A quick rundown… A saga of several characters, seemingly unconnected, that transcends time and moves from WWII to the present day.
Strengths: Excellent historical research, particularly in relation to Auschwitz.
Weaknesses: The explanation at the end about what was true and what wasn’t; threads of characters took a long tied to get tied up.
Why I read it: Christmas present.
Pages: 554
Published: 2011
Publisher: Random House Australia
Setting: New York, Chicago, Poland, Melbourne
Rating: 8 out of 10
If you liked this, try: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
The Street Sweeper is a complex book and I’m not entirely sure how I felt about it. I know some people are dedicated fans of Elliot Perlman’s work, but this is the first of his books that I’ve read. I’m honestly not sure whether I’ll read another one.
You might wonder why I gave this book such a high rating then. It’s due to the detailed history included in the book regarding the death camps at Auschwitz. Perlman tells the story of Jewish men working for the Germans (unwillingly, only as an aid to survive) to kill and bury the Jewish people of Europe in a blunt, horrendous fashion. It’s kind of a car crash scene- you want to look away but you can’t. The worst thing is that you know that the suffering and depravity is all real.
But I digress. What does Auschwitz have to do with a book titled The Street Sweeper? It’s a story within a story linking up a number of seemingly unconnected people across New York and the world. All the characters are linked, but it takes time for both them and the reader to discover exactly how. I found that part rather farfetched. The odds of finding someone in Australia who is linked to a European immigrant to America through an Australian-born professor of a New York university studying something outside his field must be longer than winning the lottery.
Two characters tell parallel stories across New York – Lamont is a former prisoner working in a hospital, who strikes up a friendship with an elderly gentleman with numbers tattooed on his arm. This then leads into the story of Auschwitz. Adam is the Australian-born professor who risks losing his job if he doesn’t find an area of research quickly. Through his friend (and boss)’s father, he happens upon what is thought to be the first recorded oral history – from people in DP camps (displaced persons) in Europe post-World War II. These stories eventually combine, but not until the very end. In addition to the history, Lamont is looking for his lost daughter and Adam breaks up with his partner. I felt that the modern-day characters were a little superfluous at times and tended to repeat themselves excessively, particularly in the early parts of the novel. It took nearly 200 pages for me to become engrossed, and that was primarily due to the history side of things.
When I finished the book, I read that a lot of the events in the book were real – not just the things about Auschwitz, which I had expected; but the inspiration for Henry Border, was a real person. His name was David P. Boder and the wire recorder, people he interviewed and even the name of his book were all the same as the fictional version. To be honest, I felt a little ripped off. I would have liked to know this before I read the book!
Perlman’s research for this book was intricately detailed and it shows in the high level of detail of the book. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always make the narrative flow or create hooks for the reader to continue reading. I think I would read another book by this author if I was interested in the history, but otherwise, I’m not so sure.
I read this book as part of Australian Literature Month, hosted by Kimbofo at Reading Matters.
Having read Perlman’s previous work, this book sounds as if he hasn’t changed direction all that much. His books tend to be fat (or overly verbose) and filled with seemingly unrelated characters who turn out to be related or connected in some way. Your review has only heightened my interest in this one, but I will have to be patient: it hasn’t been released in the UK yet.
For the grade to be so high despite those issues is interesting! I am going to have to get this one at some stage I think.
I read and reviewed this last year, and I loved it, although it took a good hundred pages or so to really kick in. While the interconnectedness could feel contrived, I feel it made the story flow, and I was constantly having to be on my toes to recall details linking the characters each time another fleeting contact was made. Certainly, when I later read Anna Funder’s ‘All That I Am’, her book seemed a little weaker in comparison.