"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." -- Luke 17:3 (NKJV)
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned is the first book in the Socrates Fortlow series by Walter Mosley. As much as I admire the later books in the series, this one if my favorite. I first read it before I even knew that Amazon existed so I have never written a review of it.
I decided that Christmas 2011 was a good time to reread the book and to share my views about this powerful work.
If you haven't read any of the books in the series (Little Yellow Dog and The Right Mistake), be sure to start with this one. It's one of the most powerful books I recall in terms of capturing a convict's self-directed rehabilitation.
When Socrates was sent to prison for murders and rape, he was just another guy seeking to gratify his price, appetites, and anger. Over the long years, he came to reflect on what his choices were before picking one. Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned is an eloquent fictional presentation of how powerful free will can be in taking us on a constructive path, even in the absence of seeking God's direction.
In individual stories (separately published before this collection was put together), Mr. Mosley explores themes such as forgiving those who have wronged you, helping those who are weaker than you are, seeking peace with violent people, refusing to compromise with criminal behavior, rebuking sinners, getting a job from those who are prejudiced against you, inspiring youth to lead a decent life, patching up marriages, reaching out for dreams, rejecting easy compromise that could lead to violence and death, escaping street violence, addressing your regrets, the fragile nature of acquaintance, responsibility to the law and to the community, obtaining justice, and dignity in death. It's as though you were reading Socrates himself on the nature of the world, as seen through prison-wise and street-wise eyes.
Although there's plenty of poverty, hatred, anger, fear, danger, and death here, there's also the nobility of the human spirit . . . and its potential to grow. I think you'll find this book to be uplifting. I pray that you will read it and think about how its lessons might be applied to your life.
Bravo, Mr. Mosley!
