3-4: The Man In My Basement and Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley

[puritybrown.livejournal.com]

3: The Man In My Basement by Walter Mosley
4: Fortunate Son by Walter Mosley

Two gripping and remarkable novels by an author frequently recced on this comm; having read these two, I can see why. They're both quasi-allegorical, but at the same time they work as straightforward realistic fiction. The Man In My Basement is, on one level, about a drifting, unemployed young black man who is approached by a rich and ruthless white man who wants to be locked up in his basement for three months; and on another level, it's about power and responsibility and guilt and the ways in which our hands get dirtied just by living in an unjust world. Fortunate Son is, on one level, about two boys, one black and sickly and poor, one white and strong and rich, who are raised as brothers for the first few years of their lives and then separated; and on another level it's about what "fortune" means -- what is it that life is really for? They're both really meaty novels -- full of ideas to get your teeth into, and a multitude of fascinating characters. Mosley's detached third-person narration is in a style that I hadn't thought I would like, and it took a little getting used to, but it's what works for what he's doing.

Excellent stuff. I'm glad he's written so much; more to enjoy!

Comments

[b-writes.livejournal.com]

I read The Man in My Basement before I started doing the challenge, and I'm still turning it over in my mind. It sticks with you.