Grace Ellis Reviews “Between Heaven & 42nd and Broadway” by Michael Caissie

Between Heaven, & 42nd and Broadway follows Paul, a veteran and struggling writer with a wavering sense of self and morality. Michael Caissie’s use of metaphor in his writing paints an elaborate and bloodsoaked picture of New York in 1977. Caissie doesn’t hesitate to expose the cruelties of the world in the form of characters who participate in active violence, as well as characters who are passively apathetic. Paul himself is a character that feels detrimentally human, as he fights against giving into his own fears and desires.

Paul’s character isn’t sugar coated to feel sympathetic. In fact, through his eyes, we are introduced to several other characters with similarly harrowing backstories. For me, this served to confront the reader’s with questions of comparative morality. Paul fights to protect his family, but he also gives in to his lust and blood thirst when pushed to a breaking point. While this book is a challenging and even sometimes an upsetting read, I appreciate the rawness that each individual character and story brings. 

Caissie takes Paul in a unique direction, one that completes his story in an unexpected, but satisfactory way. The book serves not only to tell Paul’s story, but to encompass the story of the city of New York and the horrors it has witnessed both past and present. The story does a thorough job exploring the gray areas of life, including subjects like loyalty, addiction, and revenge. I wouldn’t claim that the story fits one genre, but if you’re in the mood to tackle a dark fictional story surrounded by real history, I would absolutely recommend this one.