by Catherine J. Turco
Overall: Harvard Square: A Love Story examines two central notions. First, it looks at the idea that for decades people had been complaining that the Harvard Square wasn’t what it “used to be.” Every generation bemoans changes in the marketplace that make the beloved world of the Square seem different (usually in a bad way) from what people remember. Of course, one person’s “not what it used to be” is another person’s well-loved present, with the cycle continuing every few years. Second, the book examines how people rely on street-level markets to create a sense of community, stability, and continuity on a deep psychological level, even though they are places full of change. If you’re interested in Harvard Square particularly, or if you are interested in how marketplaces become meaningful parts of peoples’ lives, you should pick up this book.
Likes: the book credibly merges economics, history, a dash of psychology, and lots of on-the-ground observations and interviews into an interesting blend that’s highly readable. Picking unconventional “characters” to follow, such as a neighborhood merchants’ association or a single block of one street, allows the reader to see the book’s arguments develop with plenty of humanizing detail. The book is great at illustrating how the marketplace constantly changes in response to many different factors, whether local, national, global, or some combination. The economic parts were easy for me to understand, despite my lack of expertise in that area. And the depth of the research warmed my history-loving heart.
Dislikes: at times the argument became a bit repetitive, which I think is common in non-fiction books of this type. And I would have liked a more examination of racial and ethnic diversity (or lack thereof) in the marketplace; the book nods towards this but doesn’t explore it in depth. At times as a reader I felt that there was a bit too much of the same kind of anecdote (especially the speeches from the merchants’ association).
FYI: a bit of strong language. There was also a short quote from a historical source that contains a derogatory word referring to people of short stature.
Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for my advance copy. All opinions are my own.
Liz Helfrich 