The Locals

Power. Sometimes a novelist will just hold a mirror to the way we live now, and on the pages of a book we can see our lives play out. Jonathan Dee’s novel, The Locals, describes post-9/11 life in a small New England town. The power dynamics in the town of Howland, Massachusetts shift after a wealthy New Yorker moves to his summer home in the Berkshires after 9/11 and becomes First Selectman of Howland. He begins to lower taxes for the property owners of the town through paying for services out of his own pocket. Dee describes the cycle of boom to bust, and the foibles of our self-interest turning into selfishness and social unrest. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Locals from amazon.com.