They’re funny and poignant, insightful and unpredictable, imaginative and authentic-all told with McBride’s unrivaled storytelling skill and meticulous eye for character and detail.

The stories in Five-Carat Soul-none of them ever published before-spring from the place where identity, humanity, and history converge. McBride at his brave and joyous best.” -New York Times Book Reviewįrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a James Brown biography. “A pinball machine zinging with sharp dialogue, breathtaking plot twists and naughty humor. One of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2017 Whether we are young black boys, old Jewish men, little girls at the gates of the afterlife, lions, or the wind, McBride is writing breath and blood and visceral life into our stories.” Each story is a keen call, an examination of who and where we are and how we got there. With present voices and urgent pleas, James McBride dissects the dynamics of power and station. Mamie Potter, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC Winter 2018 Reading Group Indie Next List

McBride has set the bar high once again.” A couple of multi-story combinations read like novellas, and satisfied my craving to know more about the most interesting of the characters. When I picked up a copy of James McBride's new collection of stories, Five-Carat Soul, I was prepared to be disappointed how could he top The Good Lord Bird? Was I ever surprised, in the best way possible! These stories have all the magnificent qualities of his National Book Award-winning novel: quirky, poignant, and hilarious characters amid myriad situations in life, and humanity at its most human presented in beautiful writing. “Sometimes after I've read a great book by an author, I judge.

Five carat soul review