The Corner - David Simon and Ed Burns

I finally finished The Corner. Much like Simon and Burns' most famous work, The Wire, finishing is a double edged sword. Of course, you want to reach the end, you want to know what happened to the characters but you also want to keep reading.

For those that don't know, The Corner is a study of the innercity american drug problem. Simon and Burns initially spent a year following the lives of the addicts, dealers and children of just one drug corner on a West Baltimore street. We follow the highs, lows, scams, arrests, deaths and new lives of the people we meet.

This is a triumph of journalism. They take a marginalised and misunderstood society and rehumanise it. Don't misunderstand, they certainly don't seek to excuse the deficiencies of this society. In great journalistic spirit they merely seek to show us what is there, warts and all. It is up to us what we make of that. Of course, when you truly appreciate the humanity of an individual, no matter how flawed, it becomes increasingly difficult to consign that person to the bin marked 'worthless'. This to me is truly great part about this book. Forgive me if you think this hyperbolic but The Corner is an absolute good, it is in itself an act of love, for the society it portrays and for the rest of us out in the world.

What I believe The Corner seeks to, and succeeds in, communicating is that 'They' are not the problem. 'They' (the people trapped in this underclass) are us. They are a part of our society, a society that will remain broken until we accept that we are all in this together. So, 'we' are the problem.

There is much musing in the book about what the solution is to 'the war on drugs'. Frankly, this book is part of the solution. We are all part of the solution. If this book helps one soul to see the light, that soul will touch others and those, others. It's hokey but it's also true.

Of course, the other function of this book is to give us all hope. That there are journalists out there that aren't just interested in Jordan's tits and a byline. That people exist out there that believe in community and that still have faith in humanity.

If you've not read it, I would highly recommend it.