The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Walter Mosley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2008

Living in South Central L.A., Socrates Fortlow is a sixty-year-old ex-convict, still strong enough to kill men with his bare hands. Now freed after serving twenty-seven years in prison, he is filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets. Along with his gambler friend Billy Psalms, Socrates calls together local people of all races from their different social stations—lawyers, gangsters, preachers, Buddhists, businessmen—to conduct meetings of a Thinkers’ Club, where all can discuss the unanswerable questions in life.

The street philosopher enjoins his friends to explore—even in the knowledge that there’s nothing that they personally can do to change the ways of the world—what might be done anyway, what it would take to change themselves. Infiltrated by undercover cops, and threatened by strain from within, tensions rise as hot-blooded gangsters and respectable deacons fight over issues of personal and social responsibility. But simply by asking questions about racial authenticity, street justice, infidelity, poverty, and the possibility of mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to make a difference.

In turns outraged and affectionate, The Right Mistake offers a profoundly literary and ultimately redemptive exploration of the possibility of moral action in a violent and fallen world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A history of terrible violence including rape and murder followed by 27 years of incarceration in a prison with its own codified violence have helped shape Socrates Fortlow, previously featured in two short story collections, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (1997) and Walkin' the Dog (1999). The hardened ex-con living in South Central L.A. has been chiseled by his experiences into a hulking essence of wise humanity. An initial gathering of diverse characters (a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist, a gambler, a singer, a lawyer, two killers, etc.) brought together by Socrates becomes an agent of change. The weekly Thinkers' Meetings grow despite internal dissension and attempts at suppression and subversion by authorities. The talks forge bonds, lead to actions, spread beyond L.A. and take on a life of their own. In the face of gangs, drugs, poverty and racism, Mosley poses the deceptively simple question—What can I do?—and provides a powerful and moving answer. (Oct.)
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Review

"Seattle Times"
""The Right Mistake,.".is a thought-provoking exploration of wickedness -- and what's to be done about it."

Seattle Times
“The Right Mistake…is a thought-provoking exploration of wickedness — and what's to be done about it.”

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Civitas Books (October 6, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 046500525X
• ASIN: B0023RT018
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. His books have won numerous awards and have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries, including national bestsellers Cinnamon Kiss, Little Scarlet, and Bad Boy Brawly Brown; the Fearless Jones series, including Fearless Jones, Fear Itself, and Fear of the Dark; the novels Blue Light and RL's Dream; and two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, for which he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and Walkin' the Dog. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Levels off the series, not exceeds it, November 9, 2008

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow (Hardcover)

Mosley churns out 2-3 books a year and unfortunately the wear and tear on his imagination is beginning to show. The one concept of his that hadn't seemed to jump the shark was his Socrates Fortlow series, featuring a wise ex-con living in the street of L.A.

I love this character, his world and the stories Mosley has traditionally applied to them. A little of the magic has worn off in this third installment, but not enough to stay away. The book looks like it maintains the short-story-collection charmof the previous books, but really it's just a more chopped-up longer, more traditional narrative, making it a book with significant chapters instead of separate stories that build to a theme or climax. It also contains a more spartan, less colorful style and a cast of characters that, when coupled with little description beyond one-liners, is unwieldly and tedious.

It's a fast read, and I say that as a slow reader. I love the series, but instead of getting better, it dipped. Mosley offers a book that artists sometimes create that feature well-known characters that they don't really want to interact with anymore. A little deus ex machina, a little over-the-top confrontation, and then the loose-thread offer of life-change that ensures that the character will never again be the character you know and love. If you're a fan, read it, but expect it to level off or dip, not exceed.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does Mosley ever have a bad day...?, October 28, 2008

By 

Jason Frost "RubiconReader" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow (Hardcover)

What if Plato was a pimp? What if Aristotle was a gang-banger? What if Nietzsche was a drug dealer? Would their philosophy be the same if they were these things on the streets of New York? Those were some of the questions I came up with as I was reading this book. Socrates is an ex-con (2 murders & 1 rape that we know of) who starts a thinking group to debate and discuss some of the issues directly relating with their community.

He assembles leaders and followers from around the community to his house that he... um... creatively leased from someone to hold the meetings. The guest list includes drug dealers, deacons, decent women, hookers, business owners, bums, Asians, Whites, Blacks, gay, straight, quiet, loud, lawyers and police. With this unique mix of people you know that trouble was just one comment away. One of the most interesting discussions was "who or what makes a REAL Black man"?

Socrates deals with life as it comes and is surprisingly astute for someone who spent 27 years in prison. Women love bad boys and he's about as bad as they come. This isn't Mr. Mosley's first visit with Socrates but it was MY first book about him. Now I'm curious to see if Socrates was always this "calm" and introspective or did prison and an extremely hard life create this persona.

I know I sound like a broken record... but this man's mastery of the craft is second to none! I only wish others knew what I know about Walter Mosley. Those who know him read and love him, but I can't help but think that his talent is simmering below the surface like lava for those who don't know and one day... sometime soon... it's going to erupt like Mount St. Mosley.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Release, December 20, 2008

By 

Stephen T. Hopkins (Oak Park, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Investigations of Socrates Fortlow (Hardcover)

Walter Mosley's latest Socrates Fortlow novel, The Right Mistake, maintains an emotional intensity throughout that engages readers and made me catch my breath at the end of some chapters. Ex-con Socrates gathers people together in West Central Los Angeles to talk. Like his namesake, he asks questions, and claims no wisdom of his own. Along the way, he builds community, finds redemption alongside other characters, and in some way or another, each character finds a release from whatever constrains them. This is a finely written novel with real characters living as best they can. Recommended.