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jaspercat's review against another edition
4.0
Socrates Fortlow is a fascinating character and one worth reading about
alisa4books's review against another edition
Interesting collection of short stories about Socrates Fortlow. Not one of my favorite Mosley characters, but enjoyable none-the-less.
maria_3k's review
5.0
I read this book about ten years ago, and I think of it at least once a month. There is a real richness in the character painted, but what springs to mind most often is his lack of stuff. One folding chair, one of a few other things, and that's it. Sometimes I look at my cluttered life and envy that aspect of his fresh start, though not the others. Nevertheless, I wonder if having all his possessions and his whole life torn away from him gives him part of his strength--he is a man with nothing to lose, but in some ways, a clean slate.
jakewritesbooks's review
4.0
This book continues what I believe to be Walter Mosley’s best work: these series of small, wrenching looks into the life of Socrates Fortlow, an ex-con trying to make a new life for himself in Watts, Los Angeles. He lives with the mentality of one who is permanently imprisoned. Every step is a hazard, every chance encounter a threat. His actions are extremely measured and guarded.
This was written when Mosley’s talent and ambition were at the pinnacle of their eclipse and we are all the better for it. I don’t say this with any sense of hyperbole: I don’t think I’ve read a character more fully realized than Socrates Fortlow. Mosley knows exactly who he is, what his environment is, and how he wants to tell his story. Everything from simple moves to non sequiturs makes Socrates feel like a real person, thus injecting new life into what would otherwise be a series of small stakes tales.
In this particular collection, Mosley does something I found daring but it pays off: he allows Socrates to go. Whereas his character was pretty static in the first book, here he tries new things, gets new opportunities. The hesitancy is still there but Mosley trusts the reader to go along with Socrates and he pulls it off. It adds texture to an already nuanced journey.
This one falls a hair short of the greatness of the first book. It’s got some redundancy; some of the stories didn’t catch me like the entirety of the first collection did. But those are minor gripes. This is an excellent book in an excellent series that will probably be on my Best Of list by the end of the year.
This was written when Mosley’s talent and ambition were at the pinnacle of their eclipse and we are all the better for it. I don’t say this with any sense of hyperbole: I don’t think I’ve read a character more fully realized than Socrates Fortlow. Mosley knows exactly who he is, what his environment is, and how he wants to tell his story. Everything from simple moves to non sequiturs makes Socrates feel like a real person, thus injecting new life into what would otherwise be a series of small stakes tales.
In this particular collection, Mosley does something I found daring but it pays off: he allows Socrates to go. Whereas his character was pretty static in the first book, here he tries new things, gets new opportunities. The hesitancy is still there but Mosley trusts the reader to go along with Socrates and he pulls it off. It adds texture to an already nuanced journey.
This one falls a hair short of the greatness of the first book. It’s got some redundancy; some of the stories didn’t catch me like the entirety of the first collection did. But those are minor gripes. This is an excellent book in an excellent series that will probably be on my Best Of list by the end of the year.
papaya6's review
4.0
A complicated book and main character, but a good read. Right and wrong is not always black and white, and Walter Mosley digs deep into the gray area.
bdplume's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I love his two mystery series but this one is even more eye-opening than most of those volumes. I think it speaks more loudly because it is set in very recent times.
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