Blonde Faith (Hardcover)

by Walter Mosley (Author)
Key Phrases: Christmas Black, Easter Dawn, Easy Rawlins (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Set in 1967, Mosley's brilliant 10th Easy Rawlins thriller finds the middle-aged Easy still fighting some of the same battles he fought in his first outing, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990), as an angry young WWII vet trying to make his home in postwar Los Angeles. His family has grown from none to many over the years, and now Easy is dealing with the loss of the love of his life, Bonnie, and his decision to make her leave him. Despite Easy's vulnerability and anguish, he's a staunch friend and a fierce protector of those he loves. Easy's two most dangerous friends, Raymond Mouse Alexander and Christmas Black, have both disappeared and both are being hunted. Easy must find them before those who want to destroy them do. Mosley knows his territory as intimately as a lover knows his beloved, and Easy's tortuous progression from man-child to man may have reached its climax in this searing and moving novel. (Oct.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine
For 17 years, readers have witnessed Easy Rawlins’s evolution into a tough-minded, haunted detective navigating through a racially turbulent LA. A few critics surmise that Blonde Faith, the tenth installment, may be the last of the seriesâ€"and Easy certainly ruminates more on atonement and acceptance of life than in any other of the novels. Filled with melancholy, regret, and angst that may relate to finally understanding that his fate lies in his hands, Easy seemed tired to a few critics (and, consequently, a few chapters felt repetitive). Still, if Blonde Faith does not quite match Little Scarlet (**** Selection Sept/Oct 2004), one of the best of the series, and if it is the coda to Mosley’s chronicle of race relations between the 1940s and the 1960s, it is a fine end to a well-told story.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (October 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316734594
• ISBN-13: 978-0316734592
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #343,307 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 ...But Who Will Save Easy Rawlins?, November 1, 2007

By	Chantay W. "BookLover4Life" (South Carolina) - See all my reviews

Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley is the eleventh book in the Easy Rawlins mystery series and it is the book to read!

At the start of Blonde Faith, we find Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, private eye, lost so to speak. What is a man to do when he has lost the love of his life to a prince? When Easy learned his former long-time girlfriend Bonnie had an affair with a prince, he pushed her away from his life and kicked her out of their home without fully resolving their situation. Now that Easy has learned Bonnie is to be married to the prince, Easy has to deal with his lingering feelings for her. He wants her back but his pride will not let him communicate his feelings for her. Now, if the emotional strain of his situation was not enough, Easter Dawn, child of Christmas Black, is placed into his care with no explanation of what to do with the child or what is going on. To add to that, his best friend of many years, Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, is wanted for murder by the police and they really want justice against the long-time killer who got away so many other times. So begins the journey of Easy Rawlins, off to save those in need but in the end, who will save Easy?

Walter Mosley makes number eleven shine with a sparkle that only he can create through prose. Blonde Faith is an intense mystery written magnificently. What readers will enjoy about this book the most, on top of Easy Rawlins doing what he does best, is the fact that there is such an emotional connection to Easy. There is a sense of the reader wanting him to focus on himself primarily more so than saving someone else. Easy is given chance after chance to save others and he will die trying to do this but when it comes to saving himself from emotional woes and getting back the woman he loves, he hesitates. Perhaps, it has to do with him not placing himself first, at least sometimes or when it is most needed. The ending of Blonde Faith was masterfully written and will definitely leave readers dangling in suspense for more! This book is recommended to fans of mystery novels, fans of the Easy Rawlins series, and fans who love to read good damn books.

Reviewer, Chantay W.
APOOO BookClub

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Good, November 7, 2007

By	Richard Schulman (Bristol) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I stopped reading Blonde Faith because I do not want to finish it.
It is so good I am cherishing the last 50 pages. I have read
all of Mr. Mosley's Easy Rawlins series and this one is absolutely the best.
Mr. Mosley is coming to terms with a culture that has no regard
for human dignity particularily anyone that is different than those
who are in power. Combine that with the devastating difficulties in understanding what love is. The plot is moved along by Mouse's daring
personna and his illegal activities against the establishment.
Mouse is Robin Hood to Easy's confusion on who Easy is.
The struggle to find and know himself within this crazy culture makes
Easy an easy character to empathize with. The eternal quest to know why we act the way we do. Most of us are not going
to rob a bank or be a detective but it's comforting and exciting to know
that we all share the same distress. Mr Mosley honesty is startling and
freeing. Now lets get into the l970's. Self realization is a continual story.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Screams to be read in one sitting, October 17, 2007

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

It is somewhat of a surprise to come to the realization that BLONDE FAITH is Walter Mosley's 10th Easy Rawlins thriller. It seems there have been more, far more. Rawlins quietly became an icon even as Mosley became both a role model for minority writers and an argument against giving African-American authors a separate but equal genre classification that intentionally distinguishes their work and unintentionally marginalizes it from a larger potential audience.

This is easily the best book in the series, which screams to be read in one sitting thanks to its flowing, unstoppable narrative. Mosley's storylines have always reflected the complexity of the life of his protagonist, a black man living in the southwest United States in the mid-20th century. With this new novel, Mosley streamlines things a bit, keeping the plot basic without sacrificing the richness of the tale.

BLONDE FAITH takes place in Los Angeles in 1967, where a city and political power structure remain uneasy in the aftermath of the Watts riots. Rawlins's life, somewhat turbulent even in the best of times, becomes more so when his two best friends suddenly go missing. Christmas Black, a Vietnam veteran, drops off his adoptive daughter at Rawlins's house without warning or explanation and is apparently on the run. Meanwhile, Rawlins's friend Mouse is being sought by the police for murder, and Rawlins is convinced that, due to Mouse's longstanding antagonistic relationship with the police, the authorities will not be taking any prisoners.

Even as Rawlins begins the dual tasks of finding Christmas and rescuing Mouse, he finds out that Bonnie, his longtime but estranged lover, is on the verge of marrying another man. This knowledge haunts and distracts him, even as he begins tracing Christmas's whereabouts and slowly but surely learns that the man who Mouse is accused of murdering is in fact alive and well and on the run himself. Rawlins comes to realize that his best shot at saving Mouse is locating the man Mouse supposedly murdered.

What is most interesting about this book is the manner in which Mosley quietly demonstrates to his audience (if not to Rawlins himself) that the things that have the potential to bring Rawlins his best chance at happiness are in his immediate grasp.

The conclusion is easily the most unique and shocking of any featured in Mosley's work thus far. Fairly unambiguous but leaving just a bit of wiggle room for a sequel, this is sure to be one of Mosley's most controversial novels to date, particularly among his longtime fans. It is for this reason, and all that comes before, that BLONDE FAITH is a must-read.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub