Jillian Cantor’s new book, The
Hours Count, is a fascinating look at Cold War America from a very
personal perspective. The main
character, Millie Stein, is a young, impressionable housewife and a new mother
when she meets her neighbor, Ethel Rosenberg, in 1947. Over the next six years, the women develop a
friendship and share child care duties as they try to support each other.
While Julius Rosenberg is
portrayed as an attentive and kind father, Millie’s husband, Ed, is cold
towards his son David who does not speak and thus has trouble
communicating. Millie, too, is isolated
and eventually forms a bond with Dr. Jake Gold who ties to help David. Frankly,
Millie’s character was not especially likeable – the poor women seemed overly naive
and certainly reflected stereotypes of the time. For example, she was very dependent on her Russian
immigrant husband’s “generosity” for weekly food money and new furniture.
Throughout The Hours
Count, there is a melancholy sadness. This is partly because many
readers will know that Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were the only American civilians
executed for espionage activity during the Cold War, leaving their young sons
orphaned in 1953. The mood of the book
is also somber due to the “fear” that seems pervasive and multi-layered: fear of
disease (small pox inoculation scene); fear of some mysterious “fog”; fear of
the atomic bomb; and fear of Communists; Millie’s fears of loneliness and of
her husband. Yes, in the end, there is even fear of the FBI and the American
government. The suspense builds and trust teeters as the time for the Rosenbergs'
execution approaches.
The Hours
Count received a starred review from Library Journal. For more information, Jillian Canto lists several books which she used in her research on the Rosenbergs, including titles written or edited by their sons: The Rosenberg Letters, An Execution in the Family and We are Your Sons.
