3.5
Five-Carat Soul
ByPublisher Description
One of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2017
“A pinball machine zinging with sharp dialogue, breathtaking plot twists and naughty humor... McBride at his brave and joyous best.” —New York Times Book Review
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a James Brown biography.
The stories in Five-Carat Soul—none of them ever published before—spring from the place where identity, humanity, and history converge. They’re funny and poignant, insightful and unpredictable, imaginative and authentic—all told with McBride’s unrivaled storytelling skill and meticulous eye for character and detail. McBride explores the ways we learn from the world and the people around us. An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by Civil War General Robert E. Lee now sits in the home of a black minister in Queens. Five strangers find themselves thrown together and face unexpected judgment. An American president draws inspiration from a conversation he overhears in a stable. And members of The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Band recount stories from their own messy and hilarious lives.
As McBride did in his National Book award-winning The Good Lord Bird and his bestselling The Color of Water, he writes with humor and insight about how we struggle to understand who we are in a world we don’t fully comprehend. The result is a surprising, perceptive, and evocative collection of stories that is also a moving exploration of our human condition.
“A pinball machine zinging with sharp dialogue, breathtaking plot twists and naughty humor... McBride at his brave and joyous best.” —New York Times Book Review
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a James Brown biography.
The stories in Five-Carat Soul—none of them ever published before—spring from the place where identity, humanity, and history converge. They’re funny and poignant, insightful and unpredictable, imaginative and authentic—all told with McBride’s unrivaled storytelling skill and meticulous eye for character and detail. McBride explores the ways we learn from the world and the people around us. An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by Civil War General Robert E. Lee now sits in the home of a black minister in Queens. Five strangers find themselves thrown together and face unexpected judgment. An American president draws inspiration from a conversation he overhears in a stable. And members of The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Band recount stories from their own messy and hilarious lives.
As McBride did in his National Book award-winning The Good Lord Bird and his bestselling The Color of Water, he writes with humor and insight about how we struggle to understand who we are in a world we don’t fully comprehend. The result is a surprising, perceptive, and evocative collection of stories that is also a moving exploration of our human condition.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesFive-Carat Soul Reviews
3.5
“"I was pushed in deeper, trapped in a wedge of humanity as the incessant sounds of rap music pounded the walls and bounced into the air amid the excited crowd of young squirming bodies... While I've never been partial to this bit of youngster foolishness, trapped as I was, I found myself forced to listen, and was stirred a bit by some of what I heard. The young men and women were telling stories, some funny, some touching, some ironic, stories about their lives, their poverty, their middle-class lives, the emptiness of their parents' wealth, the strife of their struggling mothers, and all manner of things, far beyond the mere pornography and filth I'd associated with this music before. Indeed I was so taken by some of the stories that after a few minutes I forgot where I was, for each of the young poets who leaped onstage was better than their predecessor... "
I am not a big short story fan, but this was a wonderful book! A wide variety of stories with so many differing themes and perspectives but they all felt so relatable and down to earth, even if there were some talking animals. James McBride is so talented with writing emotion and delivering lines that you read and just think, "yeah, that sums it up" as he defines a specific feeling or thought so clearly I feel I would have to refer to it to help explain a feeling I have had to a friend. Definitely recommend, along with any of his other books.”
“I didn't realize that this was a short story collection going into it & I think that made me dislike it. The first story about a toy collector was so intriguing & then the next story was more historical, so in my head I thought those two stories were related. When I realized that they weren't, I found myself feeling frustrated because neither of them felt complete. I was interested in the different viewpoints sprinkled throughout & the writing style was enjoyable, but this missed the mark as a short story collection for me.
Five-Carat Soul is a collection of short stories centered on Black lives in America, exploring themes of identity, race, faith, and resilience across different eras and settings. Through interconnected and standalone narratives ranging from soldiers in WWII to musicians, preachers, and everyday people, McBride highlights moments of quiet dignity and moral reckoning. Together, the stories form a compassionate portrait of humanity, showing how small acts of courage and grace can shine with rare brilliance.”
About James McBride
James McBride is an accomplished musician and author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, the bestselling American classic The Color of Water, and the bestsellers Song Yet Sung, Miracle at St. Anna, and Deacon King Kong. He is also the author of Kill ’Em and Leave, a James Brown biography. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2016, McBride is also a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.
Other books by James McBride
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