My friend Lois gave me a copy of "Hard Boiled In Brooklyn," a collection of short stories about what else? Brooklyn.
Edited by Reed Farrel Coleman, these vignettes about the borough, its people and its unique culture are incredible gems and I have had a blast reading them. The common thread in the stories is of course that they are all taking place in this borough. But as Farrel writes in his intro, there is more to it. There is a rawness, a toughness about these characters that is unique to Brooklynites. As Reed Farrel Coleman writes:
"The very soul of Brooklynites is hard-boiled. You may be born soft or move to the borough soft,but you don't stay soft for long. Brooklyn is like a third parent, the tough-love one, the one who gives you the truth about how things really are, and not the way they should be. You don't adopt Brooklyn, Brooklyn adopts you. You can't live in the place very long and remain unchanged. Sorry, it just don't work that way. You can crack our shells, but nthing runs out. See, that's what I am saying."
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