Whether
you are simply a tourist or consider yourself an inhabitant of the “Big Apple,”
author and journalist Pete Hamill’s memoir, Downtown:
My Manhattan, will guide you through the city as he reveals riveting
history and shares his personal life in downtown New York City. Hamill explores
the hardships and triumphs that have devastated and glorified the city, but
more importantly he explores what he sees as New Yorkers’ unique sense of nostalgia.
Hamill believes that nostalgia strengthens New Yorkers. “New York toughens its
people against sentimentality by allowing the truer emotion of nostalgia.
Sentimentality is always about a lie. Nostalgia is about the real things gone.
Nobody truly mourns a lie,” he writes.
He
also points out that “the New York
version of nostalgia is not simply about lost buildings,” but “involves an
almost fatalistic acceptance of the permanent presence of loss.” New Yorkers have
faced countless hardships, he writes, but they cope with this better than
anyone else. That is why “New Yorkers behaved so well on September 12, 2001.
Millions of us wept over the horrors of the day before.” Hamill admires New
Yorkers because he finds them so passionate; he is moved by the way the
inhabitants handled the days after the September 11 attacks.
Nostalgia
is an ongoing theme in the memoir. As the son of Irish immigrants, Hamill believes
that immigration contributes to the New
York sense of nostalgia. New Yorkers “paid an
emotional price for their decisions” to leave their homeland in search of a
better life and “the hope for personal freedom in a country where nobody need
ever bend a knee to a monarch.” They constantly remember the “emotional price
for their decisions” and all of “the things they left behind.” Hamill admires and respects immigrants largely
because his parents faced hardships to pave the way for his future.
While
the immigrants sought for the American Dream in New York City, they experienced a lonely
longing for their native country. The city’s
captivating power grasps the immigrants and compels them to adopt it as their
new homeland. They view the city with an immense sense of pride and
satisfaction. More importantly, as Hamill points out, they “show off their
photographs for New York streets, New York schools, New York
apartments, New York graduations, New York ballgames, and New York picnics.” To the immigrants, New York City represents their view of America.
Hamill
offers a hands-on tour of downtown rather than simply just spilling out facts.
He guides the reader through each part of downtown New York City through anecdotes, history, and
personal experiences to impart a distinct interpretation of the city though
sight, sounds, smells, touch, and even taste. Rather than describe the
inspirational area from a distant and detached perspective, Hamill dives into
the task with full passion as he portrays the city from a pedestrian’s
perspective.
As
Hamill grabbed my hand and led me to the corner of Mott and Canal Street in the heart of Chinatown, vibrant colors began to saturate my vision.
People of all races and backgrounds explore and experience the distinct Chinese
culture. Shops selling beautifully colored items ranging from bright golden scarves
to scarlet Chinese paper lantern decorations give visitors a sample of the
pulsating ambience surrounding them. Meanwhile, restaurants flood the sidewalks
with the delicious scent of fresh roasted pork, dumplings, and fried snack
foods.
The stunning view is coupled with various sounds
from the honking of horns to vendors advertising their goods. Underneath this
superficial view lies substantial historical relevance, such as the life
experiences of the inhabitants, that exemplifies the spirit of the downtown
section of New York City.
“From
the Canal Street
end, Chinese merchants, grocers, and fishmongers began taking over abandoned
stores and apartments, and the street began to erupt with color and life.” This
liveliness evident in Chinatown is only a
minute example of what the city has to offer.
I
continued to follow Hamill on adventures through Greenwich Village, Little Italy, the glittering streets of
Times Square, and the greeneries in Washington Square Park, to name a few. And
to my amazement, Hamill incorporated histories that changed my perspective of
the places we visited. It gave me a completely new context to appreciate their
value. After all, history has a lasting effect because it defines and refines New York City as a whole.
Hamill even points out, “In New York, the present becomes the past more rapidly
than in any other world.”
Through
the extensive use of history coupled with experience and commentary, Hamill
takes the reader through the streets and back alleys of downtown New York City and reveals
a side of the city that surprises even native inhabitants. As for a tourist, he
simply asks that you “surrender to the city’s magic” and “breathe the air of
the river breeze.” His piece of work is exceptionally vivacious, delicious, and
brilliantly crafted. It makes you want to stroll the city sidewalks and take a large
bite out of the “Big Apple.”
Anne P. Rivera is a Rutgers-Newark student. Posted April 2008.
