Customer Reviews

Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones

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I'd been hearing that Moses Millers' writing style represented a change from predictable, boring and humdrum, to exciting, suspenseful and memorable. I hesitated somewhat, but here I am admitting, ` Nan : The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones' is intensely suspenseful and a read that readers will definitely enjoy.

Nathan Jones, an orphan, is being hunted by the people who corrupted his childhood. We're granted full access from the past to present as we're following each detail to see what and how Nan will do as he deals with the consequences. The story flows perfectly, with great characters and a powerful storyline that immediately engulfs you. I can't wait to read ` Nan : The Game of Trife.'

Nathan "Nan" Jones and Joseph Hayes were introduced to each other at Saint Mary's Refuge Orphanage where they were both taken when they lost their parents. Ironically they both lost their parents the same night at the hands of the same man. This strategic introduction between the boys formed a bond that Officer Mark Carson planned. Their bond was strengthened and eternally tied through a blood oath.

Officer Carson was one of the policemen on duty that night and witnessed the melee that took the boys parents and stepped in to become a mentor and a father figure to them. Buying them gifts, spending time with them and teaching them to defend themselves training with Master Thaddeus, a Rastafarian who was trained in more than one martial art, became a necessity.

Author Miller takes readers through this story in a flashback manner, filling in gaps to show who Nan is, the troubles he confronted since the death of his parents, and how he learned to handle himself. As the story unfolds, we get to see how he meets his girlfriend, LaToya, his relationship with his best friend and blood brother, Joseph, and where and how Officer Mark Carson stepped into his life and the betrayal that finally manifests itself.

This is a beautifully written story with very vivid accounts of the events that unfold. I found myself cheering for Nan as he cleared each hurdle and for the man he became because of all he experienced. The only thing that bothered me was the ending - it stopped abruptly. I am looking forward to the sequel in order to find out what will happen to Nan and how he will tie up the loose ends of his life.


Review by Sharel E. Gordon-Love
Apooo BookClub

Nathan "Nan" Jones and Joseph "Joe" Hayes are both orphans living at a boys home in New York. Both were taken from their parents the same night by the same dope fiend. The boys had no one to turn to except each other so from that night forward they became brothers.

A police officer, Mark Carson, who is the same police officer that was on the scene of the boys' parents' murders becomes a father figure and friend to the boys. As time progress they all become like family as Carson plays a major role in the boys' lives.

Over time the boys will both understand what it means to survive and to be loyal. As the boys become young men and the story takes off, it is very clear that they are headed into different directions. The "brothers" are battling the constant demons that haunts them from their past as they try to stay grounded. Full of betrayal, lies and murder will the loyalty Nan & Joe share be enough to fight through the corrupted streets of New York.

Moses Miller did a phenomenal job with his debut novel Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones, I was engulfed within the story from the first page. Mr. Miller gives readers a change of pace; he keeps a strong storyline that's led by captivating and realistic characters. This novel played out more like a movie; I wouldn't be surprised if it turns into a screenplay in the near future.

This book is an absolute must read! I support this author and this novel to the fullest.

[...]

Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones is the compelling story of two boys orphaned by tragedy and the results thereof.

Moses Miller does a wonderful job of bringing to life the characters and story and places it in the hands of his readers. This book came highly recommended so I thought I would give it a try. I am not sorry that I did. I applaud Moses Miller for this truly captivating story. I am anxiously waiting to see what he comes up with next in its sequel.

Moses Miller's debut effort "Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones" puts everyone talking bad about the street lit genre in check mate. This book is nothing short of remarkable. "The Trifling Times of..." provokes emotions of anxiety, sympathy and curiosity from the first word and keeps you hooked to the very last period. Set in Brooklyn, NY, during the Operation Falcon era of drug enforcement in the mid to late eighties, "The Trifling Times of.." gives the reader a behind the scene look underbelly of American Justice.

Nathan Jones is a complex man with a simple plan - survival. Little by little, everybody that Nathan loves is stripped from him. His parent's were killed as a result of a high-speed chase. A PCP junkie plowed over them with reckless rage after robbing and killing a liquor store owner and his wife. Nathan's mother pushed him to safety and his father came to her rescue just as the car crushed them.

Officer Mark Carson, the cop pursuing the murderous criminal, witnessed the vehicular homicide and takes Nathan under his wing. At the orphanage, Carson joins Nathan with Joseph Hayes - the son of the couple slain in the liquor store robbery that preceded the demise of Nathan's parents. A bond between blood brothers is forged, but their lives become anything but easy.

Carson introduces the boys to Master Thaddeus after they have problems with a teenage gang of 5 Percenters lead by Shaborn. Master Thadeus is a master in the art of war and teaches Nathan and Joe how to defend and attack with precision. A couple of months later, Shaborn makes the mistake of stealing Joe's hat. Nathan demolishes Shaborn and gains the respect of all the boys in the orphanage.

Nathan becomes infatuated with Latoya, a girl at his high school. Latoya gives him the nickname "Nan", and it stays permanently with Nathan like a tattoo. Infatuation turns into love and the loss of their innocence. Then without a trace his first love and lover moves away without a trace after being raped by her step-father. Already bitter from the loss of his parents, Nan sinks deeper into mental darkness.

Carson gets into bad debt with a powerful loan shark named Sonny and finds himself on the losing end of one-hundred fifty thousand dollars and days to make good on his outstanding tab. The once flashy and proud Carson now crumbles under pressure, stealing money and drugs during routine police raids in an attempt to avoid paying his monetary obligation with his life.

Nan and Joe are even pawns in Carson's plan to stay alive. Given a duffle bag full of cocaine, the boys are instructed to drop it off with Sonny. Being told they are carrying paintings, curiosity leads to the chilling discovery. No sooner than they realize what they are really delivering, they are cornered by cops and forced to run. Nan risks his safety to allow Joe to escape.

Nan is caught, beaten and tortured. He is then forced to steal drugs from various drug dealers to keep Carson and Joe out of harm's way. Since they are his only link to humanity, Nan uses his training in martial arts to comply. The crooked cops resale the drugs and leaves Carson and Joe alone. Carson is nowhere to be found and Joe graduates high school and enters college for his new found skill - creative writing.

Once the drug laundering operation is in contention of being exposed, the group of crooked cops scramble to bring everything to a halt by killing all of hood figures directly involved in their illegal enterprise. All but one... Nan dodges the manhunt leaving behind a bloody trail. The crooked cops kills everyone who could be a possible witness to their attempt to erase Nan. From the new love of his life and mother of his unborn child to old ladies to even Joe, everyone is brutally slain by crooked cops and their deaths are attributed to Nan.

Little by little, Nan gets more information about who is really running this rogue operation and why. With his life on the line, he struggles to extinguish those who are dead set on extinguishing him. And from there the reader can fall in line with Nan...and expect the unexpected.

"The Trifling Times of..." reads more like a movie than a novel. The setting and time changes are cinematic. This can be attributed to Moses Miller's background in journalism. Flipping back and forth, the book seamlessly pieces together Nan's past and present preparing the reader for an intense climax. The reader gets to see Nan experience, directly and indirectly, the effects of how partial information can engender inaccurate perceptions. His life also provokes mixed emotions. Nan is an antihero of sorts that murders and steals so that the ones he loves can go unscathed by those who are truly crooked.

Moses Miller's tale of lost love and lurid leeway with the law may be considered a classic decades from now. It's books like this that should be brought to the table when people want to discuss the quality, or the lack thereof, of books published for readers of street lit. This is literature by its very definition: writings in prose or verse, especially writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.

"What did you like best about this book?"

This book portrays the other side of the murderous streets than the one that the media gives us on a daily basis. The realism of the events that surround Nan's past and present sheds light on the corruption that can go unseen by those who are either out of the loop or want to turn a blind eye to the situation. Cops are supposed to be the good guys, and the people they go after are supposed to be the criminal element. "The Trifling Times of..." shows how the opposite can be closer to reality.
This book goes hand in hand when police officers are killed off-duty and the details are sketchy or when some young black person is shot and killed in broad daylight with no witnesses except for the police officers who do the killing.

"The Trifling Times of..." makes some of the other street lit books look like studio gangsters in comparison. Moses Miller writes with relentless attention to details. This book has the same feel that Illmatic has.
I like the fact that this book is equal parts fast-paced thriller and retrospective pseudo-biography without losing its power. Moses Miller has a way of keeping the reader stuck to the pages whether Nan is running from the cops or from his turbulent past.

"What did you dislike about this book?"

I can't really pick out anything that I dislike about this enchanting novel. I actually enjoyed this book through and through. I have no qualms.

"How can the author improve this book?"

Moses Miller can only improve this book by writing another book that picks up the story of Nan where "The Trifling Times of..." left off.

Joey Pinkney
Unbiased Book Reviewer
TheUrbanBookSource.com

Moses Miller details the life of Nan, an orphan who is raised in an orphanage with another young boy, Joe. Joe's life parallels his own. The cop, Carson, who pursued both cases uses the loss as a way to attach the two boys, bonding them like brothers for life.

In this dramatic version, we learn that Nan is caught up in a betrayal of sorts that causes him to cross the line between right and wrong to protect the people that he loves.

Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones is electric read from start to finish and I'm counting down for the sequel.

On Christmas Eve in 1985, two young lives would forever be changed. Joseph "Joe" Hayes and Nathan "Nan" Jones will connect due to a crazed drug addict. Officer Mark Carson decides to connect the two young boys, hoping to build a bond between them, and give him a taste of something he's always wanted, a family.

Readers will be bemused as they try to understand how an eager, soon to be father is quickly tossed into a death match. While the events of present day draw you in, Nan revisits his past, which in all actuality leads up to what currently surrounds him.

Nan's corrupted innocence leads to a rebellious redemption that triggers the loss of love, lives and prospect. The untold truth is quickly unfolding with Nan placing the missing pieces of the puzzle together, but will he be able to connect the dots in time to salvage his own life?

Indisputably, Nan: The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones is by far one of the most action-packed thrillers that I've had the pleasure of reading for 2006. Beginner Moses Miller has definitely reset the bar for my expectations and I'm actually thirsting to read Nan: The Game of Trife. In search for something creative, with pandemonium, the settling of scores and some liberation, then this is the read for you.

Reviewed by: Crystal

The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones is about the love shared by two boys and the betrayal that comes along with that love. Nathan and Joe were brought together under detrimental circumstances, unfortunately they have to live with this for the both of their lives.

The book was a great read. I would give it a big five star rating as far as credibility, holding my interest, and being able to follow the story line. It read just like you were watching a movie. I am one of the biggest procrastinators ever however once I started reading the book. I was hooked and unable to put it down; it ended up taking me two days to read. I loved how everything in the book is coinciding with each and individual character. The Trifling Times of Nathan Jones is a really deep book that is a must read. I think any generation will be able to enjoy this book.

The world of urban fiction has just seen the arrival of its latest greatest...

The Trifling Times Of Nathan Jones is all at once arresting, compelling, and incredibly entertaining. At break-neck speed, Miller recounts the exploits of Nathan "Nan" Jones, orphaned at the age of thirteen by a drug-addled petty thief, as he wends his way through the chaotic sea of the New York drug game. Also orphaned by the same drug fiend, his friend Joseph forms an early bond with Nan that anchors them both through all the trials and tribulations soon to befall them.

On the night of their parents' tragic murders, both boys are befriended by Mark Carson, a dedicated NYPD officer who soon takes them under his protective wing. As the months and years go by, Carson gains the boys' trust by teaching them valuable life lessons that prove useful in their daily dealings, even having them trained by his friend & martial arts mentor, Thaddeus. Little do they know, he will ultimately bear full responsibility for the greatest challenge either will ever face...

Beneath his noble façade, Carson harbors many dark secrets, the worst of which is a gambling addiction that soon threatens his own life. Caught in the middle of a botched drug deal orchestrated by Carson to satisfy his debts, Nan soon finds himself inexorably trapped in the dark criminal underworld, with none other than corrupt cops as his greatest benefactors. Relying on the lessons taught to him by both Carson and Thaddeus, Nan finds his wits constantly put to the test as he weaves in and out of danger in search of only one thing: retribution.

Moses Miller is a superb storyteller with a great literary voice and even greater imagination. The Trifling Times Of Nathan Jones is superbly crafted, and filled with such indelible characters that you find yourself going back and reading full passages over and over again just for the sheer enjoyment of it. Alternating between expository flashbacks and real-time action, Miller's narrative impresses most with its effortless ability to hold the reader completely rapt at attention, silently begging to see what happens next. All this, of course, leading to an ending that gives new meaning to the concept of a true cliffhanger...

The Trifling Times Of Nathan Jones is a highly recommended read from a true literary master. Be on the lookout for more instant classics from this gifted scribe.

Trouble stirs from the start of NAN: THE TRIFLING TIMES OF NATHAN JONES as Nathan, or Nan, finds himself on the run. It's either run or be killed. As Nan navigates the streets of New York for a safe haven, readers navigate his past to the events and circumstances leading up to his current predicament.

It was captivating to read as Nan negotiated his way through a host of troubles. In a plethora of new authors, Moses Miller rises to the top. NAN: THE TRIFLING TIMES OF NATHAN JONES is engrossing, shifting fluidly between the past and present. Miller combines memories, contemporary reality, childhood traumas and brotherly bonds with deft. It's an intense, fast moving drama. Moses Miller's NAN: THE TRIFLING TIMES OF NATHAN JONES announces the arrival of an obvious talent. I look forward to continuing with NAN: THE GAME OF TRIFE. "Intelligent urban fiction," - I like that. We need more of it.