
Barlowe, a single African-American in his 40s, shares a ramshackle house with his 20-something nephew in the old Fourth Ward of downtown Atlanta, a neighborhood known as the center of the civil-rights movement and the former home of Martin Luther King, Jr. Barlowe works as a printer and passes the time reading books from the neighborhood library and hanging out with other local black men at the corner store.
When Sean and Sandy, a white married couple from Philadelphia, buy and renovate the house next door in anticipation of a neighborhood "turnaround", everyone tries at first to go about their daily business. But fear and suspicion begin to build as more and more new whites move in and make changes, and once familiar people and places disappear.
©2007 Nathan McCall; (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.
"[A] trenchant, slyly humorous debut novel....Masterfully orchestrated and deeply disturbing illustrations of the depth of the racial divide play out....McCall nails [the] details again and again, and the results, if less than hopeful, are poignant and grimly funny." (Publishers Weekly)
Mirron Willis relates this sensitive and often disturbing story of a white couple taking up residence in the largely black neighborhood of Atlanta's Fourth Ward. The story varies in its tone and could have been a challenge for even the most experienced narrator. However, Willis is a narrator who not only assumes the identity of the story's central character but also skillfully steps back into impartiality with the story's omniscient narrator. Willis's theatrical experience as a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is apparent from his deep and inspired reading, though he never allows it to sound over the top or forced. The result is a perfect combination for a memorable listening experience. (c) AudioFile 2008
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