DATE PUBLISHED: 2009
DATE READ: January 2010
NOTES: Good to begin off the New Year with a really good book! I heard Black Water Rising reviewed on Radio 5 and was eager to read it. I was not disappointed.
Set in Houston, Texas in 1981 it tells of struggling lawyer Jay Porter as he grapples with problems – both personal and professional – in a USA that is still coming to terms with the Civil Rights struggle. Attica Locke creates a wonderful picture of the steamy city which is beset by political corruption, union strife and corporate greed. She makes it very clear to the reader that although many of the demands of black citizens had been met by 1981 there still remained covert racism and many black people still felt they had to be careful in their actions and mistrustful of those in authority.
It is a complex and gripping story. All the characters are well portrayed – from the ambitious manipulative white mayor to Jay’s heavily pregnant, highly principled and somewhat neglected wife.
If you like James Lee Burke, Walter Mosley, the TV series The Wire or the film Chinatown then you will love this book.
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Sunday, 3 January 2010
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
DATE PUBLISHED: 2009
DATE READ: January 2010
NOTES: Good to begin off the New Year with a really good book! I heard Black Water Rising reviewed on Radio 5 and was eager to read it. I was not disappointed.
Set in Houston, Texas in 1981 it tells of struggling lawyer Jay Porter as he grapples with problems – both personal and professional – in a USA that is still coming to terms with the Civil Rights struggle. Attica Locke creates a wonderful picture of the steamy city which is beset by political corruption, union strife and corporate greed. She makes it very clear to the reader that although many of the demands of black citizens had been met by 1981 there still remained covert racism and many black people still felt they had to be careful in their actions and mistrustful of those in authority.
It is a complex and gripping story. All the characters are well portrayed – from the ambitious manipulative white mayor to Jay’s heavily pregnant, highly principled and somewhat neglected wife.
If you like James Lee Burke, Walter Mosley, the TV series The Wire or the film Chinatown then you will love this book.
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