Product Description

After twenty years as a foreign correspondent in tumultuous locales, Judith Matloff is ready to return to her native New York City and start a family with her husband, John. Intoxicated by West Harlem’s cultural diversity and, more important, its affordability, Judith impulsively buys a stately fixer-upper brownstone in the neighborhood–only to discover that this dream house was once a crack den and that calling it a “fixer upper” is an understatement. Thus begins the couple’s odyssey to win over brazen drug dealers, delinquent construction workers, and eccentric neighbors in one of the biggest drug zones in the country. It’s a far cry from utopia, but it’s a start, and Judith and John do all they can to carve out a comfortable life–and, over time, come to appreciate the neighborhood’s rough charms. A wry, reflective, and hugely entertaining memoir, Home Girl is for anyone who has longed to go home, however complicated the journey.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #725159 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-14
• Released on: 2009-07-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .75" h x 5.20" w x 8.00" l, .53 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Booklist
After 20 years living an exciting but nomadic life in the foreign press corps, Matloff feels the tug of motherhood. She and her husband, John, quit their Moscow jobs and choose New York City for their next home, though neither had worked in the U.S. before. Charged with finding their abode, Judith is drawn to Harlem, where prices are refreshingly low, but house hunting requires wearing gloves to protect against crack vials, and boots to navigate rodent dung. In a block she hopes is on the cusp of rehabilitation—though the local cops see it as “the epicenter of narcotics trafficking on the entire northeastern seaboard”—Matloff rejoices in her discovery of a 4,800 square-foot townhouse with caving-in ceilings and a big backyard. She takes the reader step by step through the renovations accomplished by a crew of locals with dubious credentials, introducing along the way a unique bunch of neighborhood activists who become fast friends. Happily she becomes pregnant and gives birth shortly before 9/11; by then she and John are thoroughly ensconced in their adopted home. --Deborah Donovan

Review
“Matloff tells a compelling story of reclamation...Her writing is as brilliant as a crystal chandelier, her pacing as quick as a skip down her multistoried staircase. “
-The Christian Science Monitor

"Matloff is a writing pro, sprightly and thorough in her characterizations."
-Publishers Weekly

"a hugely entertaining memoir about family, community and real estate"
-Tucson Citizen

"delightful and humorous...Matloff is a superb storyteller"
-Rocky Mountain News

"Matloff blends humor with considerable storytelling skills"
-Library Journal

“[Matloff] avoids nonfiction chick-lit cliché, even when describing such milestones as 9/11 or her pregnancy; her journalistic curiosity and lightly self-deprecating touch keep the book from becoming an uptown safari for the Elle Decor set. She rarely focuses on herself or even the house, but rather on her thrilling, problem-plagued neighborhood, colorfully portrayed in terms that are neither frightened nor naïve. A loving, stirring portrait of the American cultural mosaic.”
-Kirkus Reviews

"Although I always suspected that renovating a house in New York City would be a slightly more harrowing undertaking than dodging bullets as a foreign correspondent, it took this charming story to convince me it also could be more entertaining. Except for the plumbing. That's one adventure I couldn't survive."
-Michelle Slatalla, author of The Town on Beaver Creek

“After years of covering wars overseas, Judith Matloff takes her boundless courage and inimitable style to the front lines of America's biggest city. From her vantage point in a former crack house in West Harlem, she brings life to a proud community held hostage by drug dealers and forgotten by policy makers. Matloff...

Review
“Matloff tells a compelling story of reclamation...Her writing is as brilliant as a crystal chandelier, her pacing as quick as a skip down her multistoried staircase. “—Christian Science Monitor

"Matloff is a writing pro, sprightly and thorough in her characterizations."—Publishers Weekly

"a hugely entertaining memoir about family, community and real estate"—Tucson Citizen

"delightful and humorous...Matloff is a superb storyteller" —Rocky Mountain News

"Matloff blends humor with considerable storytelling skills" —Library Journal

“[Matloff] avoids nonfiction chick-lit cliché, even when describing such milestones as 9/11 or her pregnancy; her journalistic curiosity and lightly self-deprecating touch keep the book from becoming an uptown safari for the Elle Decor set. She rarely focuses on herself or even the house, but rather on her thrilling, problem-plagued neighborhood, colorfully portrayed in terms that are neither frightened nor naïve. A loving, stirring portrait of the American cultural mosaic.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Although I always suspected that renovating a house in New York City would be a slightly more harrowing undertaking than dodging bullets as a foreign correspondent, it took this charming story to convince me it also could be more entertaining. Except for the plumbing. That's one adventure I couldn't survive."—Michelle Slatalla, author of The Town on Beaver Creek

“After years of covering wars overseas, Judith Matloff takes her boundless courage and inimitable style to the front lines of America's biggest city. From her vantage point in a former crack house in West Harlem, she brings life to a proud community held hostage by drug dealers and forgotten by policy makers. Matloff's sense of humor, clear reportage and zest for adventure never fails. Home Girl is part gritty confessional, part love story, and totally delightful.”—Bob Drogin, author of Curveball

“Here the American dream of home ownership takes on the epic dimensions of the modern pioneer in a drug raddled land. Matloff's story, which had me crying and laughing, is a portrait of a household and a community, both extending far beyond the specifics of west Harlem to the universal--like all well told stories do.”—Martha McPhee, author of L’America

"a poignant memoir"—TimeOut NY

"a hugely entertaining memoir"—Tucson Citizen

“Home Girl : Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block is less about the house and more about the block and is as likely to appeal to social activists as to serial renovators.”—Belle Elving, Washington Post

Customer Reviews

I laughed my through this
Home Girl is simply a must-read for all journalists who ever wondered what kind of life skills journalism might be proving them with, or anyone who has ever thought about buying a house in an "up and coming" urban neighborhood. I just finished it and I laughed through the whole thing.

Judith (who taught some of my best classes at Columbia J-School) spent 20-some years reporting on, and living among, the most dangerous international war zones, but her goal of living a domestic settled life in New York City (Harlem) and raising a family turns out to be her biggest adventure yet. Some of us students sat around her huge dining room table for dinner; you won't even believe what she had to go through to get that thing here from Russia. It is insane. And I won't go into how she uses her war reporting skills to tame the local crack dealers.

This little Youtube describes a bit about the book, but it's not even close to as funny or good as the real thing. Makes a great gift for a friend who's searching for a new home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOijhe5TfQo

Making a home on a 'lawless block'
I was a little leary of this book at first as I am not one to read much non-fiction. And the memoirs I've read run the gamut from boring to extremely engaging and fun. I am pleased to say that Judith Matloff's story of her family's experience was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Judith worked for years as a foreign correspondent living in a variety of other countries. After getting married in her late 30's and having two miscarriages, she starts longing to put down roots closer to her family. While her Dutch husband waits back in Russia for his visa, she moves into her mother's basement in New York and starts looking for a house. She ends up finding a 'home with potential' in West Harlem among the dealers and the crack addicts. This story tells of their journey with contractors, the neighbors, the dealers and many others.

Her history of being a foreign correspondent blended well into relating the experience of moving into a 'lawless block' in New York. I worried for her, shook my head at her foolishness and how naive she was. But I also smiled with her choices on friends, the workers, and as she became a mom. And also as the 'lawless block' turned into something great. I recommend this book to all.

Taking the Plunge
I actually ordered this book by mistake on my Kindle; I only wanted the free sample, but accidentally hit "buy." But I don't regret it--this was a thoroughly enjoyable book. Having lived in my share of harrowing neighborhoods in pre-gentrified Brooklyn and upper Manhattan during the eighties, I could understand what Matloff and her husband went through in the process of trying to make a home in a drug infested neighborhood. I particularly liked reading about her complicated relationship with Miguel, the drug dealer. Sleazy as the dealers are, they at least keep an eye on the street; I was actually reassured by their presence as I walked home from the subway at night. I enjoyed watching the youtube video that showed the house and some of the characters from the book. Her block looks pretty sedate now. Matloff is a funny and good-natured writer and "Home Girl" is a pleasure to read.