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Black & White
When Michael follows his dying father to North Carolina, a lifetime of lies begins to unravel. His pursuit of his father's past--haunted by voodoo, adultery and murder--takes him to a place called Hayti, once the most prosperous black community in the South. Now the mysteries of Michael's own heritage become a matter of life and death, as racial conflicts barely restrained since the 1960s erupt again.
Rooted in the true story of the US government's urban renewal policy and its disastrous aftermath, Black & White is a literary thriller, a family saga, and a searing portrait of institutionalized hatred.
Rooted in the true story of the US government's urban renewal policy and its disastrous aftermath, Black & White is a literary thriller, a family saga, and a searing portrait of institutionalized hatred.
367 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2008
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July 3, 2008
With his groundbreaking, acclaimed works
Deserted Cities of the Heart
(1988),
Slam
(1990), and the World Fantasy Award-winning novel
Glimpses
(1993), Lewis Shiner exploded from the late-1980s Austin literary scene. As happens far too often with celebrated wordsmiths, he disappeared into the literary ocean. Except for the occasional short work and his 1999 novel,
Say Goodbye
, Shiner has toiled in relative obscurity.
In his triumphant return to novel-length fiction, Shiner – now residing in North Carolina – emerges from his literary cocoon to craft Black & White, a powerful exploration of institutional racism and family identity. Centering his tale on the disturbingly real history of the doomed Durham, N.C., African-American community Hayti, Shiner ushers his protagonist, comic-book artist Michael Cooper, into the maelstrom of his father's past, full of terrible secrets, voodoo, and even murder. As the compelling narrative unfolds, Cooper – accompanying his mother and father, Ruth and Robert, from Dallas to his birthplace of Durham – uncovers unsettling truths about his own identity. He realizes that the hate groups that helped to destroy Hayti back in the 1960s were not only intertwined within his complex family history but still exist.
The narrative begins slowly – a common Shiner trait – but eventually snowballs into an avalanche of frenetic action set in a hauntingly realistic past and present. In one of the book's many insightful moments, Robert, a white man surrounded mostly by African-Americans, attends a 1964 live jazz performance at Hayti's Wonderland Theatre. The music flows through him, and Robert experiences an epiphany – the secrets of the cosmos revealed, a greater understanding of himself and his place in the universe. As he cleverly does throughout, Shiner uses the interactions with music to illustrate the characters, both physically and emotionally.
On the surface, Black & White demonstrates the struggles of historical and contemporary racism, but at its core, the story revolves around a son coming to terms with the sins of his father. The always-talented Shiner has produced some of his finest work to date here. Beyond a brief, discursive foray into Ruth's story, he has created a near-perfect novel – steeped in important political and societal issues, neatly wrapped in the trimmings of a mystery story. With Black & White, Lewis Shiner ascends to a literary realm previously reserved for the likes of Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem.
This review originally appeared in The Austin Chronicle, July 4, 2008.
In his triumphant return to novel-length fiction, Shiner – now residing in North Carolina – emerges from his literary cocoon to craft Black & White, a powerful exploration of institutional racism and family identity. Centering his tale on the disturbingly real history of the doomed Durham, N.C., African-American community Hayti, Shiner ushers his protagonist, comic-book artist Michael Cooper, into the maelstrom of his father's past, full of terrible secrets, voodoo, and even murder. As the compelling narrative unfolds, Cooper – accompanying his mother and father, Ruth and Robert, from Dallas to his birthplace of Durham – uncovers unsettling truths about his own identity. He realizes that the hate groups that helped to destroy Hayti back in the 1960s were not only intertwined within his complex family history but still exist.
The narrative begins slowly – a common Shiner trait – but eventually snowballs into an avalanche of frenetic action set in a hauntingly realistic past and present. In one of the book's many insightful moments, Robert, a white man surrounded mostly by African-Americans, attends a 1964 live jazz performance at Hayti's Wonderland Theatre. The music flows through him, and Robert experiences an epiphany – the secrets of the cosmos revealed, a greater understanding of himself and his place in the universe. As he cleverly does throughout, Shiner uses the interactions with music to illustrate the characters, both physically and emotionally.
On the surface, Black & White demonstrates the struggles of historical and contemporary racism, but at its core, the story revolves around a son coming to terms with the sins of his father. The always-talented Shiner has produced some of his finest work to date here. Beyond a brief, discursive foray into Ruth's story, he has created a near-perfect novel – steeped in important political and societal issues, neatly wrapped in the trimmings of a mystery story. With Black & White, Lewis Shiner ascends to a literary realm previously reserved for the likes of Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem.
This review originally appeared in The Austin Chronicle, July 4, 2008.
April 3, 2009
I’m 48 years old and it’s discouraging to know and remember that some of the worst acts of racism took place within my lifetime, the church bombing in Georgia where four little girls were murdered, Medgar Evers, the dogs of Birmingham sicced on people for nothing more than wanting to sit at a diners counter. I also have personal memories of it. A neighbor who called black people “coons,” a time of blockbusters, and “changing” neighborhoods. Conversely, I also witnessed the attitudes towards it change through the work of Martin Luther King Jr, and the exposure of the blatant and outrageous attitudes and behavior of racists.
Black and White is about Michael whose father Robert is dying of lung cancer. For reasons known only to himself goes to Durham, North Carolina to die. Michael follows him and discovers that although he was born in Durham there’s no birth certificate for him, and so starts the search into the mysteries of his father’s past that will have reverberations and consequences in Michael’s life.
Black and White tells the story of Michael and his family from their own point of view and in their own time. The story of Michael’s father takes us to 1962 when he comes to Durham as a young, idealistic engineer who wants to make his mark on the world. He takes a job at an engineering firm, and he becomes intrigued by the Hyati section of Durham, the black area of the city where exists a parallel society created and enforced by segregation. Hyati offers Robert everything that’s missing from his buttoned down suburban life, jazz, dancing, and love. In Hyati he meets Mercy Richards a stunningly beautiful black woman who he manages to woe and seduce, and Robert lives a parallel life of his own. Robert is already married to Ruth whose father is a powerful man in Durham white society with his status of leader of the white supremacist group The Night Riders of the Confederacy.
In his job at the engineering firm Robert is in charge of building a highway through the middle of Hyati. The residents have been assured that section that is demolished for the highway will be replaced. The powers that be in Durham, including Robert’s father-in-law, have already made sure that Hyati will not be replaced. In fact, they’ve made plans to demolish that whole section of the city. On his forays into Hyati, Robert meets and befriends Barrett Howard, a black activist who is trying to save Hyati. When Howard goes missing we discover Robert may be involved in his murder, albeit after the fact. It is from this that all the mysteries of Robert’s life and all the other stories flow.
I hope I’m not giving too much away here. When Michael discovers his real mother is black, Mr. Shiner forces us to consider the nature of race. Are you black if you have even one drop of black blood in you? Or the much better proposition, if we’re all given the same respect in life we’re all just people and should be seen as such. A point which I think is driven home excellently by Michael in talking about a dog “a being whose life was black and white who only had to distinguish between friends, intruders and food.”
At the core of Black and White are some truths or past realities. Hyati did exist in Durham, North Carolina, it was razed in the 60’s for a highway to be put through. And of course, real groups such as KKK did exist at the time, as did the racism described by Mr. Shiner which at this point of time seem to be so gross as to make one wonder how such an attitude could exist and flourish, but it did and that’s what we need to be cognizant of and vigilant about.
At this point in his career I think the only writer Lewis Shiner is in competition with is, himself. Shiner has always been good at verisimilitude, being able to create a scene for the reader then put you in the scene, living with those characters and caring about them. The plot drew me in. I constantly found myself wanting to know what happens next. And found myself fully involved with the characters and like at a movie, at times I found myself having a visceral reaction to what I was reading the sense of being at the edge of my seat, racing to see what happens to the characters if they‘re able to get out of the predicament they find themselves in. Black and White is larger in scope and depth of subject than Shiner’s previous books, although it plays to some of the same rhythms such as estrangement from a father. As this is also a theme I’ve encountered in my writing that could be well attributed to the fact that the generation of my father and Mr. Shiner’s came from a different world where the fathers didn’t interact much with the children. Fathers went to work and provided for the family and the mothers took care of the children. Early in the book I found some of the dialogue a little clunky. It was chunky with information as if Mr. Shiner is trying to assimilate the information from his research himself but that passes quickly. At times Michael acts impulsively, doing something that just seems like it’s being done to drive the action of the plot ahead and not like how a person might react in a similar situation. Sometimes I didn’t agree with how the characters felt and reacted maybe that’s like life people may act differently than we might expect them to. And perhaps, the characters are entitled to feel the way they do about the situations they’re in. There is a rapprochement at the end that feels inauthentic to everything that has preceded it, and a little awkward in accommodating it.
I think Lewis Shiner is one of the better authors we have writing today and not only do I think you should read this book but you should also check out Mr. Shiners other books such as Glimpses, and Say Goodbye.
Black and White is about Michael whose father Robert is dying of lung cancer. For reasons known only to himself goes to Durham, North Carolina to die. Michael follows him and discovers that although he was born in Durham there’s no birth certificate for him, and so starts the search into the mysteries of his father’s past that will have reverberations and consequences in Michael’s life.
Black and White tells the story of Michael and his family from their own point of view and in their own time. The story of Michael’s father takes us to 1962 when he comes to Durham as a young, idealistic engineer who wants to make his mark on the world. He takes a job at an engineering firm, and he becomes intrigued by the Hyati section of Durham, the black area of the city where exists a parallel society created and enforced by segregation. Hyati offers Robert everything that’s missing from his buttoned down suburban life, jazz, dancing, and love. In Hyati he meets Mercy Richards a stunningly beautiful black woman who he manages to woe and seduce, and Robert lives a parallel life of his own. Robert is already married to Ruth whose father is a powerful man in Durham white society with his status of leader of the white supremacist group The Night Riders of the Confederacy.
In his job at the engineering firm Robert is in charge of building a highway through the middle of Hyati. The residents have been assured that section that is demolished for the highway will be replaced. The powers that be in Durham, including Robert’s father-in-law, have already made sure that Hyati will not be replaced. In fact, they’ve made plans to demolish that whole section of the city. On his forays into Hyati, Robert meets and befriends Barrett Howard, a black activist who is trying to save Hyati. When Howard goes missing we discover Robert may be involved in his murder, albeit after the fact. It is from this that all the mysteries of Robert’s life and all the other stories flow.
I hope I’m not giving too much away here. When Michael discovers his real mother is black, Mr. Shiner forces us to consider the nature of race. Are you black if you have even one drop of black blood in you? Or the much better proposition, if we’re all given the same respect in life we’re all just people and should be seen as such. A point which I think is driven home excellently by Michael in talking about a dog “a being whose life was black and white who only had to distinguish between friends, intruders and food.”
At the core of Black and White are some truths or past realities. Hyati did exist in Durham, North Carolina, it was razed in the 60’s for a highway to be put through. And of course, real groups such as KKK did exist at the time, as did the racism described by Mr. Shiner which at this point of time seem to be so gross as to make one wonder how such an attitude could exist and flourish, but it did and that’s what we need to be cognizant of and vigilant about.
At this point in his career I think the only writer Lewis Shiner is in competition with is, himself. Shiner has always been good at verisimilitude, being able to create a scene for the reader then put you in the scene, living with those characters and caring about them. The plot drew me in. I constantly found myself wanting to know what happens next. And found myself fully involved with the characters and like at a movie, at times I found myself having a visceral reaction to what I was reading the sense of being at the edge of my seat, racing to see what happens to the characters if they‘re able to get out of the predicament they find themselves in. Black and White is larger in scope and depth of subject than Shiner’s previous books, although it plays to some of the same rhythms such as estrangement from a father. As this is also a theme I’ve encountered in my writing that could be well attributed to the fact that the generation of my father and Mr. Shiner’s came from a different world where the fathers didn’t interact much with the children. Fathers went to work and provided for the family and the mothers took care of the children. Early in the book I found some of the dialogue a little clunky. It was chunky with information as if Mr. Shiner is trying to assimilate the information from his research himself but that passes quickly. At times Michael acts impulsively, doing something that just seems like it’s being done to drive the action of the plot ahead and not like how a person might react in a similar situation. Sometimes I didn’t agree with how the characters felt and reacted maybe that’s like life people may act differently than we might expect them to. And perhaps, the characters are entitled to feel the way they do about the situations they’re in. There is a rapprochement at the end that feels inauthentic to everything that has preceded it, and a little awkward in accommodating it.
I think Lewis Shiner is one of the better authors we have writing today and not only do I think you should read this book but you should also check out Mr. Shiners other books such as Glimpses, and Say Goodbye.
Read
September 2, 2008I read a lot of books that are set in locations in and around where I currently live, but this one is particularly uncanny since the main character drives on streets I drive on every day, goes to restaurants I frequent, etc. During the workday, I find myself thinking about this book and wanting to get back to the story. I know bits and pieces of the background--for instance, that the building of the Durham Freeway destroyed a thriving black neighborhood--but I haven't thought as much about it or noticed certain things before reading this. Incidentally, after buying the book I learned it was all available as a downloadable PDF at the Fiction Liberation Front web site.
(later) Upon finishing the book, I should mention that the plot gets a bit soap-opera-ish as the book progresses. Still, it's quite interesting overall, and I dug the shoutouts to the Starlite, Durham Tech, and Sitar India Palace!
(later) Upon finishing the book, I should mention that the plot gets a bit soap-opera-ish as the book progresses. Still, it's quite interesting overall, and I dug the shoutouts to the Starlite, Durham Tech, and Sitar India Palace!
September 24, 2011
An urgent examination of 40 years of racial conflict in North Carolina, set amongst a taut thriller concerning the truth of the origins of artist Michael Cooper. At once a highly accurate portrayal of the destruction of Hayti, and an intimate voyage into the conspiracy of Michael's birth. The details here could only be conveyed by a North Carolinian, but they're also universal enough to appeal to a wide audience. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Shiner's work, and he once again rises to the challenge of presenting a compelling secret look into the world that we all know. And his female characters deserve special mentioning, for their highly complex portrayals of strong, sexy, and empathetic women.
January 6, 2009
A great story dealing with Durham's complex race history with flashes of greatness. Unfortunately, the main character's relationship with his father comes across as two-dimensional and his anger is more appropriate to a teenager than to an adult.
In spite of the weaknesses the book is well worth the read for anyone familiar with Durham and interested in its history.
In spite of the weaknesses the book is well worth the read for anyone familiar with Durham and interested in its history.
March 17, 2009
I absolutely loved this book.
October 9, 2019
Bellissimo.
Un noir, con alcuni elementi di realismo magico, un racconto straziante che parla di razzismo, di amore e di rapporti familiari.
Consigliatissimo.
Un noir, con alcuni elementi di realismo magico, un racconto straziante che parla di razzismo, di amore e di rapporti familiari.
Consigliatissimo.
March 24, 2020
Storia molto avvincente, peccato però per la quantità allucinante di refusi che rovinano il piacere di leggere... Spero abbiano intenzione di stampare una nuova edizione
July 4, 2019
It took me longer than usual to read this book only because of my busy schedule but this was a book I couldn’t put down. I started caring this book with me every where I want trying to get as much of this story as I could. Finally I set today aside to read this book. It was well worth the time and attention. I appreciate the writers excellent story telling skills and the research he put into this book. While it was written in 2010 boy is it relive to the times past and current that we continue to live in. Hats off to this writer for putting this story to pen.
August 12, 2021
Found this on my bookshelf and am not sure of how long it has been there; trying to read all that is unread! Told in several voices from one family, this novel takes place in Durham, NC, and delves into the destruction of the historic and once-thriving black community with the construction of a new highway that will connect the city to the visionary RTP. A search for one's origin, family secrets, institutional racism, southern mythologies, the KKK, and social divides are all part of this compelling story. Being fairly well-acquainted with the setting added to the enjoyment of this for me.
January 16, 2025
AAA cercasi correttore di bozze 🥹
Un libro così pieno di refusi non mi era mai capitato sottomano. La storia potrebbe anche essere interessante (siamo in North Carolina, con la nascita della terza ondata dei movimenti paralleli al KKK - quindi si parte dagli anni Quaranta, proseguendo con gli anni Settanta e le Black Panther arrivando poi agli anni 2000 e un omicidio scomodo da risolvere) ma è piena di cliché, soprattutto nel lungo finale dove troviamo un eroe - bianco ovviamente - che aiuta ma è più in gamba degli sbirri anche se due secondi prima era solo un fumettista sfigato.
Non mancano le scazzottate e l'affollatissima festa popolare dove lo stupidone di turno (ma andato in Vietnam quindi super pompato e addestrato) ha programmato un attentato dinamitardo (naturalmente sventato dal nostro eroe)...Ah, dimenticavo la storia d'amore interrazziale che ricorda il film "Revenge" di Tony Scott (il razzista bianco che si redime dopo essersi innamorato perdutamente della compagna del più grande e temuto attivista della zona)...
Vabbé. Bella la copertina anche se il serpente, nella storia, non c'è. Forse è un'allegoria del proverbio "parenti serpenti", chissà...
Un libro così pieno di refusi non mi era mai capitato sottomano. La storia potrebbe anche essere interessante (siamo in North Carolina, con la nascita della terza ondata dei movimenti paralleli al KKK - quindi si parte dagli anni Quaranta, proseguendo con gli anni Settanta e le Black Panther arrivando poi agli anni 2000 e un omicidio scomodo da risolvere) ma è piena di cliché, soprattutto nel lungo finale dove troviamo un eroe - bianco ovviamente - che aiuta ma è più in gamba degli sbirri anche se due secondi prima era solo un fumettista sfigato.
Non mancano le scazzottate e l'affollatissima festa popolare dove lo stupidone di turno (ma andato in Vietnam quindi super pompato e addestrato) ha programmato un attentato dinamitardo (naturalmente sventato dal nostro eroe)...Ah, dimenticavo la storia d'amore interrazziale che ricorda il film "Revenge" di Tony Scott (il razzista bianco che si redime dopo essersi innamorato perdutamente della compagna del più grande e temuto attivista della zona)...
Vabbé. Bella la copertina anche se il serpente, nella storia, non c'è. Forse è un'allegoria del proverbio "parenti serpenti", chissà...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2020
An incredible book! Shiner weaves a tale full of twists and turns.
March 2, 2021
Sicuramente uno dei libri più belli del mio anno di letture, sarà difficile competere!
June 18, 2022
An amazing historical novel reminding us of the destructiveness of "urban renewal" in the 1960's (based on the destruction of the Hayti community in Durham, NC). Powerful and engaging novel.
October 12, 2009
I read Lewis Shiner's Black & White with no prior knowledge of him or his previous work; the short blurb from Publisher's Weekly piqued my interest enough to warrant a purchase and I was not disappointed. It has all the elements of a great suspense and mystery novel filled with insightful observations on America's complicated views on society, identity, and race relations.
The novel opens in Durham with Michael, an introverted illustrator, attending his terminally ill father, Robert, who has chosen to return North Carolina in preparation of his death. Michael openly pleads with his father to address lifelong questions he has had regarding his conflicting birth date, and his mother's (Ruth) over-attentiveness towards his father, yet perfunctory relationship with him. When Robert decides to elicit a deathbed confession of sorts, it leads to the discovery of a body of a local, outspoken Civil Rights activist who disappeared amid controversy nearly 40 years ago. Michael soon finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation, which only ignites the curiosity of his father's clandestine past. The trail leads him down a slippery slope into the recesses of Hayti, Durham's historically African American community, once the most prosperous neighborhood in the South, envied by whites but devastated under the Urban Renewal initiatives of yesteryear. In a series of flashbacks, Shiner gives life and voice to a youthful Robert and Ruth. The reader follows Michael on a deep dark path to the truth steeped in danger. Michael learns of the mysterious magnetism of a seductive voodooienne and a host of suppressed family secrets amid the backdrop of America's racial and political pallet during the turbulent 1960s.
I learned quite a bit reading this page-turning novel, thus it entertained and educated and that makes it a winner for me. I kept turning pages, making notes in the margins to follow the mystery, and googled to find out more about events and locations mentioned therein. A great book that has made my 2008 favorites list - one that is recommended to historical fiction and/or mystery/suspense fans.
The novel opens in Durham with Michael, an introverted illustrator, attending his terminally ill father, Robert, who has chosen to return North Carolina in preparation of his death. Michael openly pleads with his father to address lifelong questions he has had regarding his conflicting birth date, and his mother's (Ruth) over-attentiveness towards his father, yet perfunctory relationship with him. When Robert decides to elicit a deathbed confession of sorts, it leads to the discovery of a body of a local, outspoken Civil Rights activist who disappeared amid controversy nearly 40 years ago. Michael soon finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation, which only ignites the curiosity of his father's clandestine past. The trail leads him down a slippery slope into the recesses of Hayti, Durham's historically African American community, once the most prosperous neighborhood in the South, envied by whites but devastated under the Urban Renewal initiatives of yesteryear. In a series of flashbacks, Shiner gives life and voice to a youthful Robert and Ruth. The reader follows Michael on a deep dark path to the truth steeped in danger. Michael learns of the mysterious magnetism of a seductive voodooienne and a host of suppressed family secrets amid the backdrop of America's racial and political pallet during the turbulent 1960s.
I learned quite a bit reading this page-turning novel, thus it entertained and educated and that makes it a winner for me. I kept turning pages, making notes in the margins to follow the mystery, and googled to find out more about events and locations mentioned therein. A great book that has made my 2008 favorites list - one that is recommended to historical fiction and/or mystery/suspense fans.
September 9, 2008
Black and White covers quite a lot of ground - telling the story of urban renewal and the growth of Research Triangle Park in an account that spans several decades. While the book often falls back on gimmicky plot devices and the final section manipulates very recent history heavily, Shiner's book illuminates the racism that motivated the destruction of Hayti, Durham's African American business and residential district.
September 14, 2008
Really good. Mid 30's comic artist who goes back to North Carolina to be with his dying father who is hiding some deep and dark secrets about the "Urban Renewal" of Durham through the destruction of Hayti, the African American neighborhood. So many secrets, plot turns, little political facts that kick you in the teeth, and a character based on Robert Williams. I look forward to reading his other books.
October 25, 2008
This is not a book to read if you already have days where you miss Durham like a limb. Unless, of course, you want that loss to seem even more vital. Beautiful, stunning book about family, time, roads, secrets, race, the gains and loss in progress, and Durham, oh, Durham.
November 26, 2016
Reads a bit like a da Vinci Code mystery (although at a much slower pace) deftly using Durham and civil rights history to let a sense of place drip off the page. In deed Durham-place is so strong you can smell the tobacco plant across the street.
September 23, 2008
Riveting story, and especially interesting for anyone who lives/lived in the Raleigh-Durham area.
February 11, 2009
interesting mystery set in Durham, NC in the 1950s and 1960s when the town was undergoing "urban renewal" and destroying the well established black community;
June 1, 2011
Engaging, emotionally charged, and full of eye-opening local Durham history.
January 24, 2016
Engaging read. And fun to read about real places nearby!
July 18, 2016
Read for the Duke library book club. Enjoyed the Durham setting, but did not connect to any of the characters.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews