in 1984, ferro told the "cranford chronicle" that the town in his novel "the family of max desir" was a fictionalized version of his hometown, cranford, new jersey. the novel's "indian river" is meant to be the rahway river and acts as "the heart of the town and the center of [the main character's] imagination." "indian park," host to a revived victorian water carnival in "desir," is a fictionalized version of the real-life nomahegan park on the rahway river.