Black & White (Hardcover)

by Lewis Shiner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Set in Durham, N.C., Shiner's powerful and affecting sixth novel (after 1999's Say Goodbye) explores civil rights, race relations and progress in that city over the past half century. In 2004, 35-year-old Michael Cooper accompanies his father, Robert, who's dying of lung cancer, and his mother, Ruth, from Texas to Durham, to honor his father's wishes and to find out more about his father's past. Michael learns about Hayti, a well-to-do black neighborhood that was demolished to make way for an expressway, uncovers an old murder and finds himself point-man in a race to prevent a much greater tragedy. Shiner weaves Michael's, Robert's and Ruth's stories into a stunning tapestry that captures the hopes, dreams, greed, bigotry, ambitions and betrayals that shaped their destinies and those of our country. While the crime plot builds to a conventional resolution, Michael's poignant discovery of his parents' roots and the splendid depiction of Durham's changing social fabric more than compensate. (June)
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From Booklist
Set in Raleigh-Durham, Shiner’s sixth novel tracks the identity crisis of talented comics illustrator Michael Cooper. Michael has come back to North Carolina to attend his dying father, Roger. After years of feeling shut out by his family, Michael finally learns the reason why when his father confides the long and dramatic tale of his conflicted relationship with his wife and her racist family and his passionate liaison with a voodoo priestess who lived in the black section of Durham dubbed Hayti, a thriving, prosperous community that was decimated when Roger’s company constructed a highway right through its center. When Michael connects with new members of an old black power group, he learns some hard lessons not only about his own heritage but also about racial conflicts that have yet to be resolved. Shiner’s book never fully escapes the pitfalls of a political novel more invested in its message than its characters, yet it shines a light on a little-known and shameful part of America’s urban-renewal history and does so with palpable anger. --Joanne Wilkinson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean; 1st edition (May 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596061715
• ISBN-13: 978-1596061712
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #955,806 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shades of Gray..., July 26, 2008

By	Phyllis Rhodes (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read Lewis Shiner's Black & White with no prior knowledge of him or his previous work; the short blurb from Publisher's Weekly piqued my interest enough to warrant a purchase and I was not disappointed. It has all the elements of a great suspense and mystery novel filled with insightful observations on America's complicated views on society, identity, and race relations.

The novel opens in Durham with Michael, an introverted illustrator, attending his terminally ill father, Robert, who has chosen to return North Carolina in preparation of his death. Michael openly pleads with his father to address lifelong questions he has had regarding his conflicting birth date, and his mother's (Ruth) over-attentiveness towards his father, yet perfunctory relationship with him. When Robert decides to elicit a deathbed confession of sorts, it leads to the discovery of a body of a local, outspoken Civil Rights activist who disappeared amid controversy nearly 40 years ago. Michael soon finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation, which only ignites the curiosity of his father's clandestine past. The trail leads him down a slippery slope into the recesses of Hayti, Durham's historically African American community, once the most prosperous neighborhood in the South, envied by whites but devastated under the Urban Renewal initiatives of yesteryear. In a series of flashbacks, Shiner gives life and voice to a youthful Robert and Ruth. The reader follows Michael on a deep dark path to the truth steeped in danger. Michael learns of the mysterious magnetism of a seductive voodooienne and a host of suppressed family secrets amid the backdrop of America's racial and political pallet during the turbulent 1960s.

I learned quite a bit reading this page-turning novel, thus it entertained and educated and that makes it a winner for me. I kept turning pages, making notes in the margins to follow the mystery, and googled to find out more about events and locations mentioned therein. A great book that has made my 2008 favorites list - one that is recommended to historical fiction and/or mystery/suspense fans.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
July 25, 2008

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literary thriller, social realism at its finest!, June 18, 2008

By	Laurie Vadeboncoeur (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whoo! Good stuff, this! Social realism, multigenerational thriller, murder mystery; whatever name you give it, it's a tale of past and present, of race, and of a man's search into his origins, all spiced with murder and a touch of voodoo.

It travels between the 1960s and 2000s through the family of Michael Cooper. 35-year-old comics illustrator Michael has come to North Carolina with his father Robert and mother Ruth to respect Robert's dying wishes that he spend his last few weeks back in Durham.

Michael is looking for answers, for a connection with his parents before it's too late. They've always seemed odd to him, and he's never felt like he belongs in his own family. As his father has only days left to live, Michael is desperate to find out the truth about his past. He can't even find a record of his birth.

Michael's past is slowly and elegantly revealed through lengthy flashbacks from his father's and mother's lives, and as he learns more about himself he gets embroiled in a very heavy present, complete with mystery family members, more race riots, and big reveals.

I was mesmerized by this book. Shiner is a master of detail and completely captures the flavor of both decades he's writing about. Political, timely, fascinating -- I can't recommend it strongly enough!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAN YOU SAY "SCREENPLAY!!!!!!!!!!!", August 16, 2008

By	Jonathan T. Densford "J2D2" (MEMPHIS) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This would be a great movie, and it is a super read. Interesting characters and fast-paced plot. Learned a lot about Voodoo, Black history, jazz & highway construction too. Fine writing style - accessible and thought-provoking - stunned that it is not on a best seller list.