Walter Mosley's Leonid McGill mystery novel is a fast-paced thriller guaranteed to entertain. Action, eros, suspense, and likable usual characters who populate Leonid McGill's adventures pop up here to great effect. There are even references to Black Lives Matter and the killing of Eric Garner. Nonetheless, like the entertaining Rose Gold, I am not sure the plot here was as successful. The recurring theme or organizing structure in this work appears to function in triads along the following lines: generational, romantic, and criminal cases. There are three main criminals, and the most menacing of all is the least convincing and barely a part of the narrative. The three women Leonid involves himself with represent distinct paths: Marella as lust, Aura as love, and Katrina, his wife, as stability. There are three generational dynamics: Leonid's father is trying to become a part of his son's life, Leonid is trying to keep an eye on his favorite son, Twill, and Leonid's father becomes a grandfatherly figure interacting positively with the family. This is fine and dandy, but the plot suffers from not developing what could have potentially become the most interesting villain, Jones. In spite of these quibbles, the novel is a fun read as one comes to expect from Mosley.
Showing posts with label Walter Mosley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walter Mosley. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Rose Gold
Walter Mosley's Rose Gold received an astonishingly accurate review in the Los Angeles Times. It's satisfactory, draws the reader into LA's various social classes and geography, and is always entertaining and keeps one on one's toes. That said, the novel was uneven and not as well-written or interesting as the earlier Easy Rawlins novels. Despite naming the novel after the missing Patty Hearst-like character behind Easy's case, Rosemary remains largely unknown and we barely hear her in her own voice. The same could be said about the radical group that "abducted" Rosemary, who are not anywhere near interesting like previous cases Rawlins took involving radicals (A Red Death). In addition, this novel could have cut maybe 20 or 30 pages by removing some probably superfluous sub-plots or minor cases Easy takes on the side. If it is unclear what I am alluding to, I am referring specifically to the Percy Bidwell problem and the issue regarding a white mother and her black baby, but at least the latter was relevant to the central case in a small way. Nevertheless, Mosley is a master of the trade and never fails to write addictive entertainment and interesting social commentary.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Walter Mosley's A Red Death
"One day they gonna th'ow that list out, man. They gonna need some movie star or some new bomb an' they gonna th'ow that list away. Mosta these guys gonna have work again," he said, then he winked at me. "But you still gonna be a black niggah, Easy. An' niggah ain't got no union he could count on, an' niggah ain't got no politician gonna work fo' him. All he got is a do'step t'shit in and a black hand t'wipe his black ass."
Walter Mosley's Red Death, the second installment in the Easy Rawlins mystery series, is a fun read. Unlike Devil in a Blue Dress, which was a tragic mulatto story written in the frame of a detective novel, Red Death is about the McCarthy era's Red Scare. The "sly Jew" communist, Chaim Wenzler, is suspected by the FBI to possess important documents that he may share with the Russians, and agent Craxton needs a Negro to infiltrate Wenzler's charities with First African Baptist Church in Watts. Throughout the novel, the reader is taken on a journey around 1950s Los Angeles, with an emphasis on the black community of which Ezekiel Rawlins was always part of for his detective work. Interestingly, in the context of anti-communist hysteria sweeping the nation, and the blacklisting of suspected communists and left-wing sympathizers, Mosley leaves out the story of blacklisted black actors and celebrities such as Harry Belafonte, Hazel Scott (Trinidadian sista who married Adam Clayton Powell!), or Ossie Davis.
Nevertheless, the novel is interesting for reflecting Mosley's own life. Easy Rawlins, the black, self-raised Texas Negro, is set up to get a steady job working for the Los Angeles public school system, which both of Mosley's parents did. Moreover, the Jewish communist, Wenzler, and him and his daughter's close relationship with Rawlins was likely inspired by Mosley's mother, a New York Jew with leftist affiliations. Indeed, part of the close friendship that develops between Chaim Wenzler and Easy Rawlins lies in their solidarity against racism, and their experiences in World War II Europe liberating death camps and all that good stuff. At the end of the day, Rawlins, out of a fear of the IRS imprisoning him for tax evasion, essentially sells himself as a spy for the FBI, losing nearly everything he gained at the end.
Ima read the next Easy Rawlins mystery and write a more detailed review that doesn't reveal too much of the plot. I patiently await the next opportunity to avoid doing schoolwork in order to complete another Mosley novel. I also appreciated the Africa Migration group, an obvious reference to Marcus Garvey, Pan-Africanism, and black nationalism.
Walter Mosley's Red Death, the second installment in the Easy Rawlins mystery series, is a fun read. Unlike Devil in a Blue Dress, which was a tragic mulatto story written in the frame of a detective novel, Red Death is about the McCarthy era's Red Scare. The "sly Jew" communist, Chaim Wenzler, is suspected by the FBI to possess important documents that he may share with the Russians, and agent Craxton needs a Negro to infiltrate Wenzler's charities with First African Baptist Church in Watts. Throughout the novel, the reader is taken on a journey around 1950s Los Angeles, with an emphasis on the black community of which Ezekiel Rawlins was always part of for his detective work. Interestingly, in the context of anti-communist hysteria sweeping the nation, and the blacklisting of suspected communists and left-wing sympathizers, Mosley leaves out the story of blacklisted black actors and celebrities such as Harry Belafonte, Hazel Scott (Trinidadian sista who married Adam Clayton Powell!), or Ossie Davis.
Nevertheless, the novel is interesting for reflecting Mosley's own life. Easy Rawlins, the black, self-raised Texas Negro, is set up to get a steady job working for the Los Angeles public school system, which both of Mosley's parents did. Moreover, the Jewish communist, Wenzler, and him and his daughter's close relationship with Rawlins was likely inspired by Mosley's mother, a New York Jew with leftist affiliations. Indeed, part of the close friendship that develops between Chaim Wenzler and Easy Rawlins lies in their solidarity against racism, and their experiences in World War II Europe liberating death camps and all that good stuff. At the end of the day, Rawlins, out of a fear of the IRS imprisoning him for tax evasion, essentially sells himself as a spy for the FBI, losing nearly everything he gained at the end.
Ima read the next Easy Rawlins mystery and write a more detailed review that doesn't reveal too much of the plot. I patiently await the next opportunity to avoid doing schoolwork in order to complete another Mosley novel. I also appreciated the Africa Migration group, an obvious reference to Marcus Garvey, Pan-Africanism, and black nationalism.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Author Walter Mosley on Writing Mystery Novels, Political Revelation, Racism and Pushing Obama
Author Walter Mosley on Writing Mystery Novels, Political Revelation, Racism and Pushing Obama
Walter Mosley discusses race, society, literature, and politics. He also reveals some obvious truths I should have ascertained already about his life. For example, Easy Rawlins, Mosley's first detective character, represents his father's generation as a black man from the Deep South moving to the North or West (in this case, Los Angeles). Moreover, Mosley is biracial, half white (Jewish mother) and half black! I had never picked up on that in his novels that I have read (Devil in a Blue Dress, A Long Fall, Known to Evil). His detective fiction is some of the best with black protagonists that I have read, surpassing Chester Himes and Rudolph Fisher, author of the A Conjure Man Dies, the first black detective story.
In this interview, Mosley discusses how everyone is mixed-race in America, but nobody talks about it since people continue to define race based on external physical features rather than the long history of racial miscegenation that reveals how more people than one is willing to admit have mixed heritage. Mosley also discusses his own problems with capitalism, alcoholism in his past (that theme does appear in his mystery novels), dishonesty in politics and the War on Terror and his own father's background. His father, from southern Louisiana, essentially raised himself from an early age and served in World War II. His father did not want to go to war, because his father never thought of himself as American in this conflict between Germans and the United States. The very idea of seeing himself as "American" only came from being shot at by Germans while fighting in a segregated unit. In addition, Easy Rawlins, working as a janitor at a school in Los Angeles, was inspired by his own father's experiences as a janitor in LA.
1950s Los Angeles, from a racial point of view, was only colored (black and Latino) and whites. Interracial solidarity among non-whites seemed to have been stronger, according to Mosley from his own experiences. Working-class people of color were thrown together due to the jobs available then. Moreover, Mosley's experiences during the Watts Riots in 1965 are also interesting, since his own father wanted to join in the destruction, but couldn't because he knew it was morally wrong. Mosley also discusses how the urban riots that exploded across black communities in the 1960s represented a shift in the mainstream civil rights movement due to black anger.
The origins of Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, featuring Socrates, a natural black philosopher lacking formal education, began with assertions Mosley faced from whites about blacks not being intelligent. I read portions of Always Outnumbered for an American literature course sophomore year in high school, but foolishly did not complete the novel.
His reasoning for choosing mystery novels as his vehicle for self-expression also reveals how insane capitalist distribution of literature is. His first novel, featuring Mouse and Easy Rawlins, was not published because the companies said white folks don't read about blacks, black women don't like black men, and black men don't read! Then Mosley wrote another story with Easy and Mouse, Devil in a Blue Dress, which became a huge success after publication. So Mosley decided to keep writing mystery novels because of their universality, which means that the publishing companies will support him. As Mosley concludes, we live in an oligarchy ruled by corporations because folks aren't pushing. Y'all gotta keep on pushing to get what you want out of this country.
It also becomes obvious why Mosley's newest sleuth, Leonid McGill, had a Communist father. His mother was a communist from New York, which definitely influenced Mosley's own feelings about capitalism and politics.
Great quote from Devil in a Blue Dress: "Nigger can't pull his way out of the swamp wit'out no help, Easy. You wanna hold on to his house and get some money and have some white girls callin' on the phone? Alright. That's alright. But Easy, you gotta have somebody at yo' back, man. That's just a lie them white men give 'bout makin' it they own. They always got they backs covered."
Walter Mosley discusses race, society, literature, and politics. He also reveals some obvious truths I should have ascertained already about his life. For example, Easy Rawlins, Mosley's first detective character, represents his father's generation as a black man from the Deep South moving to the North or West (in this case, Los Angeles). Moreover, Mosley is biracial, half white (Jewish mother) and half black! I had never picked up on that in his novels that I have read (Devil in a Blue Dress, A Long Fall, Known to Evil). His detective fiction is some of the best with black protagonists that I have read, surpassing Chester Himes and Rudolph Fisher, author of the A Conjure Man Dies, the first black detective story.
In this interview, Mosley discusses how everyone is mixed-race in America, but nobody talks about it since people continue to define race based on external physical features rather than the long history of racial miscegenation that reveals how more people than one is willing to admit have mixed heritage. Mosley also discusses his own problems with capitalism, alcoholism in his past (that theme does appear in his mystery novels), dishonesty in politics and the War on Terror and his own father's background. His father, from southern Louisiana, essentially raised himself from an early age and served in World War II. His father did not want to go to war, because his father never thought of himself as American in this conflict between Germans and the United States. The very idea of seeing himself as "American" only came from being shot at by Germans while fighting in a segregated unit. In addition, Easy Rawlins, working as a janitor at a school in Los Angeles, was inspired by his own father's experiences as a janitor in LA.
1950s Los Angeles, from a racial point of view, was only colored (black and Latino) and whites. Interracial solidarity among non-whites seemed to have been stronger, according to Mosley from his own experiences. Working-class people of color were thrown together due to the jobs available then. Moreover, Mosley's experiences during the Watts Riots in 1965 are also interesting, since his own father wanted to join in the destruction, but couldn't because he knew it was morally wrong. Mosley also discusses how the urban riots that exploded across black communities in the 1960s represented a shift in the mainstream civil rights movement due to black anger.
The origins of Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, featuring Socrates, a natural black philosopher lacking formal education, began with assertions Mosley faced from whites about blacks not being intelligent. I read portions of Always Outnumbered for an American literature course sophomore year in high school, but foolishly did not complete the novel.
His reasoning for choosing mystery novels as his vehicle for self-expression also reveals how insane capitalist distribution of literature is. His first novel, featuring Mouse and Easy Rawlins, was not published because the companies said white folks don't read about blacks, black women don't like black men, and black men don't read! Then Mosley wrote another story with Easy and Mouse, Devil in a Blue Dress, which became a huge success after publication. So Mosley decided to keep writing mystery novels because of their universality, which means that the publishing companies will support him. As Mosley concludes, we live in an oligarchy ruled by corporations because folks aren't pushing. Y'all gotta keep on pushing to get what you want out of this country.
It also becomes obvious why Mosley's newest sleuth, Leonid McGill, had a Communist father. His mother was a communist from New York, which definitely influenced Mosley's own feelings about capitalism and politics.
Great quote from Devil in a Blue Dress: "Nigger can't pull his way out of the swamp wit'out no help, Easy. You wanna hold on to his house and get some money and have some white girls callin' on the phone? Alright. That's alright. But Easy, you gotta have somebody at yo' back, man. That's just a lie them white men give 'bout makin' it they own. They always got they backs covered."
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Walter Mosley
A great African-American writer I need to do some more reading of is Walter Mosley, probably best known for his Easy Rawlins detective series. En route to New York City in the summer, I read his first Leonid McGill mystery on the airplane, and I loved every minute. The Long Fall is a great crime fiction read, featuring a black detective and a multiracial New York that reflects the city's actual ethnic diversity. Most white detective or crime fiction overlooks or ignores race, otherwise it often perpetuates racist stereotypes or features an unrealistic setting of solely white folks. I liked The Long Fall so much that I am going to reread it in the near future and pick up some of Walter Mosley's other novels. In addition, there is a lot of humor in the novel, especially with the older white man who refers to McGill as a "Moor," and the interesting sidestories and background of McGill make it worthwhile read.
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