James Hannaham

A challenging, irreverent book. It switches tense in a way that was a little challenging in the audio format, but I got the rhythm of it. Might make a better read than a listen. The central "why'd you go to prison" mystery that is stretched over the narrative was less interesting to me than the "what happened there" which is also spread out but ultimately less explored.

Blatantly lifting this review from a comment I wrote to a Goodreads friend who asked how I was enjoying it. :P Somewhat absurd in its plotting, very stream of consciousness, but with real heart underneath and the MC's voice is extremely well-developed and believable. Funny, too!

The novel is told by a religious, overweight African American young man, dealing with his homosexuality. His journey takes us through his teenage marriage, parenting, and how he leads a double life to control his gayness, including a form of gay conversion therapy. Well written although the characters and story feel superficial.

Another book with a great hook-Right off the bat we meet Eddie, a young African American who has been terribly injured resulting in the loss of both his hands. The novel backtracks as to how this happened along with a first person narrative of an invisible drug dealer that ruins the life of Eddie's mother Darlene. The resolution is beautifully developed but the journey getting there is way too long. An editor should have had the author trim a good junk of the book.