her Jewishness, and is getting busy making new friends among the popular girls. She is easily accepted, given her pedigree. Her bibliography is intense, as she is trying to follow the social requirements for young ladies. She is also falling in love with Davis, an attractive and popular young man, from whom she is hiding her Jewish origin. Meanwhile, she keeps going to the synagogue on Saturday and become acquainted with Max, a young local activist. 

At the same time though she is observing her environment, with active KuKluxKlan attacks and the segregation. Somehow, Ruth´s secret is out in the air, but not yet completely but it will be only a matter of time until everyone will find out. At this age, when the self-esteem is still a work in process, it happens to prefer not being open about your identity, especially when it involves social and political risks. Once upon a time, I´ve been myself for one year in a very high-end high school where half of the students were Jewish bearing Jewish names, at least the given names, but still they prefer to keep their identity hidden, some of them by fear that the other half of the students will turn against them. 

But there are moments when one cannot stay silent and hiding who you really are it is more than cowardice. The attack against the synagogue in Atlanta, whose rabbi was against the segregation, woke Ruth up. There were no victims, but the view of the destroyed place of worship raised questions about her own choices, including her boyfriend. Whose brother, she will discover, was directly involved in the terrorist attack.

In the real story. in October 1958, KuKluxKlan bombed the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, as a message against the political engagement of Rabbi Jacob Rotschild, who was an advocate of integration, civil rights and the end of the segregation. After several trials, no one was ever convincted.

As a story, In the Neighborhood of True is slow paced and raises interesting questions about identity and being true to oneself, especially for young/teenage readers. The ´white American´ part of Ruth´s life comes with many details and insights, while her Jewish identity is rarely explained. Indeed, she is going to the synagogue and cheers the memory of her Jewish father, but all the Jewish characters in the book do not have an outstanding genuine Jewish connection. I´ve personally found a bit curious that one of the perpetrators of the synagogue bombing is called Oren, which is a Jewish/Israeli name. 

Despite its shortcomings, this is a book that I will recommend for reading and a lengthy discussion for Jewish families and young adults living in predominant non-Jewish areas. It makes you think twice what to stand for and what it is important to keep being who you are, no matter the risks.

Rating: 3 stars