Waverly Place - Softcover

Based on the sensational Steinberg/Nussbaum case in New York City, this riveting fictional work recounts the events leading to abuse and death of a child by her adoptive parents: an attorney and a former teacher/children's book editor in Greenwich Village. Told in brief chronological episodes skipping from character to character, this work reflects Brownmiller's nonfiction orientation (she is the author of the noted Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape) . But these vignettes of teachers, clients, friends, neighbors, co-workers, relatives, and others interacting with the couple build a chilling montage of people who glimpsed different aspects of monsters and saw, perhaps, only others like themselves. A sad and frightening tale which leaves a bitter aftertaste of questions about ourselves, our society, and our values. Literary Guild main selection.
- Ann Donovan, Central Washington Univ. Lib., Ellensburg
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The 1987 Greenwich Village child-abuse case involving the death of six-year-old Lisa Steinberg is the basis of Brownmiller's simplistic and sensationalized novel. "Obviously intended to reach a wide commercial audience, the book betrays evidence of hasty writing and thin characterization," remarked PW .
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.