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The Blue Suit -
In a nonfiction episodic memoir, this extended short story tells the actual experience of a young, working mother in New York's financial district as an eyewitness to perhaps the most tragic day in the City's history. The story is true and all the people who appear in it are real. Told in the third person, "The Blue Suit" provides a personal perspective of a collective experience, as well as a brief oral history of the weeks and months following, and the indelible mark left behind with which to remember 9/11/2001.
Cover "Christmas Day Run" copyright, 2013 by Gabriella Ferrigine. (Poplar 9/11 Memorial Boulevard, Fair Haven, NJ)
Cover "Christmas Day Run" copyright, 2013 by Gabriella Ferrigine. (Poplar 9/11 Memorial Boulevard, Fair Haven, NJ)
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First published June 18, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 14, 2017
It’s before dawn on what promises to be a fine day, and a young woman from New Jersey has begun her long commute to New York’s financial district, where she works in an office very close to the World Trade Center. She frets about the prized blue silk suit she is wearing; she has had a child since she bought it, and is not sure it still fits the way it should. The fabric feels tight on her and the skirt rides up her legs. It’s her main concern this morning. But today is September 11 2001, and the suit is just about to become the least of her problems.
Michaela DiBernardo’s 9/11 memoir The Blue Suit is hard to classify. It’s not a book; it’s 10,000 words – a longish short story, or short novella. It is narrated in the third person, but it is actually an account of what happened to DiBernardo that day.
At its best, this story is extraordinarily vivid. There are many affecting details. Firecrews arrive at the scene and get into their gear, quietly, quickly, without drama. Caught in a panicking, stampeding crowd, the author falls over; for a moment she is trampled, but then two strangers haul her to her feet. As the author struggles uptown with a pregnant colleague, a shop-owner wants to charge them for water, but a passer-by will not let him. A stranger lets them use their cellphone. A cab-driver who looks Middle Eastern is threatened.
The writing varies; it’s not always perfect, but it is usually straightforward and undramatic. This is surely the best way to tell this story. And at its best, DiBernardo’s writing is very good indeed. For example, commuting into the still-smoking city by ferry in the days that followed: “All left the boat in silence, their footfalls loud on the pier... Some days, tools hanging from the belts of the metal workers knocked together and rang softly, like chimes, making the only sound in the dark. They walked to their work, past weeks of uncollected trash and rotting restaurant food being feasted upon by rats too bold to run.” A lot is conveyed here.
The story ends with the final fate of the blue suit. No need to spoil things by giving it away here – but what happens to the suit pulls the story together well, and gives it a satisfying end.
I live in New York, but didn’t come here until some years after 9/11. Thanks to DiBernardo, I think I do now understand a little better what that day, and those that followed, were like for those who were there. I think I can also understand why someone might wait 13 years before writing about it; it must have been hard to process.
A recommended read.
Michaela DiBernardo’s 9/11 memoir The Blue Suit is hard to classify. It’s not a book; it’s 10,000 words – a longish short story, or short novella. It is narrated in the third person, but it is actually an account of what happened to DiBernardo that day.
At its best, this story is extraordinarily vivid. There are many affecting details. Firecrews arrive at the scene and get into their gear, quietly, quickly, without drama. Caught in a panicking, stampeding crowd, the author falls over; for a moment she is trampled, but then two strangers haul her to her feet. As the author struggles uptown with a pregnant colleague, a shop-owner wants to charge them for water, but a passer-by will not let him. A stranger lets them use their cellphone. A cab-driver who looks Middle Eastern is threatened.
The writing varies; it’s not always perfect, but it is usually straightforward and undramatic. This is surely the best way to tell this story. And at its best, DiBernardo’s writing is very good indeed. For example, commuting into the still-smoking city by ferry in the days that followed: “All left the boat in silence, their footfalls loud on the pier... Some days, tools hanging from the belts of the metal workers knocked together and rang softly, like chimes, making the only sound in the dark. They walked to their work, past weeks of uncollected trash and rotting restaurant food being feasted upon by rats too bold to run.” A lot is conveyed here.
The story ends with the final fate of the blue suit. No need to spoil things by giving it away here – but what happens to the suit pulls the story together well, and gives it a satisfying end.
I live in New York, but didn’t come here until some years after 9/11. Thanks to DiBernardo, I think I do now understand a little better what that day, and those that followed, were like for those who were there. I think I can also understand why someone might wait 13 years before writing about it; it must have been hard to process.
A recommended read.
July 27, 2014
Do you remember Sept 11, 2001? I thought I did, until I read this book. This eyewitness account begins at dawn on the day and took me to moments I should have imagined but hadn't. I read this book in one day, only because I could not put this extended short story down. Gripping, meaningful, personal and yet all too generalizable, I will never forget the experience of Michaela DiBernardo, or any of the other victims or survivors she brings so vividly to life. Our country persists, but it is clear we can never be quite the same again. I am grateful to DiBernardo for her work and her courage in sharing this reality with all of us, as well as her call to action. The author kindly provided me with a copy for an honest review.
November 13, 2014
The Blue Suit is a harrowing and touching tale of the September 11 attacks of the World Trade Center by an eye witness. Michaela’s narration turns the event into a more personal experience, taking the reader through the emotions of those affected by the event before and afterwards. People offer each other assistance and struggle to safety, placing themselves at risk. Strangers reach out to strangers. The story bares it all - the frantic anger, the hurt, the anxiety and worry as people come to grips with what had happened and fear for the lives of those dear to them. Would the lives of the affected ever be normal again? Would they ever mange to erase the memories - ever?
Michaela’s book left me feeling sad and thoughtful but it is a well written story that achieves its goal - to make the reader understand the pain and sorrow that haunts the victims of such attacks for life.
Her descriptive style captures the finest details and recreates vivid scenes in the readers mind. The story is a bit weak at the beginning and the description of the first attack is a bit watered down but from there the pace and the depth pick up and the story draws the reader in right to the end.
Michaela’s book left me feeling sad and thoughtful but it is a well written story that achieves its goal - to make the reader understand the pain and sorrow that haunts the victims of such attacks for life.
Her descriptive style captures the finest details and recreates vivid scenes in the readers mind. The story is a bit weak at the beginning and the description of the first attack is a bit watered down but from there the pace and the depth pick up and the story draws the reader in right to the end.
August 23, 2014
This short story begins with a common concern then rapidly thrusts the reader into a once in a lifetime event. This vivid memoir, narrated in third person chronicles 9/11 from the personal account of the author Michaela DiBernardo.
The author begins her day commuting to work in her blue suit an outfit she fears has gotten too tight as it was purchased pre-baby. On this first day back to work since the birth of her youngest child, DiBernardo quickly transfers the focus of her thoughts from the suit to events of September 11th. The author seamlessly combines personal emotion and details throughout the story as confusion and chaos rule the masses. I highly recommend this moving tale. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
The author begins her day commuting to work in her blue suit an outfit she fears has gotten too tight as it was purchased pre-baby. On this first day back to work since the birth of her youngest child, DiBernardo quickly transfers the focus of her thoughts from the suit to events of September 11th. The author seamlessly combines personal emotion and details throughout the story as confusion and chaos rule the masses. I highly recommend this moving tale. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2014
Impossible to find the words to describe this story. It is one that you just have to read for yourself.
September 8, 2023
A stunning, first-hand account…
…from a woman who was there and lived it. Dear Michaela, please know that you are not alone in your grief. All of us who experienced this tragedy, even as observers, are also forever traumatized. Be well, Michaela!
…from a woman who was there and lived it. Dear Michaela, please know that you are not alone in your grief. All of us who experienced this tragedy, even as observers, are also forever traumatized. Be well, Michaela!
September 11, 2023
A poignant, short read
I'm really glad Michaela wrote down the words of her experience. I really hope it helps to exorcize some of the horror of that day and the years that followed.
I'm really glad Michaela wrote down the words of her experience. I really hope it helps to exorcize some of the horror of that day and the years that followed.
September 12, 2023
My one recollection.
It was beautiful. I too was there but did not see the horror. Live in downtown Brooklyn and there were papers in my yard from the Trade Center. I am writing this on 9/11/2023. Wept again and every year since. Thank you for sharing your recollections. Hester
It was beautiful. I too was there but did not see the horror. Live in downtown Brooklyn and there were papers in my yard from the Trade Center. I am writing this on 9/11/2023. Wept again and every year since. Thank you for sharing your recollections. Hester
September 5, 2024
Raw, visceral writing that brings you into the day of the event
November 22, 2014
When I was asked to review "The Blue Suit", I actually thought I was going to be reviewing a fictional version of events, no idea why I thought this. It wasn't until I finished the story that I realised it was actually what the author had witnessed on the day.
Sept 11th - who can forget that date? I never used to because it's the day my dad celebrates his birthday. Now, it's a day that I, and the rest of the world, remember as one of the worst days in history.
Reading the first chapter of "The Blue Suit" had me wondering what I had let myself in for by agreeing to review the story. I found it bland and uninteresting and boring - but it was necessary.
The second chapter is where hell on earth begins, and it's from here you can really feel the horror, disbelief and overwhelming sadness come to life.
I never truly understood how it would have felt to have been so close to the World Trade Centre on that fateful day. I, and I guess many others, could only have imagined how it would have felt, but my imagination was NOTHING in comparison to how the author describes her day as it unfolded. My heart literally pounded, stopped and stuttered in the space of the hour it took me to read "The Blue Suit".
I felt sick both emotionally and physically as I kept reading, not because the story was written badly, but because I was reliving that day through the eyes of someone who was right there. I was able to properly connect feelings to the memory of what I myself had witnessed via televison on that date.
Is this story the best I've ever read? Not if you're looking for a story to use as an escape from the real world. It is however one of the better reality reads that I have read in a while, and I don't say that lightly.
For it's genre and it's ability to stir memories (however horrific), "The Blue Suit" will be getting 4 Shamrocks from me.
Posted on www.debooksharing.wordpress.com
Sept 11th - who can forget that date? I never used to because it's the day my dad celebrates his birthday. Now, it's a day that I, and the rest of the world, remember as one of the worst days in history.
Reading the first chapter of "The Blue Suit" had me wondering what I had let myself in for by agreeing to review the story. I found it bland and uninteresting and boring - but it was necessary.
The second chapter is where hell on earth begins, and it's from here you can really feel the horror, disbelief and overwhelming sadness come to life.
I never truly understood how it would have felt to have been so close to the World Trade Centre on that fateful day. I, and I guess many others, could only have imagined how it would have felt, but my imagination was NOTHING in comparison to how the author describes her day as it unfolded. My heart literally pounded, stopped and stuttered in the space of the hour it took me to read "The Blue Suit".
I felt sick both emotionally and physically as I kept reading, not because the story was written badly, but because I was reliving that day through the eyes of someone who was right there. I was able to properly connect feelings to the memory of what I myself had witnessed via televison on that date.
Is this story the best I've ever read? Not if you're looking for a story to use as an escape from the real world. It is however one of the better reality reads that I have read in a while, and I don't say that lightly.
For it's genre and it's ability to stir memories (however horrific), "The Blue Suit" will be getting 4 Shamrocks from me.
Posted on www.debooksharing.wordpress.com
September 13, 2014
The Blue Suit puts into shocking narrative the awful events of 9/11. Pages are punctuated with ellipses, exclamation points and words in all caps. Normally, this grammatical technique is frowned upon. Yet how else can one describe the sheer terror, confusion and pandemonium of that eventful day? The book is quite melodramatic, and this is one of the few instances in literature in which melodrama is becoming.
I liked how the author used an object, in this case clothing, to embody the emotional state of the heroine. The blue suit expresses, with a sense of brevity and clarity, the heroine’s journey from an imperiled victim to a triumphant survivor on her way to emotional recovery.
The Blue Suit is a gripping story. The fact that it's all true makes it all the more compelling.
I liked how the author used an object, in this case clothing, to embody the emotional state of the heroine. The blue suit expresses, with a sense of brevity and clarity, the heroine’s journey from an imperiled victim to a triumphant survivor on her way to emotional recovery.
The Blue Suit is a gripping story. The fact that it's all true makes it all the more compelling.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews