Customer Reviews

47th Street Black

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

47th street is alive in this novel. Ojikutu captures the language and the culture and presents it in rich prose.

As a Chicago South-Sider, I found the story of Mookie and J.C. to be very realistic. As a reader, I felt the anxiety, the fear, the ambition, the disappointment, and even the thrill that these two experience as they come of age in the steet game and eventually become two of its major players.

This is much more than a story of urban hustlers, it is the story of men stuggling to first find their manhood and eventually striving to become "the man". The story is intelligently told, vivid, and engrossing.

While reading this book I kept thinking I know J.C. and Mookie the names are diffrent but the they are the same guys I know in this day and time from around the way.

While reading this book I grew up with J.C. and Mookie, meaning that I felt it when they were kids, and then they became teenagers, and then men. I was with J.C. while he did his bid in prison, I was Mora hanging with Mookie all those years.

The scene in Prison was rough and real I cried for J.C. There were some serious comments about God and Jesus,(I didn't think anybody else thought like that)

I also was reminded of Sheakspere's Othello, because of all the manipulation going. I hated how we were/are made to do each other in, and the cycle continues.

I didn't give the brother five stars only because some parts were kind of hard to follow however, this is the brother's first effort and it was worthy.

'47th Street Black' is a first novel for Mr. Ojikutu. He picks an interesting and difficult topic: life in the streets. Mr. Ojikutu makes political statements and observations about life in the United States through main characters Mookie and J.C.

Mookie is an exception to the rule of the projects, his parents are still together and a relative is not raising him. However, his father is just going through the motions of living without really living. Mookie has the potential to fulfill the dreams of his father, when life as a black man in the USA destroys those dreams, and Mookie turns to the other option available in his neighborhood.

J.C. is Mookie's best friend. He almost has this love/hate relationship with Mookie where he resents and admires his talents. It seems that J.C. is always living in Mookie's shadow.

The premise of 47th Street back is worthy of a book. Mr. Ojikutu intersperses the history of the 1960's through out the plot. It seems to me that the story could have been shorter and there were times that it was difficult to keep reading; the story-line did not hold my attention after a certain point. Also, sometimes the dialect makes it hard to follow. Perhaps this would be a more interesting read for men and/or women who enjoy reading about murder, drugs, chauvinism and the mafia. It is an admirable first novel, but I don't know that I would read this author again.

Leanna
R.E.A.L. Reviewers

When I read the plot of this story, I bought it instantly. As I started the story, it was humorous and entertaining while being honest. I was interested in the characters and why they got into the lifestyle that they got into. For the first time, I wasn't aggravated by an author from my hometown who talked about the settings (preferably because he spoke of them from an older period so I couldn't say "I already knew that").
But when one of them went to jail, the story got a little mundane. I have heard time & time again what happens in jail and it was just like "Okay and?" Then when he got out of jail, then the story just grew boring. The author is great at setting the tone and organization of the plot. But one thing that really took me out of the story was the fact that he waited SO LONG into the book to start describing J.C.'s physical traits. The dry lips & wet eyes are important to know at the beginning. It gives me a mental picture of the characters and I can begin to judge how they will be through the story. The way the characters were described so much later in the story sounded more like an afterthought.
As for the plot, started off great and then it just sounded like something I've read (or seen) so many times before. I tried hard but I was not impressed. I'm sorry.

This is a very well written and intense story of two boys who grew up in Chicago in the early 60's in rough neighborhoods and the journey they had from childhood to adulthood. One of my fav's.

by the imagery and the pain conveyed. You feel the hopelessness of the folks on 47th Street and, even though he probably shouldn't be the one I was rooting for, I was on JC's side from the beginning. Rough around the edges and stubborn, JC is like many people I know. I was sorry I read it so quick!

I was blown away by Ojikutu's gritty, urban novel. This book is definitely not for the timid and prudish. He tells a fascinating tale of inner-city gangster life set on the South side of Chicago. Ojikutu does such a fine job developing thoughtful, three- dimensional characters that seem to jump right off the page. Being a Chicagoan, I feel compelled to drive down to 47th Street in search of Ojikutu's mystical character, Black. I can not wait until this book gets picked up by a major movie studio; this has Hollywood blockbuster hit written all over it! I just hope that Robert DeNiro and Mekhi Pfifer will be available!