Unsparing but sympathetic, and with journalistic details, At the Edge of the Haight begins on an ominous note ... Katherine Seligman’s novel has broader intentions. It focuses on Maddy’s trials as part of San Francisco’s large homeless population, and is an intense, personal drama about wayward lives positioned between redemption and disaster ... Putting a human face on those who live at society’s margins, At the Edge of the Haight is an intimate novel whose young characters struggle for survival and a little bit of dignity.
Throughout the story, this reader worried about Maddy and longed for her to find her way off the streets. Unlike many novels, the author does not provide easy answers. The resonant title of this book reflects the edge of a hateful life on the streets.
The novel is [...] unclear about its central thesis: Is this a murder mystery with a look at homelessness, or is it mostly about homelessness with a side of murder? Tangential plot points—Fleet is hospitalized from a drug reaction and Ash suddenly takes off for a Wyoming wilderness camp—further fray the already loosely held storylines. All told, Seligman is to be commended for an insightful portrayal of homelessness. She’s at her best when showing just how tenuous life on the streets can be. 'Stories were hard to decipher because they were filtered through people,' a character says. This might well apply to this heartfelt and unfocused novel. Brave but scattershot storytelling.
Journalist Seligman’s earnest if diffuse debut drifts between murder mystery and compassionate sociological study ... While Seligman has a strong sense of the city and of the challenges faced by the homeless, the murder plot fizzles out as the author goes on fruitless tangents ... Seligman’s portrayal of life as a homeless young person is immersive, but ultimately too sentimental.
