- Audio CD
- Publisher: Hachette Audio (Jan 1 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 158621585X
- ISBN-13: 978-1586215859
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 1.9 x 14.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 159 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,172,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Even in his genre fiction, which includes mysteries (the Easy Rawlins, Fearless Jones and Socrates Fortlaw series) and SF (Blue Light, etc.), Mosley has not been content simply to spin an engrossing action story but has sought to explore larger themes as well. In this stand-alone literary tale, themes are in the forefront as Mosley abandons action in favor of a volatile, sometimes unspoken dialogue between Charles Blakey and Anniston Bennet. Blakey, descended from a line of free blacks reaching back into 17th-century America, lives alone in the big family house in Sag Harbor. Bennet is a mysterious white man who approaches Blakey with a strange proposition-to be locked up in Blakey's basement-that Blakey comes to accept only reluctantly and with reservations. The magnitude of Bennet's wealth, power and influence becomes apparent gradually, and his quest for punishment and, perhaps, redemption, proves unsettling-to the reader as well as to Blakey, who finds himself trying to understand Bennet as well as trying to recast his own relatively purposeless life. The shifting power relationship between Bennet and Blakey works nicely, and it is fitting that Blakey's thoughts find expression more in physicality than in contemplation; his involvements with earthy, sensual Bethany and racially proud, sophisticated and educated Narciss reflect differing possibilities. The novel, written in adorned prose that allows the ideas to breathe, will hold readers rapt; it is Mosley's most philosophical novel to date, as he explores guilt, punishment, responsibility and redemption as individual and as social constructs. While it will be difficult for this novel to achieve the kind of audience Mosley's genre fiction does, the author again demonstrates his superior ability to tackle virtually any prose form, and he is to be applauded for creating a rarity, an engaging novel of ideas.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Charles Blakey is an unemployed black man, deep in debt, who drinks too much, has few friends, is awkward with women, and lives alone in a large house where the basement is filled with artifacts of his family's rich history. As in many of Mosley's books, the story begins with a knock on the door: Anniston Bennet, a wealthy white man with mysterious motives, wants to rent Blakey's sizable basement. But while there is mystery here, this is no hunt for a criminal as in Mosley's famous Easy Rawlins series. Instead, an inventive premise lays the groundwork for a philosophical debate. Bennet wants Blakey to hold him prisoner for 65 days, his way of atoning for "crimes against humanity." Blakey is extremely reluctant, but the "rent" is considerable and his options are dwindling, so he agrees. At first, he's afraid of his voluntary prisoner, but the balance of power begins shifting unpredictably as the two men engage in heated question-and-answer sessions. In a way, Blakey finds his connection to his family and to the world as he explores relationships between the powerful and the disempowered, between world-changing evil and peaceful apathy. And when Bennet asks, "You think that you can have the easy life of TV and gasoline without someone suffering and dying somewhere?" the book's timeliness is irrevocably established. This is fine, provocative writing from the prolific Mosley, whose gifts extend well beyond his excellent mysteries. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and disturbing,
By
Ce commentaire est de: The Man in My Basement (Hardcover)
I'm not sure why Walter Mosley's The Man In My Basement is one of my favourite books. Perhaps it's the fact that it's a short read, or maybe the fact that it's a short read for such a hard topic. Either way, this is one book you must read.The Man In My Basement is the story of Charles Blakey, a young black man who has inherited a large house from his parents. He's down to his last few dollars, has been blacklisted among the community and can't find a job, and is wondering what he can do to make some money to pay for his living. Right when he feels down on his luck, he's propositioned by an older white man, Anniston Bennett, who wants to rent out the cellar. When Blakey finally agrees to take up Bennett's offer, he enters a world he did not expect. I had read this book a few years back when I was home sick with bronchitis. In just one afternoon, I had finished it, feeling haunted by what had transpired. I picked it up again for a readathon, remembering what a quick read it was, though feeling a little worried that I would be tired by reading the same words again, though I couldn't remember the whole story. Fortunately, I was just as intrigued reading this the second time as I was reading it the first time. Mosley has an interesting way of weaving a story together, hovering among that thin line between perfectly normal and perfectly morbid. And while there's a sense of normalcy throughout the book, the morbid is what teaches the reader the lessons. It's a philosophical read that will haunt you long after you finish its pages. The characters are very well fleshed out, both main and secondary, and themes of dominance and power'and losing your dominance and power'are questioned and explored. If you were in a situation of power, would you change as a human being? Would your values change? Would your temperament? If you lost your power, would you change? While it's a short novel, I can't help but wonder, had things gone differently, if Mosley couldn't have made it a little more longer and a little more thrilling. To me, it seems that the ending, while it left me haunted and thinking, was almost too neatly wrapped up. It would have been interesting to see Mosley explore a little more depth than just the ones that were presented. That being said, this is a gripping story and while there may not be any huge climaxes, you can't help but keep turning the pages'it's suspenseful enough that it doesn't need any huge climaxes or a ton of action. I highly recommend this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Writer...Interesting Book,,
By Victoria Taylor Murray "Book Maven" (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: The Man in My Basement (Audio CD)
The Man In My Basement, is an interesting novel that caught my attention from the first chapter of the story. I was captivated with this writer's unique story line. The characters are well-developed and the plot, intriguing. I'll look for future works by this writer. (The Man In My Basement is a "Must Read," novel)
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (75 customer reviews) 35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
I should have bought it,
By PFS - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: The Man in My Basement (Mosley, Walter) (Hardcover)
Walter Mosely has always been rather hit or miss with me. His Easy Rawlins mysteries are good reads yet a bit forgetable after a few months. The Fearless Jones books are entertaining but not much more. Blue Light just sucked and I didn't finish it. But he's always been a good enough writer to make me take notice when he has something new out. I saw Man in My Basement at the bookstore last week and read the synopsis. Sounded interesting but not enough for me to pay $22 for a 250 page book. So I got it from the library.After finishing it, I think I should have just bought the thing because I know I'll be reading it again and passing it on to all my friends. First of all, this is the best writing Mosley has done so far. Miles ahead of all his other stuff in terms of pace, tone, theme and overall prose. Second, it's original. I don't recall ever reading a story quite like it. Third, it's unpredictible (unlike some of his "mysteries"). I thought I had an idea where the story was going and was even dreading some heavy-handed sermonizing and lectures about race relations. Fortunately, it's not about any of that. The themes examined in the book are way more universal and I even found myself rethinking a few things about my own day-to-day living. The Man in My Basement is Mosely in prime form and I hope he continues to push the envelope like this. 43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bizarre But Brilliant!,
By Louis N. Gruber "Author of Jay" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: The Man in My Basement (Mosley, Walter) (Hardcover)
Charles Blakey is so far down he is about to hit bottom. A smart man who reads science fiction, he is not able to get a job, drinks all day, and is down to his last dollar. Then the mysterious small white man appears, Anniston Bennet, with a bizarre proposition. Bennet will pay an enormous sum of money just to stay in Blakey's basement for two months. Actually, it gets stranger, for what Bennet really wants is to be imprisoned in that basement in a specially constructed steel cage. He has--let's say--issues he needs to work out. Not much happens after that except the increasingly stormy relationship between these two very different men, their dialogue, and Blakey's desperate attempts to maintain his sanity. The experience will shake Charles Blakey's world to its foundations, and it may change yours as well. This is a bizarre story, but a powerful one, beautifully written. Author Mosley is a master writer. His characterizations are brilliant. His portrayal of Charles Blakey's downfall, confusion, struggles and redemption is a work of genius. Even the sex scenes are worth reading--earthy and unsettling. If you don't read anything else this year, read The Man In My Basement. In other words, I recommend it highly! Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber. 21 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
And Now for Something Completely Different from Mosley,
By J Scott Morrison - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: The Man in My Basement (Mosley, Walter) (Hardcover)
Walter Mosley as a writer is hard to pin down. He's written mystery novels, featuring Easy Rawlins, and at least one science fiction novel, 'Blue Light.' He's written about one of the most interesting characters in American fiction, Socrates Fortlow, in a group of short stories, 'Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned' and 'Walkin' the Dog.' And now he's written a novel set on Long Island, far from his usual Los Angeles scene, in a community of African-Americans who have been there since before the Revolution (that's the American Revolution, folks!). And he's concocted a wildly improbable plot that if nothing else convinces that Mosley has a wickedly inventive and creative mind.But most of all, and true in all of Mosley's writing, there is an undercurrent of subtly examined moral and ethical issues. Not the kind that clobbers you over the head with preachiness, but the kind that draws you in and makes you start thinking hard about things that are deep and disturbing, issues like 'good' and 'evil.' This novel, which I've now read twice, has stayed with me long after most books are distant memories. There is something profoundly disturbing and yet profoundly moving in this short book. So, in spite of there already being 30+ reviews of 'The Man in My Basement,' I felt I had to add my endorsement. Urgently recommended. Scott Morrison |
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