The Man in My Basement (Main)

by Walter Mosley

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Charles Blakey is a young black man whose life is slowly crumbling. His parents are dead, he can't find a job, he drinks too much, and his friends have begun to desert him. Worst of all, he's fallen behind on the mortgage payments for the beautiful home that's belonged to his family for generations. When a stranger offers him $50,000 in cash to rent out his basement for the summer, Charles needs the money too badly to say no. He knows that the stranger must want something more than a basement view. Sure enough, he has a very particular ? and bizarre ? set of requirements, and Charles tries to satisfy him without getting lured into the strangeness. But he sees an opportunity to understand the secrets of the white world, and his summer with a man in his basement turns into a journey into inconceivable worlds of power and manipulation, and unimagined realms of humanity. ?[The Man in My Basement] confirms him as possibly the most important current American writer? Time Out ?A philosophical inquiry about corruption, made real through Mosley?s committed colloquialism and a willingness to debate without any final vote ? this is never a parable, but rather a complex story of negotiating rage and self-loathing? Times Literary Supplement ?Boldly understated...Mosley?s most provocative and impassioned novel yet.? Kirkus Reviews ?A compelling, peculiar exploration of race and identity.? The New Yorker ?It has a subtle sense of humor that leavens the philosophical inquiry.? The New Yorker ?Mosley keeps the action flowing with his direct, colloquial writing. Mosley?s image of the man in the basement echoes the prologue of Ralph Ellison?s groundbreaking 1952 novel Invisible Man.? USA Today ?Questions of race, morality, power, guilt, accountability, life, and death are unflinchingly examined in a context that will keep readers uncomfortable and riveted through the last page? Entertainment Weekly Read Less

Charles Blakey is a young black man whose life is slowly crumbling. His parents are dead, he can't find a job, he drinks too much, and his friends have begun to desert him. Worst of all, he's fallen behind on the mortgage payments for the beautiful home that's belonged to his family for generations. When a stranger offers him $50,000 in cash to rent out his basement for the summer, Charles needs the money too badly to say no. He knows that the stranger must want something more than a basement view. Sure enough, he has ... Read More