Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A bold and moving exploration of the American elite that exposes how the ruling class--even when well-intentioned--perpetuates cycles of wealth, power, and injustice Growing up on New York City's Upper East Side, Nick McDonell was surrounded by luxury--sailing lessons in the Hamptons, school galas at the Met, and holidays on private jets. It was this rarified life that he explored in his early novels, but then left behind as a war correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Quiet Street, McDonell returns to the sidewalks of his youth, exhuming his own upbringing, and those of his wealthy peers, with bracing honesty. Through summer safaris and winter ski
trips, ill-omened handshakes and schoolyard microaggressions, fox-hunting rituals and sexually precocious tweens, McDonell examines the ruling class in painstaking detail, documenting
how wealth and power are hoarded, encoded, and passed down from one generation to the next. Crucially, he also demonstrates how outsiders--the poor, the non-white, the suburban--are kept in the dark.
Searing and precise yet always deeply human, Quiet Street examines the problem of America's one-percenters, whose vision of a more just world never materializes. Who are these people, how do they hold on to power, and what would it take for them to share it? Quiet Street pursues these questions through the highly personal, but universal, experience of growing up and coming to terms with the culture that made you.
Synopsis
A bold and deeply personal exploration of wealth, power, and the American elite, exposing how the ruling class--intentionally or not--perpetuates cycles of injustice Nick McDonell grew up on New York City's Upper East Side, a neighborhood defined by its wealth and influence. As a child, McDonell enjoyed everything that rarefied world entailed--sailing lessons in the Hamptons, school galas at the Met, and holiday trips on private jets. But as an adult, he left it behind to become a foreign correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Quiet Street, McDonell returns to the sidewalks of his youth, exhuming with bracing honesty his upbringing and those of his affluent peers. From Gal pagos Island cruises and Tanzanian safaris to steely handshakes and schoolyard microaggressions to fox-hunting rituals and the courtship rites of sexually precocious tweens, McDonell examines the rearing of the ruling class in scalpel-sharp detail, documenting how wealth and power are hoarded, encoded, and passed down from one generation to the next. What's more, he demonstrates how outsiders--the poor, the nonwhite, the suburban--are kept out.
Searing and precise yet ultimately full of compassion, Quiet Street examines the problem of America's one percent, whose vision of a more just world never materializes. Who are these people? How do they cling to power? What would it take for them to share it? Quiet Street looks for answers in a universal experience: coming to terms with the culture that made you.
Synopsis
A bold and deeply personal exploration of wealth, power, and the American elite, exposing how the ruling class--intentionally or not--perpetuates cycles of injustice " A] story about American inequity, and how it mindlessly, immorally, reproduces itself. Unlike most such stories, however, this one left me believing in the possibility...of drastic change." --Maggie Nelson, author of On Freedom
Nick McDonell grew up on New York City's Upper East Side, a neighborhood defined by its wealth and influence. As a child, McDonell enjoyed everything that rarefied world entailed--sailing lessons in the Hamptons, school galas at the Met, and holiday trips on private jets. But as an adult, he left it behind to become a foreign correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Quiet Street, McDonell returns to the sidewalks of his youth, exhuming with bracing honesty his upbringing and those of his affluent peers. From Gal pagos Island cruises and Tanzanian safaris to steely handshakes and schoolyard microaggressions to fox-hunting rituals and the courtship rites of sexually precocious tweens, McDonell examines the rearing of the ruling class in scalpel-sharp detail, documenting how wealth and power are hoarded, encoded, and passed down from one generation to the next. What's more, he demonstrates how outsiders--the poor, the nonwhite, the suburban--are kept out.
Searing and precise yet ultimately full of compassion, Quiet Street examines the problem of America's one percent, whose vision of a more just world never materializes. Who are these people? How do they cling to power? What would it take for them to share it? Quiet Street looks for answers in a universal experience: coming to terms with the culture that made you.