The Awkward Black Man: Stories

by Walter Mosley

Overview

A new collection of short fiction from the Edgar Award-winning author of Devil in a Blue Dress and Trouble is What I Do.

With his extraordinary fiction and gripping television writing, Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension. The Awkward Black Man collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to showcase the full range of his remarkable talent. Touching, contemplative, and always surprising, these stories introduce an array of imperfect characters—awkward, self-defeating, elf-involved, or just plain odd.

In The Awkward Black Man, Mosley overturns the stereotypes that corral black male characters and paints subtle, powerful portraits of unique individuals. In "The Good News Is," a man's insecurity about his weight gives way to illness and a loneliness so intense that he'd do anything for a little human comfort. "Pet Fly," previously published in the New Yorker, follows a man working as a mailroom clerk—a solitary job for which he is overqualified—and the unforeseen repercussions he endures when he attempts to forge a new connection. And "Almost Alyce" chronicles failed loves, family loss, alcoholism, and a Zen approach to the art of begging that proves surprisingly effective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802156860
Publisher:	Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/15/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Walter Mosley is the New York Times author of more than fifty novels in several series, most notably fourteen Easy Rawlins mysteries, several of which have been made into major motion pictures. In 2020 he was a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and from the National Book Foundation. In 2013, he was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame, and he is the winner of numerous awards, including an Edgar Award, O. Henry Award, the Mystery Writers of Americas Grand Master Award, PEN Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, a Grammy Award, and and several NAACP Image Awards. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages.
<DIV><B>Walter Mosley</B> is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. A Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, he has won numerous awards, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA's Lifetime Achievement Award, and several NAACP Image Awards. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages. His short fiction has appeared in a wide array of publications, including <I>The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, Los Angeles Times Magazine,</I> and <I>Playboy,</I> and his nonfiction has been published in <I>The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek,</I> and <I>The Nation</I>. He is the author of, most recently, <I>Down the River unto the Sea</I>. He lives in New York City.</DIV>

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

January 12, 1952

Place of Birth:

Los Angeles, California

Education:

B.A., Johnson State College

Website:

http://www.waltermosley.com

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Walter Mosley:

“When reviewing a book by Walter Mosley, it’s hard not to simply quote all the great lines. There are so many of them. You want to share the pleasures of Mosley’s jazz-inflected dialogue and the moody, descriptive passages reminiscent of Raymond Chandler at his best.”― Washington Post, on Down the River Unto the Sea

“A daring, beautifully wrought story that incorporates elements of allegory, meditative reflection and the lilt of lyric tragedy. ”― Los Angeles Times, on The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

“With Mosley, there’s always the surprise factor―a cutting image or a bracing line of dialogue.”― New York Times Book Review, on And Sometimes I Wonder About You

“Mosley’s invigorating, staccato prose and understanding of racial, moral and social subtleties are in full force.”― Seattle Times, on Known to Evil

“Mosley is the Gogol of the African-American working class―the chronicler par excellence of the tragic and the absurd.”― Vibe

“[Mosley] has a special talent for touching upon these sticky questions of evil and responsibility without getting stuck in them.”― New Yorker

From the Publisher