The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City | Jennifer Toth

The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City | Jennifer Toth | Another world exists beneath the streets of NYC

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The Mole People: L...

	The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City Jennifer Toth Chicago Review Press, 1995 - 280 pages average customer review:based on 115 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Opens your eyes whether you want to or not.....

This slim volume is original research that is brave, refreshing and depressing. Brave because she descended deep into the guts of New York City which is very dangerous, refreshing because she did her research thoroughly and told it like she experienced it, and depressing because so much of what goes on down there IS an escape from some of the worst aspects of modern life--as bad as it is in the tunnels, there is a sense of community, family, and cooperation that is fading topside. As short as the book is, it took me many nights to finish it: I couldn't really put it down, but I could only digest a little at a time. Instead of fostering morbid fascination, it ellicits compassion and understanding, even a feeling of solidarity with the Mole People....

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Another world exists beneath the streets of NYC

The Mole People provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of society's castaways, people who, for various reasons, chose or were forced to live in the catacombs beneath New York City. Toth describes the society that has evolved under the streets, and details the everyday lives of the misfits, outcasts, and dropouts who inhabit that subterranean world. The vignettes she presents are moving, disturbing and thought provoking, and many times just plain spooky. For instance, Toth often describes her amazement at how quietly the tunnel dwellers moved--most approached so silently that she didn't sense their presence until they were only inches away.

Toth's narrative is gripping--I often felt as if I were reading a suspense novel rather than a work of non-fiction. A chapter midway through the book, entitled "Dark Angel," is especially intriguing. In it, Toth describes a tunnel dweller who many swear is the devil himself. Her description of the man "who knows what will scare you" evoked memories of my first encounter with Randall Flagg in Stephen King's apocalyptic novel The Stand. Toth's description, however, is more frightening because it is based on grim reality.

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The Mole People

This book was an eye-oener for me. I had no idea so many people lived in the underground of NYC. I also was interested to know that many of thes people are satisfied with their life below the city.

interesting subject, okay book

The subject matter of this book is very interesting, but it is just an okay book. The main problem with the book is that it is repetative, telling parts of the same story over and over again. It also references individual "stories" in the book before they are told, leaving you wondering whether you missed something. However, the book is still interesting; it just leaves you wishing you had a little more.

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