Long Bright River by Liz Moore will put you right in the heart of the opioid epidemic that has found a home in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. This novel, told through the perspective of the protagonist, Mick, a Philadelphia cop who patrols Kensington, shows the complexity of addiction and the toll it takes on not just the victim, but those around them.
Mick and her younger sister Kacey grow up living with their grandmother Gee after losing their mother to heroin addiction shortly after Kacey was born. Kacey is introduced to heroin at an early age and begins a life of homelessness that is fueled by the need to get her next fix. After finding Kacey overdosed in abandoned houses many times growing up, Mick is troubled by the love she has for her sister and the wedge addiction has created between them.
When a woman’s body is found on the Gurney Street tracks, also known as the Lehigh Viaduct, it was quickly thought to be an overdose, which is seen all of the time by those who patrol the Kensington area. But when it is ruled a homicide, all Mick can think about is her sister unprotected on the same streets as a killer.
Liz Moore does not paint Kensington in a negative light despite what the protagonist sees on a daily basis. She makes the reader understand the neighborhood is more than the crisis and the crime that comes along with it. Though the protagonist passes many abandoned, run-down structures that make up the neighborhood, she sees the beauty of intricate designs in architecture of colonial houses, cathedrals, and stores. She finds beauty in the “Old Kensington” that still remains despite the abandoned buildings that are used for shooting up, selling drugs, and other illegal activities. Moore also does this by presenting a passage in the preface of the book from Kensington: A City Within A City (1891) that reads:
What can be said of the Kensington of to-day, with her long line of business streets, her palatial residences and beautiful homes, that we do not know? A City within a City, nestling upon the bosom of the placid Delaware. Filled to the brim with enterprise, dotted with factories so numerous that the rising smoke obscures the sky. The hum of industry is heard in every corner of its broad expanse. A happy and contented people, enjoying plenty in a land of plenty. Populated by brave men, fair women and a hardy generation of young blood that will take the reins when the father have passed away. All hail., Kensington! A credit to the Continent- a crowning glory to the City.
Starting off the book with a passage like this helps establish for readers that Kensington is not the gruesome crisis that has found its home there. Along with the passage from Kensington: A City Within A City, there is a list of fifty-six names of people who have passed from drug and other substance addictions. As the list goes on, it becomes more personal by stating, “our former teacher Mr. Paules….” And it ends with, “Our mother. Our father.” This list is repeated again at the end of the novel before the last chapter. Whether these are real people who died or characters in the story who do not have importance to the plot, the book does not say. But giving names to the addicted helps show there is a person behind the suffering and death. People who pass away from addiction can sometimes be seen as less human or purposely choosing their fate. However, Moore shows how easy it is to enter the revolving door into addiction, especially in the Philadelphia area.
She also highlights how addiction can grow through relationships by referring to people as their relation to a character, instead of just giving their name. Usually if one character is using, their significant other, friend, or family member is also using. This is demonstrated many times throughout the novel and is also seen in the list that is at the beginning and end of the book. It shows how hard it can be for someone to break the cycle of addiction when it has created a web around them through their relationships.
The reader also gets a firsthand perspective of the power of love between family members. Kacey’s addiction not only takes over her life, but it greatly impacts how Mick lives hers. While it takes a toll on Mick, she always looks for her sister when on patrol just to know she is alive. When Kacey isn’t seen for a while, Mick searches high and low to make sure she knows her sister has not succumbed to her addiction. While she is constantly hurt and let down by Kacey, the love Mick has for her sister never lets her fully give up on her. It drives her to put her life on the line for her family. If you are looking for a story that shows the strength of family love, then Long Bright River is the book for you.
Steph Cugine is a senior at Drexel University studying an open concentration in Communications. In her free time, you can catch her writing, reading, playing the piano or exploring the city of Philadelphia.