With a superb ear for the voices of his characters, and a spare but riveting prose, Reginald McKnight examines the plight of the outsider, the alien. He populates these funny, disturbing, and lyrical stories with an unforgettable chorus of cultural hybrids: an American anthropologist compiling proverbs and seeking a magic elixir in Senegal; a multiethnic community of military officers, recruits, and maintenance staff wrestling with their prejudices; two awkward young boys trying to navigate friendship on a Louisiana army base. White Boys is Reginald McKnight's perfect evocation of America's literary heritage and ambition-an imaginative synergy of style, thought, and storytelling genius.
Reginald McKnight teaches at the University of Michigan. He has received an NEA Grant, an O. Henry Award, a Whiting Award, and the Drue Heinz Literature Prize. His previous work includes Moustapha's Eclipse, I Get on the Bus, and The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas. He Sleeps is his most recent work.
With a superb ear for the voices of his characters, and a spare but riveting prose style, Reginald McKnight examines the plight of the outsider, the alien. He populates these funny, disturbing, and lyrical stories with an unforgettable chorus of cultural hybrids: an American anthropologist compiling proverbs and seeking a magic elixir in Senegal; a multiethnic community of military officers, recruits, and maintenance staff wrestling with their prejudices; two awkward young boys trying to navigate friendship on a Louisiana army base.
White Boys is Reginald McKnight's perfect evocation of America's literary heritage and ambition--an imaginative synergy of style, thought, and storytelling genius.
McKnight is a true cartographer of our inner lives, mapping our hearts and souls, our spirits and dreams with lyricism that many artists aspire to but few achieve.--Rohan B. Preston, The Washington Post Book World
McKnight orchestrates a vivid drama of talk . . . What wins you over is his attentiveness to the complexities of racial antagonism.--Rand Richards Cooper, The New York Times Book Review
I have believed for a long time that Reginald McKnight is one the best writers we have, and this collection solidly reinforces that belief.--Larry Brown, author of Father and Son
Splendidly precise . . . McKnight eloquently confirms he is an African American writer more interested in the confusions of race than in schematic victim-victimizer truisms.--Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
Reginald McKnight teaches at the University of Michigan. He has received an NEA Grant, an O. Henry Award, a Whiting Award, and the Drue Heinz Literature Prize. His previous work includes Moustapha's Eclipse, I Get on the Bus, and The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas. He Sleeps is his most recent work.
With a superb ear for the voices of his characters, and a spare but riveting prose style, Reginald McKnight examines the plight of the outsider, the alien. He populates these funny, disturbing, and lyrical stories with an unforgettable chorus of cultural hybrids: an American anthropologist compiling proverbs and seeking a magic elixir in Senegal; a multiethnic community of military officers, recruits, and maintenance staff wrestling with their prejudices; two awkward young boys trying to navigate friendship on a Louisiana army base.
White Boys is Reginald McKnight's perfect evocation of America's literary heritage and ambition--an imaginative synergy of style, thought, and storytelling genius.
McKnight is a true cartographer of our inner lives, mapping our hearts and souls, our spirits and dreams with lyricism that many artists aspire to but few achieve.--Rohan B. Preston, The Washington Post Book World
McKnight orchestrates a vivid drama of talk . . . What wins you over is his attentiveness to the complexities of racial antagonism.--Rand Richards Cooper, The New York Times Book Review
I have believed for a long time that Reginald McKnight is one the best writers we have, and this collection solidly reinforces that belief.--Larry Brown, author of Father and Son
Splendidly precise . . . McKnight eloquently confirms he is an African American writer more interested in the confusions of race than in schematic victim-victimizer truisms.--Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
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