We Are All Good People Here

White (A Place at the Table) tracks two college roommates over three decades, taking on topics such as racism and the political division in America during the Vietnam War, to mixed results. Daniella Gold was raised liberal in Washington, D.C., while Eve Whalen is an upper-crust Southern belle from Atlanta; they meet at Belmont College in 1962. Told primarily through Eve and Daniella’s viewpoints, White shows how the politics of the times shaped their destinies: Eve, thanks to a charismatic, politically active student she falls for, rebels from her bourgeois upbringing and joins his radical, anti-establishment group; Daniella channels her liberal views into championing the civil rights movement, eventually becoming a human rights lawyer for people on death row. The two grow apart, but a tragic occurrence upends Eve’s life and throws them together, after which their daughters share a special bond. The book loses steam when the point of view shifts to Daniella’s daughter, Sarah, and the contrast between her life and that of Eve’s child, Anna. White offers a competent overview of the political spectrum in the United States from the ’60s to the early ’90s, but misses the opportunity to dig deep into the seismic change in Eve’s lifestyle and its impact on her relationship with Daniella. This is a fair effort. (Aug.)