The Tempest Tales [Hardcover]

and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup."

Psalms: 11:6

Walter Mosley's latest book, "The Tempest Tales", is "[d]edicated to the memory of Langston Hughes". The story, in form and content, pays homage to Jesse B Semple, the great character created by Langston Hughes in his Simple Stories. The Early Simple Stories (Collected Works of Langston Hughes) and The Later Simple Stories (Collected Works of Langston Hughes)

Set in Harlem, Tempest Landry is gunned down `accidentally' by the police for a robbery he did not commit. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the story opens we see him standing in a terminally long line, waiting for St. Peter to pass judgment. Tempest is a bit upset, to say the least, when St. Peter advises Tempest that his sins outweigh his good deeds and he is condemned to damnation. But Tempest does not go quietly. He refuses to accept the judgment and this causes no end of consternation in heaven. No soul has ever refused to accept St. Peter's judgment and Tempest soon finds out that he cannot be compelled to damnation without his consent. The rules, such as they are, require that Tempest accept the judgment that has been passed on him. St. Peter decides to send Tempest back down to earth along with a guardian angel who is is tasked with the job of convincing Tempest to accept St. Peter's judgment. Tempest (now in another soul's body) and the guardian angel end up back in Harlem. The rest of the story focuses on the relationship between Tempest and the guardian angel.

Mosley does a great job presenting Tempest as a man tasked with defending his life. St. Peter and the guardian angel live with a moral compass that it fixed, sure, and not subject to earthly claims of relative good an evil. In heavenly terms, good and bad are moral absolutes and not subject to bargaining or mitigation. But Tempest, basically on trial for his immortal soul, does a magnificent job of arguing, or trying to explain, to his angel that life on earth, particularly life for a black man in Harlem, creates enough magnetic or social `interference' to render that moral compass less than an absolute guide to sin or salvation. What Mosley does here, and to great effect, is to look at a man's life from an earthly perspective, where decisions are not nor perhaps cannot always be made in terms of absolute good and evil. Mosley manages to do this without slipping into the sort of moral relativism that makes excuses for any bad choices made by people here on earth. He does not advocate absolute relativism as a superior concept to moral precepts of right and wrong. My impress was that Mosley suggests that when we take the measure of a man's life that we look beyond a mere ledger of rights and wrongs.

"Tempest Tales" would not have worked if Mosley had not created such fine characters. Tempest, his angel and the characters that people "Tempest Tales" are painted with depth and nuance. Mosley is a fine, entertaining writer and "Tempest Tales" was yet another Mosley story that I found hard to put down. As noted earlier, "Tempest Tales" is something of homage to Langston Hughes. Its Harlem setting and the type of characters that populate the book really do evoke the wonderful stories of Hughes. Mosley, however, does not slavishly imitate Hughes the way an Elvis impersonator might don a white jump suit and do a third-rate note-by-note, gyration-by-gyration impersonation of the old Elvis. Rather, Mosley has created characters and created dialogue that are unique to Mosley and not pale imitations of Simple and his friends. That seems to me to be the best sort of homage. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig

First, a short story... I was at the 2008 L.A. Festival of Books just walking around minding my own business and I see a booth that is selling books. Nothing unusual because that is what they are there for. What WAS unusual was the book that they were pulling out of a box. A cover with a silhouette of a Black man with wings, hey I know that cover!! It's Walter Mosley's new book cover. Now I start to wonder... then I look over and there is Walter Mosley signing his new book!!!!

Are you KIDDING ME!?!?! Here I am just enjoying the UCLA campus, being around other book lovers, all the delicious eye candy, and I see a freaking literary ICON!! I. Freaked. Out!! So you know I had to buy and book and get him to sign it and that is exactly what I did!! That was an unexpected treat for me and everyone else that was in L.A. that day. Anyway... on to the book....

`Tempest Tales' was a very short but VERY powerful book. Tempest is a man who is sent to Heaven after he is murdered by the police. Once there St. Peter tells him that he needs to go to Hell. Tempest says "no". Never in the history of Heaven as anyone EVER said "no". Thus begins the tale. Tempest is sent back to Earth with an accounting angel to show him that he is a sinner and therefore must accept the judgment of Heaven. Tempest is pretty hard-headed and uncommonly bright, and gives the angel a run for his halo.

The underlying philosophical question in this book is: are the sins of the poor, oppressed, and Black the same as the White and well off? Tempest says no, the angel says yes, and their arguments really make this book exceptional. There are more than a few things in this book that will raise your eyebrows because you'll be thinking "no way" or "how is that possible". One of the most shocking yet entertaining twists is when "Bob" shows up. I won't tell you who "Bob" is but your body will catch goose bumps when you find out.

This book won't make or break how you feel about Heaven, Hell, or God but it will cause you to think. Good vs. Evil. Fiction and Philosophy. Man vs. God. Mix those up and you get this truly very splendid book.

Tempest Landry was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he was fatally shot and killed by the police. Which was a mistake of identity.

Standing in line to be judged by the man upstairs. Tempest discovers his sins and explains that he did what he did for the love of his family and friends. He is condemn to hell by St. Peter. Not taking his fate lightly he refuses to be sentence to eternal damnation.

Three years later, Tempest reappears back on earth in another body not recognized by his friends and family. Also sent with him is the accounting angel Joshua who is there to monitor his progress and to help reexamine the circumstances of his past life. Constantly, debating over the issues of right and wrong, Joshua tries to get Tempest to admit that he is a sinner and deserves damnation, but he is not giving in. He brings in a 3rd party name Bob who represents Lucifer and the story gets really interesting.

The Tempest Tales is a novel that I couldn't put down. Its gives you a glimpse of the after life and a sense of what you can expect. Also you will get the do's and don'ts of having eternal life and/or damnation. This is my first read of Mr. Mosley's work. He is an excellent writer, and I will be reading more of his books in the future.

Tangerine, Reviewer
Reader's Paradise Book Club

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