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Fear of the Dark by Walter Mosley |
It’s the third in the Fearless
Jones line of mysteries, one of Mosley’s many [Insert main character here] novels
series. Seems like he’s got a ton of
those things. I’ve read three of his
novels this year, and I still haven’t read two from the same series. The Fearless Jones novels are different in
their narrative style, though. Like most
of Mosley’s work, it’s told in first person; however, in this case the narrator
isn’t the titular character. The
narrator is Paris Minton, a short, skinny black man who owns a used bookshop in
the Watts neighborhood of L.A.
during the 1950s. He’s also scared of
his own shadow. Paris ’ friend Fearless Jones is his exact foil. Fearless is tall, strong, stalwart, and
handsome. He’s universally respected by
the black community, loved by women of all kinds, and—true to his name—utterly
fearless. It would be a rather Holmesian
narrative structure, except for the fact that in this case Dr. Watson is the
protagonist of the story. It’s an
interesting concept, though—naming a series after a supporting character. It takes a certain kind of balls to do that
in today’s publishing world.
Anyhow, the book begins as Paris ’ troublesome cousin
Ulysses S. Grant IV (a.k.a., “Useless”) drops by his bookshop for a visit. The last time Useless dropped in for a social
call, he stashed a bag of stolen jewelry in the tank of Paris ’ toilet. Paris managed to find the goods and dispose
of them just before the cops arrived to search the place, but he still learned a
valuable lesson—that is, don’t trust Useless farther than you can throw
him. That’s why he tells his cousin to
get lost and goes back to reading his books.
Minutes later, the white girl Paris has been messing with—a bag of rabid
weasels named Jessa—swings by for a roll in the hay. She’s all hot and bothered ‘cos Paris has a big honking
wang (it even says that in the book) and she needs money for the rent. Their exchange of services is interrupted by
Jessa’s white boyfriend who busts through the door of his shop and goes after Paris . Being the craven soul that he is, Paris bolts, dashing out
a window, through his back yard, and onto the street. He barely manages to escape and goes to find
Fearless for help in reclaiming his store—you know, ‘cos Jessa’s boyfriend
might still be waiting for him and all. When
he and Fearless return, they find the boyfriend’s body lying in the foyer with
a couple of neat holes in his forehead. Paris wants to run for
the hills, but Fearless calms him down and helps him dispose of the body.
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Walter Mosley |
Anyway, back to the
plot. The next day Paris is surprised by yet another visitor at
his store. This time it’s his Auntie
Three-Hearts, just off a bus all the way from Louisiana and looking for her son
Useless. Unable to say no to the woman
who practically raised him (and who is purported to possess an “evil eye” no
man can cross and live), Paris
agrees to help her look for her son.
Along the way he enlists the help of Fearless, a bail bondsman named Milo , and a private detective named Whisper. What ensues is an odyssey in its own right, a
days-long trek through the dregs of L.A.
society, through beatings and murder and blackmail, all to find his worthless
cousin. It quickly becomes obvious that
Useless has gotten himself into some extra-serious trouble this time, and Paris has to overcome his
own foibles to yank his cousin out of the fire.
I won’t go into what happens
after that (wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, now would we?), but there is
one thing I’d like to touch on. Throughout
the novel, Mosley peppers the plot with little details and incidences depicting
the racial atmosphere in 1950s Los
Angeles . Someone
with an axe to grind might say the racial bent of some of the scenes is off
putting, or that Mosley concentrates overly much on race. But I would say such a person is full of crap. To write a novel from the Black perspective
in the 1950s and ignore racial issues is like writing a physics textbook
without including the concept of gravity.
Part of the power and authenticity of the novel is that it deals with
those uncomfortable issues, and I applaud Mosley for not softballing certain
things to make the novel more palatable to the general public. Plus, it’s not as if the novel downs on white
folks the whole time. There are multiple
instances in which kindness passes between characters of varying race, almost as
if to foreshadow the events of the years to come.
But again, I digress. Let’s carry on, shall we?
Mosley’s books are a litany
of characters and personalities. It
seems as though every scene introduces a new player who is simultaneously larger
than life and tangibly real. But just as
important as the characters are their relationships to the community, a web of
interpersonal relationships that plays heavily into the plot and resolution of
nearly every one of Mosley’s books. His
setting and diction are excellent as well, and even though one might argue that
the plot of the story has been done before (just not with characters living in Watts ), it doesn’t bother me. The strongest point of his work, however, has
to be his voice. The tone—both in
dialogue and general narration—has a style and power unique to Mosley’s work. Part of it is African American twist on the
whole Noir experience, but that’s not all of it. Merely putting a new spin on an old concept
can’t make a work phenomenal. There has
to be more too it than that, and Fear of
the Dark has it. Mosley’s writing is
a marriage of the sublime and the vulgar that makes me slack-jawed with awe.
Given all of that, I would be
remiss in giving Fear of the Dark
anything less than five stars. Mosley is
a modern master of the Crime and neo-Noir genres. If you haven’t read anything by him, you need
to get on that, and damn quick.
I've seen this guy's books all over, but I've never read one. I will definitely have to check him out soon. Which one do you recommend I start with?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I'm hosting a giveaway for H. Terrell Griffin's Bitter Legacy. I know you have entered in the giveaways for his other novels, so I thought you might be interested in this one as well. If it counts for anything, I've read the series (out of order) and this is my favorite one by far.
-Ethan
http://e135-abookaweek.blogspot.com/
Starting at the begining is always nice. I actually just finished Mosley's first novel, Devil in a a Blue Dress, but you can pick up any of his books and enjoy them as stand-alone stories. The first book of his I read was published this year, and he's been publising books since 1990. So yeah, reading them chronologically is not required to enjoy them.
DeleteAs for your giveaway--I'll be there just as soon as my little fingers can carry me over the interwebs.
you know I can't see the title of that book without singing Iron Maiden, right? Think that was deliberate? ha! Anyway, I might have to check out this series. I wasn't that caught up in the Rawlins books...I think I only read the first one. I did read a stand-alone that I loved...The Man in the Basement or something like that. Quite good and very different from his usual books.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I had the exact same thought when I read the title. As for Mosley's first Easy Rawlins book, I actually just finished reading it--funny coincidence, huh? Anyway, I agree with you that it isn't his best. I still enjoyed it, mind you, but he's definitely improved over the years. I mean, who wouldn't over a 20+ year writing career?
DeleteJonathan- I knew nothing about Walter Mosley, but you have definitely piqued my interest! Especially since we tend to feel so similarly about the likes of Ken Bruens...
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Each person is going to have different opinions, but I encourage you to give him a try and see if he fits your fancy. You read wicked-fast anyway, so I'm sure you'll blow through it in, like, 2 hours flat.
DeleteI'll have to add something from him to my reading list!
ReplyDeleteWhatever you pick, you can't go wrong, Trev. Thanks for swinging by.
DeleteNever heard of this guy. I'm going to have to check his stuff out.
ReplyDeleteI'd offer to lend you one of my books, but... I don't think the shipping in to Taiwan would be very budget-friendly. Ebooks then?
Deleteshijun 6.4
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