First published 1995
Cudjoe has been living in self-imposed exile on a Greek island when news reaches him of a catastrophic bombing in west Philadelphia. The attack on 6221 Osage Avenue kills eleven people, including five children. Only one small boy escapes the flames alive. The image of this surviving child consumes Cudjoe's thoughts until he can no longer stay away. He abandons his island retreat and returns to his homeland to search for the boy. Back in Philadelphia, Cudjoe confronts the city of his past, now transformed into something nightmarish. His quest for the escaped child becomes intertwined with his own reckoning. As he moves through the urban landscape, memories surface that force him to examine both his personal history and his connection to his community. The search pulls him deeper into the harsh realities he once fled.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, contemporary, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, search-for-identity
Setting: Greece, Philadelphia
Period: 20th-century
Paperback · Picador