I loved this novel by James McBride. It's set in a Brooklyn housing project in the 1960s, when heroin is beginning to be widely available, creating tensions between generations and criminal gangs. An elderly man, nicknamed Sportcoat, shoots a young dealer in front of many witnesses; later, he claims he doesn't remember doing it. This sets in motion a series of events that changes the course of the young man's life. There are many characters who add depth and color to the story, including a Genoan smuggler, mafia drug dealers, rising Black dealers, a bunch of church ladies, and a cop nearing retirement, who just has to make it through the next few months. The writing is excellent, the plot is engaging, and the characters are interesting. All that being said, I didn't care for the style of the first two short chapters, but if you can get past that, the rest of the book is very good.
No comments:
Post a Comment