Holding Fire (CL)

by Elissa Wald

Book Overview

Elissa Wald does for the culture of firefighting what Sebastian Junger did for commercial fishing and the inner-life of storms in this tough, compassionate story. A heroicyet traumatizedVietnam vet... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1893956148
• ISBN13: 9781893956148
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Context Books
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Ignore the 1-star reviews

The people writing 1-star reviews for this book are clearly not unbiased readers, they are people who have a bone to pick with the author, most likely in a misguided attempt to defend the memory of one of the real-life firemen who are said to have inspired some of the characters. There is no way an unbiased reader could look at this book, which is a very serious and moving novel, and conclude that it's in the bottom 10-15% of books ever written (which is effectively what a 1-star review means, if you assume a bell curve with most books meriting 3 stars and very few deserving 1 or 5). You might like the book more or less depending on your tastes, and you might decide it's a 3-star or 4-star book instead of a 5-star book, but it is clearly, definitely not a 1-star book. The people writing 1-star reviews appear to be angry that the book exists -- just look at the invective and fury in their reviews -- rather than judging it for its literary merit, which is considerable. It is shameful that in America, the free country the firemen they loved died to defend, these people are waging an underhanded, sneaky campaign to try to silence an author and cause a worthy book to disappear just because they don't approve of the way certain characters are portrayed. That's not the way things are supposed to work in this country.

A First Novel of Unusual Depth and Skill

This novel is an incredibly complex layering of human relationships that make it impossible to limit it to one category. These characters are very real, with all of the failings and confusion and even a few of the triumphs that real-life entails. Many of us are lucky never to know what struggles truly troubled people endure every day and I think we get a good peek here - a reminder that our most painful battles are often those that take place within our own minds.Ms. Wald's keen ability to give each character a unique voice and her finesse in weaving seamlessly between past and present illustrate a superb skill unusual in a first novel.

A Beautiful Novel

After reading Holding Fire, I was dimayed to see some of the tactless reviews printed here. Elissa Wald has written a beautiful novel with terrific depth and sensitivity. Sure it contains some sex scenes, even a graphic one, and they are purposeful, human, and layered with meaning. To call them "soft porn" or to compare them with "bodice rippers" demonstates a less than acute read of Ms. Wald's fine work. If you want firemen who are deemed HEROS and have no other facets to their lives, and people who do not have or do not think about sex, do not buy this book. Time-transport yourself back to the 50's.

A Remarkable and Timely Achievement

Given the events of the last few weeks it's hard to imagine a more timely book, although what this book has to say about the conflicts of the human heart and the nature of heroism is timeless. HOLDING FIRE is about New York Firemen and how they affect and our affected by those who love them. It is poetic, romantic and sexy with some thrilling and terrifying firefighting which provides a thoroughly enjoyable, page-turning read but what makes it a great and important book is its unflinchingly honest exploration of the human side of heroism. The men in this book are breathtakingly heroic but they are not the usual cartoon heroes (and the women are equally heroic in more quiet and understated ways). They are men who have to confront their own conflicted inner natures and desires (like all of us those inner feelings are sometimes darker and more perverse then we would care to admit) and in doing so they show each of us, no matter who we are or what we've gone through, how to be heroic and they also force us to confront the reality that there is a very personal and private price that any public hero and those who love him must pay. I believe a truly great book does 6 things: 1) entertain; 2) provide real insight into the human condition; 3) have passages of real beauty; 4) the author should give something up that most of us may feel but not have the courage to speak; 5) rock the reader's world; 6) take the reader into a world that he doesn't know about and has no real way of experiencing for himself. HOLDING FIRE is the first book I've read in a very long time that does all 6 things gloriously. By fearlessly showing us the reality of firefighter culture -- the incredible, heroic risks and suffering that these men are willing to undergo for the rest of us and the real meaning of being in a brotherhood -- and by showing us that these heroes struggle with many of the same demons that the rest of us do, Elissa Wald has written the strongest possible tribute to every fireman, living and dead, because she celebrates their basic humanity and thus makes their heroic acts all the more courageous. I eagerly look forward to Elissa Wald's next book -- I hope she writes it soon.

One Terrific Book!

I bought Holding Fire expecting to read about firemen and the amazing rescues they make. Ms. Wald has given us that and so much more. These firemen are real, flesh-and-blood men who are heros but who also have everyday life problems like the rest of us. Like all New Yorkers, I had deep respect for the job a fireman does well before September 11th. Ms. Wald's book has given me incredible insight into the lives of firemen. She honors them by showing us how human they really are. I will read this book many times.