Scott Turow (!) reviews MAN IN THE MIRROR in The New York Times

The legendary crime writer’s appraisal of MAN IN THE MIRROR just dropped. Plus, a gift: the first three chapters in audio form

I woke up at 5-something a.m. — again, close readers will note. And I checked my phone, and there it was. There it was.

The New York Times review of MAN IN THE MIRROR had just dropped. Admit it or not, it is the moment so many writers hanker for. I was flustered, and I began. And I saw the name Scott Turow, and I was floored. And then I began to read his powerful and rigorous engagement with my work.

Now, if you want to avoid the complexity my book encourages us to face, if you want the wartless version, here’s a highlight reel:

“This book — often brilliant, occasionally frustrating — is an extraordinarily wide-ranging investigation of the circumstances underlying a lethal incident that occurred on a northbound F train on May 1, 2023: the death of Jordan Neely, a mentally ill homeless man, after a fellow passenger put him in a chokehold in an apparent attempt to subdue him when he began screaming…The remarkable scope of this book is demonstrated in a series of involving portraits, including of unhoused New Yorkers, whose meager possessions are routinely swept away in police raids but who nevertheless reappear on the Sarsame sidewalks hours later; of touchingly dedicated outreach workers who try to lead the homeless to safety; and of public health figures butting heads over policy…This is an exhaustively reported book by a ferociously talented writer.”

But Turow, to be clear, has some criticisms of the book, namely that I empathize too heavily with Jordan Neely and not enough with Daniel Penny. I have heard it before, except in the form that I empathize too much with Penny and not enough with Neely. That is what happens when, against the grain of this cultural moment, you set out to tell a story in which everyone is humanized. I embrace that this is not for everyone.

I may have succeeded, I may have failed, and Turow is a serious and thoughtful enough writer that his words will have me reflecting on my own. That is what this art is for. I’m so grateful to him for all of it.

I’d love for you to read the review, courtesy of this gift link from me, and then get in the comments and share your own views.

The review has begun to trigger vigorous debate on social media, among other things about whether empathy is only for some people and is conditional on good behavior. Should we have empathy for everyone? Can you empathize with multiple people in a conflict without siding with one or the other? These are worthy questions to confront.

And so I thought I would give all of you a special gift that we hadn’t planned to release until later. Why not now? I say.

So here, with great trepidation and great excitement, are the first three chapters of MAN IN THE MIRROR in audio form. I’m sharing them because they capture the approach I’m trying to take: empathizing with everyone, because that is the work. It’s my work, but I also believe it’s our work at this juncture of our common life together.

After talking about this book with you for so long, I can’t believe I’m about to hit send on sharing these opening chapters with you.

Thank you for being with me on this journey. If you haven’t yet signed up to have the book at your doorstep on Tuesday, pub day, this is your moment. I want you in the many rich conversations we’ll be having.

And tell me what you think. I’m listening.