Where Were You In September '82?: 'Be Still and Know That I Am' by Julian Gallo
Review written by W.T. Hoffman
So, do you remember where you were in September 1982? For 16 year old Nico, he was living in Queens, sporting a spiky punk rock hairstyle and listening to the Dead Kennedys. The novel is a look back to those days of mosh pits, ‘Reaganomics’, and teenage angst. There’s some nostalgia, centered on the awkward tenderness of your first love. Also the book shows the brutality of the times — murder, pedophilia, incest, drug and alcohol addiction, unemployment, violent crime, racism, AIDS, and the decline of Western civilization in general. There are six intertwined storylines in the book that collide in the heartbreaking, inevitable conclusion.
The characters circle around Nico. There’s Gaetano, Nico’s hard working dad and his construction site buddies; you’ll meet Giovanna, Nico’s younger sister and her friend Dana, battling a corrupt and cruel teaching staff at her school; there’s Father Grasso, trusted friend and Roman Catholic priest; and let’s not forget Skunk, Nico’s best buddy and his downtown squatter cohorts. Then last, but not least, Tommy Douchebag, the school bully, his girlfriend Heather, and his two sidekicks Andy and Scott. Each storyline weaves in and out, building up expectations that make the book a compulsive read.
During the course of the book, each character is faced with an existential decision: Do I live my life without concern for others, or do I choose moral responsibility? Those who reject moral responsibility are handed over to karmic retribution. As the tale come to a close, we’re left with a simple yet profound question: How do we know if we’re doing the right thing? We need to ‘be still and know that we are God’. We must identify with the innate divinity in each of us. Once we identify with the goodness in humanity, learn to meditate on the outcome of our existential decisions, maybe we can navigate the dangers and pitfalls of a fallen society. We can, each of us, choose to lead a good life, regardless of our social circumstances. Without a shred of moralizing or didacticism, Gallo manages to bring this philosophy across to the reader.
I’d recommend this book to just about any mature person, as a solid read. However, if your favorite song is California Über Alles, and you got into thrash and punk music back in 1982, then you’re sure to get a kick delving into its pages.
Be Still and Know That I Am is available here.