A Writing Wizard Among Mere Mortals

Rarely do I thoroughly enjoy an author's writing style without any criticisms; however, contemporary novelist Amy Waldman has captured me again through her melting pot of individual victim's anecdotes regarding the aftermath of the described terrorist attack. Setting herself apart from a typical novel, Waldman not only follows a main character's struggle to find justice in a cruel and condescending world, but she also includes information of background characters to add depth to her work. For example, Waldman's main focus remains on memorial council member Claire Burwell and submission winner Mohammad Khan. Yet, at the same time that she describes Khan's struggle to claim his winning prize, Waldman introduces characters like Asma Anwar to give diversity among the subjects potentially affected by the chosen memorial. Asma's husband, an illegal immigrant, fell under the category of "undocumented [and] uncounted" as stated by New York officials (77). By simply adding this small piece of information about a seemingly insignificant character, Waldman allows the reader to make his or her own opinion on the conflict of whether or not Khan can deservingly build the memorial or not due to his ethnicity. I truly appreciate Waldman's approach to telling this story through the eyes of different victims. While some lost a brother, others lost a husband or wife. The diversity among the author's characters stands as an atypical approach to telling a story, therefore making the novel a more unique and interesting piece of work.