The Vulture & The Nigger Factory

by Gil Scott-Heron

"Gil Scott-Heron's highly successful two novels from the early Seventies are packaged together for the first time. Digging the rhythms of the street, where the biggest deal life has to offer is getting high, The Vulture is a hip and fast-moving thriller. Relating the story of John Lee's murder through the words of four men, the reasons behind the death of the teenager slowly begin to emerge." "The Nigger Factory is a scornful statement on the way in which human beings are conditioned to think. On the campus of Sutton University, Virginia, the students are trying to carry forth the message of reconstruction to a university resistant to change. The failure of Sutton to embrace the changing attitudes of the Sixties has necessitated extreme action and the revolution is nigh."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres: Fiction

496 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 1999

About the author

Gilbert Scott Heron was born in 1949. His mother was a librarian and his father a soccer player from Jamaica. In his youth Heron displayed both sporting prowess and academic ability (he won a place at Pennsylvania Lincoln University, like his role model Langston Hughes, the Harlem Renaissance man). But he quit college after the first year to write his first novel, The Vulture (1970). While Heron was writing this the ferment of black politics and student radicalism was coming to a head, and his second novel The Nigger Factory (1972) reflects these developments.
Heron has been more adventurous in his work as a musician and rapper.

Reviews

[Oriana]

I've been listening to Gil Scott-Heron's music a lot lately (did you know he wrote the incredible Esther Phillips song "Home Is Where the Hatred Is"? Hearing either of their versions gives me chills). So if his prose is on par with his lyrics and poetry, I can't wait to read this. But I'm really nervous about reading it in public places, like the subway or my stoop. Is it cowardly or smart to cover the cover with duct tape?

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vulture could easily fall into the same category as 1950s crime/noir/mystery...it just happens to take place in 1970s Harlem. A drug dealer is killed and each character revolves around a different character's point of view. A little sexy, a little violent, and overall an enjoyable read.

the Nigger Factory is a pretty heavy-handed story about unrest at a black university. Students issue a list of demands, and when those demands aren't met, riots ensue. Not as fun or compelling, and plays out fairly predictably.

[Jaik · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably will not be televised

[Monica]

I had no idea GS-Heron wrote anything other than music.

[Jewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Campus unrest in the 60's and 70's was a bit before my time of understanding although I would have liked reading this book when in high school.