Spotlight On . . . Jeffrey A. Cohen

Welcome to the Literary Road Trip and my Spotlight On . . . Jeffrey A. Cohen. Today's featured Pennsylvania author is from the Philadelphia area, and he has been lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time in the heart of the old city. I want to introduce you to Jeffrey, whose debut novel, The Killing of Mindi Quintana, was published just a few weeks ago.

The book introduces us to Freddy Builder, the manager of the china department of a large retail store, who doesn't know how good he has it. When he falls for Mindi, the daughter of an ex-mob, ex-con accountant, he makes a, um, poor decision that finally brings him fame. It also gives him a close look at the Philadelphia legal system.

Jeffrey, a law school graduate, is no stranger to the courtroom; he's been listening to the gavel all his life. Let's take a look at his story.

Falling in Love with City Hall

In answering a recent question about why I set my courtroom novel, The Killing of Mindi Quintana, in Philadelphia, I referenced James Joyce’s famous remark on why he wrote about Dublin. He said that if he could get to the heart of Dublin, he could get to the heart of every city.

As a lifelong Philadelphian who traveled widely before writing my novel, I know Philly to be a city worth getting to the heart of. It has at its core what all great cities have: The fierce love of its inhabitants for its ways and ethnic neighborhoods, for its landmark buildings and unique culture, for the foods for which it is known (soft pretzels and cheesesteaks), and its one-of-a-kind personality. Philadelphia enjoys the pride and loyalty of those born and raised here. Even when life, love, or career takes them away, they always hearken back to Philly.

My father is a lawyer who had an office across the street from our imposing City Hall, built in the "General Grant" style and completed in 1901. As a youngster, it mesmerized me. Some of my favorite memories are of skipping school, taking the train to Reading Terminal—that great old station—and visiting my father at work. In his office, he’d circle trials listed in the Legal Intelligencer, then I’d negotiate Broad Street’s traffic to watch them at City Hall. Sometimes a judge who knew my father would recognize me, and one even asked me to stand while he said something nice about my father from the bench.

It was at City Hall that my love of trials began, my fascination with our adversarial system of justice. My love for the back and forth between Philadelphia lawyers began there and for the judge’s pronouncements and gaveling from the bench. Even the activity and routine of courtroom personnel enthralled me, as did the workings of the press during breaks in the proceedings. My reverence for it all, the old courtrooms themselves with their heavy wooden pews and the grand judge’s bench at the front, began at City Hall.

I know now that what I observed in those City Hall courtrooms, for all of the wonderful Philly color and nuance and idiosyncrasy, is what takes place in all American cities. What I observed was the administration of justice as we Americans do it—not always pretty, certainly imperfect, but always fascinating and something, indeed, to be proud of. This is why Philly is the perfect city for my courtroom novel.

_______

Thanks so much, Jeffrey. I'm embarrassed to say that although my in-laws live in the Philadelphia suburbs and I've lived in central Pennsylvania since the late 1970s, I have not spent much time in Philly proper. Jeffrey's essay on his experiences in City Hall make me want to go to Center City on my next visit. His love for the building, courtrooms, and the trial process is clearly evident. It's no wonder his novel is set right there.

To read reviews of The Killing of Mindi Quintana, check out the TLC tour schedule. To learn more about the book and about Jeffrey, visit his website or facebook page; you can even follow him on Twitter.

The Killing of Mindi Quintana at an Indie
The Killing of Mindi Quintana at Powell's
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Published by Welcome Rain Publishers, 2010
ISBN-13: 9781566499583
Note: The photo of Philadelphia's City Hall is in the public domain and was downloaded from Wikimedia Commons. Click the photo to enlarge it.

Jeffrey Cohen is a writer, trial attorney, and technology entrepreneur residing in Philadelphia. He has written on legal issues, including short stories and articles such as “The Black-White Disconnect: A Conversation with Author David Bradley,” on the O.J. Simpson trial, and “Eight Days a Week,” on legal ethics. A 1988 graduate of the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cohen specialized in appellate, class action and mass tort litigation before entering the business world. He now writes full time and is currently at work on his second novel, A Plea for Leniency.

For more posts in the Literary Road Trip project, visit the LRT link page. Thanks to Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelves for hosting this fabulous project.

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Thursday Tea: The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano

I've just finished listening to The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordono (read by Luke Daniels). I'll have my full review up soon, so I don't want to go into too much detail today.

Alice and Matia meet when they are teenagers, each hiding secrets and each living on the outskirts. The novel explores their lives individually and jointly from their childhoods until they become young adults. The story is difficult to explain in one paragraph, but the book cover gives an excellent hint: Note the dichotomy between the two peas in a pod and the word solitude in the title. I'll leave you there for now.

The Tea. This week I'm drinking one of my favorite teas--Stash's Chai Spice black tea. As always, I drink it fairly strong and without sweetener or milk. Here's how the company describes it: "For our interpretation of this classic Indian drink, we blend rich, flavorful Indian black teas and cinnamon, clove, ginger and cardamom. The brewed tea is very aromatic with a flavor that is slightly sweet, strong and penetrating, with rich, full bodied lingering flavor notes." So perfect now that central Pennsylvania has returned to winter.

The Assessment. Matia and Alice both drink tea, and I'm sure chai teas are available in Italy. But neither character strikes me as going for an exotic brew. Matia, especially, is probably drinking some grocery store brand of black tea. Alice, perhaps, might give chai a try, but I'm not convinced that she would drink it regularly.

What about you? What are you reading or listening to this week? And, of course, I want to know what you're sipping as you get lost in the pages.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers at an Indie

The Solitude of Prime Numbers at Powell's
For Audible and Simply Audiobooks, see the sidebar.
For Stash Teas, see the sidebar.
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Thursday Tea is hosted by Anastasia at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. Here's how it works: Tell us what tea you are drinking (and if you like it). And then tell us what book are you reading (and if you like it). Finally, tell us if they go together.

FTC: I buy all teas myself, I am not a tea reviewer.

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Wordless Wednesday 78

Afternoon Sun in the Backyard

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Today's Read: The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart

MizB at Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesdays. Here's how it works: Grab your current read; let the book fall open to a random page; and share 2 “teaser” sentences from that page. For more teasers, click on through to MizB's blog.

I needed stars and moon and night air, so I walked—worrying about women I'd never know; thinking about all that can't be changed or controlled; trying to envision Juarez, this place of complications and contradictions, where perfect, I pretty quickly figured out, wasn't the issue: Survival was. (p. 23)

Bonus teaser (I couldn't resist):

You can't let people think you're nuts. Not when you're in high school. (p. 66)

—From The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart (Source: Review copy, see review policy).

The Heart Is Not a Size at an Indie

The Heart Is Not a Size at Powell's
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Review: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Cecelia Rose Honeycutt was just a little girl when she realized that something wasn't quite right with her mother. Her father, a traveling salesman, coped by spending more and more time away from home, leaving CeeCee to raise herself and tend to her mother. The two bright lights in the girl's life were her books and her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Odell.

CeeCee was sure that life couldn't get much worse . . . but it did, setting off a series of nearly unbearable losses. When her great-aunt Tootie arrived to take her away to live in Savannah, CeeCee was filled with more sadness, anger, and fear than any child should have to know. Aunt Tootie and her housekeeper, Oletta, would have to find the key to CeeCee's salvation.

Beth Hoffman created a heartbreakingly real world in her novel Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. We feel CeeCee's pain and shame and fear as she watches her mother's mood swings and unexplainable behavior. We are appalled by the husband and father who chooses to hide from his responsibilities and who seems to either not care or not understand what he is doing to his young daughter. And we fall in love with Aunt Tootie, Oletta, and Mrs. Odell as they reach out to CeeCee and help her see the possibilities.

In the summer of 1967, CeeCee's life changes as dramatically as society is changing across the United States. The girl, however, is moving in the opposite direction: from instability and confusion to the steady rhythms of a safe haven. Through the gentle kindness and patience of the women of Savannah, CeeCee slowly learns to reclaim her power and let go of her fears.

Although Hoffman uses humor to lighten the story, she does not sugar-coat the Savannah of the late 1960s or the hardships of CeeCee's childhood. Among the more serious themes addressed in the novel are racism, marriage, women's roles, mental health care, and parenting. We face these issues through the eyes of a twelve-year-old as she struggles to understand the world around her.

No matter what kind of family life you had, as you get to know CeeCee and the women who are important to her, you will be reminded of the people who made a difference in your own life: the widow next door who always had homemade cookies, the family friend who understood you perfectly, or the teacher who helped you see your potential. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

The novel can be read on different levels and touches on several important topics, making it an obvious book club selection. The story is sure to lead to informative and lively discussion.

I both read and listened to Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. The audio edition (Penguin Audiobooks) was read by Jenna Lamia, who is an experienced and excellent narrator. Her voice brings CeeCee alive, nicely capturing the girl's unique mix of naivete, youth, distress, loneliness, and strength. Lamia's soft Southern accents and subtle inflections enhance the character of each woman in the novel.

To learn more about Beth Hoffman, watch the video, visit her website and blog, and follow her on Twitter.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt at an Indie

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt at Powell's
For Audible and Simply Audiobooks see sidebar
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Published by Viking/ Pamela Dorman Books, 2010
ISBN-13: 9780670021390
Challenges: Support Your Library, New Author, Audiobooks, 100+
YTD: 41
Source: Review & Borrowed (see review policy)
(Note: I received a finished hardcover from the author and borrowed the audio from library.)
Rating: A

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