First published 2005
Carlos Stubbs sits in paradise, tormented by barking dogs and his own inaction. He holds a degree he ignores and keeps his distance from a woman who wants his love. Time slips away as he weighs whether to waste away or fight for something better. Meanwhile, a Black college professor faces his dying uncle Ize, who carries memories of lynchings and Southern brutality. The professor makes a dangerous choice when he stops for a mysterious white woman with blonde hair twisting into dreadlocks. In another story, a Kansas City jazz group travels to Denver chasing their big break, but the gig becomes a lesson in how America's racial divisions shape dreams. Evvie, a free spirit, abandons her sweet sexual relationship when her small Southern town feels too confining. She drives west and north, leaving her lover behind. These ten stories move between desire and fear, examining how people choose between safety and risk, between staying and leaving.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, african-american, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, social-commentary
Setting: Staunton, Southern, Denver, Kansas City
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
224 pages · Hardcover · Amistad
Content warnings: racism, violence