- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (Jan 7 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0609808478
- ISBN-13: 978-0609808474
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 2.3 x 20.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 299 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,347,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Chicago's virulent South Side is home to a pair of troubled young black men in the '60s who quit school and join the mob in Ojikutu's gritty, robust debut. Though he is an outstanding athlete in high school, Morris "Mookie" King decides to drop out and hit the streets, along with best friend J.C. Rose. In an alley, they discover the decomposing corpse of murdered local thug "Johnny the Baptist," lift his gold jewelry and attempt to sell it in gangster Tommy Ricci's pawnshop. Seduced by Ricci's money and power, Mookie and J.C. sign up for a mob-style education, and soon they are assisting boss man Salvie in small "debt recovery" assignments. In alternating sections rife with hardcore slang, Mookie and J.C. recount their graduation to more serious tasks (including managing a refurbished nightclub cover operation). In no time, they are overseeing the entire South Side's mob activities. Money and power eventually drive the boys apart, and their differences become more evident. After they commit a sloppy murder, Mookie flees the scene and only J.C. is nabbed. Saddled with a lengthy jail sentence, J.C. has plenty of time to finish his GED and reconsider his lifelong friendship with Mookie. A tougher and wiser J.C. emerges from prison only to lock horns with Mookie, who is now primed to become a kingpin in the organization. Threats, bloodshed and murder are rife in this first novel, but Ojikutu keeps the mayhem tightly focused, offering up an accomplished and engaging story of gangster life on the South Side.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
The prize-winning debut of an incendiary new voice in contemporary American fiction, 47th Street Black is the story of JC and Mookie, whose rise in the gangster-driven ghettos of Chicago is as swift as it is brutal.
In the early sixties, 47th street is the heart of black Chicago, where recent migrants from the South come to move up in the world. JC and Mookie are high school dropouts, playing stickball in the street when they stumble upon the dead body of the area's black liaison to the mafia. Where others would run, Mookie sees opportunity, and in no time he and JC are working for Salvie, the local boss. Within a year, they are the most infamous figures on 47th Street, best friends and partners with flashy cars, clothes, and women.
As they alternate telling their stories, the balance of power shifts: smooth, charismatic Mookie becomes the de facto leader and small, violent JC the enforcer—roles that send JC to jail for a murder they commit together. In the 15 years he's away, JC gains an education and a resentment he can't control, while Mookie gains power over the entire South Side. By the time JC is paroled, both the neighborhood and the two men's lives are on an inexorable path to an explosive confrontation with simmering injustice.
In the early sixties, 47th street is the heart of black Chicago, where recent migrants from the South come to move up in the world. JC and Mookie are high school dropouts, playing stickball in the street when they stumble upon the dead body of the area's black liaison to the mafia. Where others would run, Mookie sees opportunity, and in no time he and JC are working for Salvie, the local boss. Within a year, they are the most infamous figures on 47th Street, best friends and partners with flashy cars, clothes, and women.
As they alternate telling their stories, the balance of power shifts: smooth, charismatic Mookie becomes the de facto leader and small, violent JC the enforcer—roles that send JC to jail for a murder they commit together. In the 15 years he's away, JC gains an education and a resentment he can't control, while Mookie gains power over the entire South Side. By the time JC is paroled, both the neighborhood and the two men's lives are on an inexorable path to an explosive confrontation with simmering injustice.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
WE USE TO WATCH THE BIG CARS roll west on 47th Street, Lord's sun shinin off black paint jobs, brighter than it shined against skin. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
WE USE TO WATCH THE BIG CARS roll west on 47th Street, Lord's sun shinin off black paint jobs, brighter than it shined against skin. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Are we products of our environment?,
By R.E.A.L. Reviewers (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 47th Street Black: A Novel (Paperback)
'47th Street Black' is a first novel for Mr. Ojikutu. He picks an interesting and difficult topic: life in the streets. Mr. Ojikutu makes political statements and observations about life in the United States through main characters Mookie and J.C. Mookie is an exception to the rule of the projects, his parents are still together and a relative is not raising him. However, his father is just going through the motions of living without really living. Mookie has the potential to fulfill the dreams of his father, when life as a black man in the USA destroys those dreams, and Mookie turns to the other option available in his neighborhood. J.C. is Mookie's best friend. He almost has this love/hate relationship with Mookie where he resents and admires his talents. It seems that J.C. is always living in Mookie's shadow. The premise of 47th Street back is worthy of a book. Mr. Ojikutu intersperses the history of the 1960's through out the plot. It seems to me that the story could have been shorter and there were times that it was difficult to keep reading; the story-line did not hold my attention after a certain point. Also, sometimes the dialect makes it hard to follow. Perhaps this would be a more interesting read for men and/or women who enjoy reading about murder, drugs, chauvinism and the mafia. It is an admirable first novel, but I don't know that I would read this author again. Leanna
4.0 out of 5 stars
For a first novel, I was blown away,
By ghettotechnology (BK,NYC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 47th Street Black: A Novel (Paperback)
by the imagery and the pain conveyed. You feel the hopelessness of the folks on 47th Street and, even though he probably shouldn't be the one I was rooting for, I was on JC's side from the beginning. Rough around the edges and stubborn, JC is like many people I know. I was sorry I read it so quick!
5.0 out of 5 stars
When's the movie coming out?,
By christina pak (glenview, il United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 47th Street Black: A Novel (Paperback)
I was blown away by Ojikutu's gritty, urban novel. This book is definitely not for the timid and prudish. He tells a fascinating tale of inner-city gangster life set on the South side of Chicago. Ojikutu does such a fine job developing thoughtful, three- dimensional characters that seem to jump right off the page. Being a Chicagoan, I feel compelled to drive down to 47th Street in search of Ojikutu's mystical character, Black. I can not wait until this book gets picked up by a major movie studio; this has Hollywood blockbuster hit written all over it! I just hope that Robert DeNiro and Mekhi Pfifer will be available!
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