- Gebundene Ausgabe: 249 Seiten
- Verlag: Little Brown and Company (Januar 2004)
- Sprache: Englisch
- ISBN-10: 0316570826
- ISBN-13: 978-0316570824
- Größe und/oder Gewicht: 18 x 13,5 x 1,8 cm
- Durchschnittliche Kundenbewertung: 5.0 von 5 Sternen Alle Rezensionen anzeigen (2 Kundenrezensionen)
- Amazon Bestseller-Rang: Nr. 283.659 in Englische Bücher (Siehe Top 100 in Englische Bücher)
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Produktbeschreibungen
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
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Kurzbeschreibung
Stepping away from his summertime thriller series featuring Easy Rawlins and Fearless Jones, Mosley delivers a literary novel of astonishing originality and power.
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Die hilfreichsten Kundenrezensionen
Format:Taschenbuch
The Man in My Basement is a sharp departure from the other novels I have read by Walter Mosley, so don't expect a murder mystery or Easy Rawlins. If you want easy ready about likeable characters, look elsewhere. Ugliness is right out there in plain sight . . . where it has to be dealt with.
It's hard to set up the story without getting into spoilers. Basically, Charles Blakey is a man who is about to hit bottom as the book opens. He's unemployed, no one will hire him, his life is a mess, and he's two weeks behind on his mortgage. Blakey has brought these problems on himself and doesn't feel inclined to deal with his messes. If one had to predict, he looks like a good candidate for becoming homeless.
Out of nowhere, a man comes to his home and offers to rent his basement for the summer. No one in their right mind would want to do that because the basement is a mess and full of old junk. There's not even a bathroom there. Astonished, Blakey turns him down. But eventually he relents . . . and opens himself to an astonishing experience.
As the story develops, we vividly see the ways that our self-image and reality are formed by the reactions of others to us and our situation. By our own actions (or inactions), we create moral consequences for ourselves and others. What line should we take in responding to those reactions in choosing actions and inactions? Mr. Mosley moves beyond conventional morality, religion and legal perspectives to suggest that we create a balance that is good for us and others. To achieve this balance, we need to challenge ourselves to play roles that are unaccustomed . . . and to see how well they fit our character and our preferences.
Anyone who reads this book will probably wonder what she or he would have done in the place of the major two characters in the book. It's that lingering question of "Whither Goest Thou?" that makes this book the second great novel I have read that was written in the twenty-first century. The other was Crabwalk by Gunter Grass.
I heartily recommend this book to those who enjoy novels that explore moral questions in challenging ways. I also recommend it to novelists who want to see what powerful metaphors can do to make a work of fiction strong and memorable.
It's hard to set up the story without getting into spoilers. Basically, Charles Blakey is a man who is about to hit bottom as the book opens. He's unemployed, no one will hire him, his life is a mess, and he's two weeks behind on his mortgage. Blakey has brought these problems on himself and doesn't feel inclined to deal with his messes. If one had to predict, he looks like a good candidate for becoming homeless.
Out of nowhere, a man comes to his home and offers to rent his basement for the summer. No one in their right mind would want to do that because the basement is a mess and full of old junk. There's not even a bathroom there. Astonished, Blakey turns him down. But eventually he relents . . . and opens himself to an astonishing experience.
As the story develops, we vividly see the ways that our self-image and reality are formed by the reactions of others to us and our situation. By our own actions (or inactions), we create moral consequences for ourselves and others. What line should we take in responding to those reactions in choosing actions and inactions? Mr. Mosley moves beyond conventional morality, religion and legal perspectives to suggest that we create a balance that is good for us and others. To achieve this balance, we need to challenge ourselves to play roles that are unaccustomed . . . and to see how well they fit our character and our preferences.
Anyone who reads this book will probably wonder what she or he would have done in the place of the major two characters in the book. It's that lingering question of "Whither Goest Thou?" that makes this book the second great novel I have read that was written in the twenty-first century. The other was Crabwalk by Gunter Grass.
I heartily recommend this book to those who enjoy novels that explore moral questions in challenging ways. I also recommend it to novelists who want to see what powerful metaphors can do to make a work of fiction strong and memorable.
Format:Taschenbuch
The Man in My Basement is a sharp departure from the other novels I have read by Walter Mosley, so don't expect a murder mystery or Easy Rawlins. If you want easy ready about likeable characters, look elsewhere. Ugliness is right out there in plain sight . . . where it has to be dealt with.
It's hard to set up the story without getting into spoilers. Basically, Charles Blakey is a man who is about to hit bottom as the book opens. He's unemployed, no one will hire him, his life is a mess, and he's two weeks behind on his mortgage. Blakey has brought these problems on himself and doesn't feel inclined to deal with his messes. If one had to predict, he looks like a good candidate for becoming homeless.
Out of nowhere, a man comes to his home and offers to rent his basement for the summer. No one in their right mind would want to do that because the basement is a mess and full of old junk. There's not even a bathroom there. Astonished, Blakey turns him down. But eventually he relents . . . and opens himself to an astonishing experience.
As the story develops, we vividly see the ways that our self-image and reality are formed by the reactions of others to us and our situation. By our own actions (or inactions), we create moral consequences for ourselves and others. What line should we take in responding to those reactions in choosing actions and inactions? Mr. Mosley moves beyond conventional morality, religion and legal perspectives to suggest that we create a balance that is good for us and others. To achieve this balance, we need to challenge ourselves to play roles that are unaccustomed . . . and to see how well they fit our character and our preferences.
Anyone who reads this book will probably wonder what she or he would have done in the place of the major two characters in the book. It's that lingering question of "Whither Goest Thou?" that makes this book the second great novel I have read that was written in the twenty-first century. The other was Crabwalk by Gunter Grass.
I heartily recommend this book to those who enjoy novels that explore moral questions in challenging ways. I also recommend it to novelists who want to see what powerful metaphors can do to make a work of fiction strong and memorable.
It's hard to set up the story without getting into spoilers. Basically, Charles Blakey is a man who is about to hit bottom as the book opens. He's unemployed, no one will hire him, his life is a mess, and he's two weeks behind on his mortgage. Blakey has brought these problems on himself and doesn't feel inclined to deal with his messes. If one had to predict, he looks like a good candidate for becoming homeless.
Out of nowhere, a man comes to his home and offers to rent his basement for the summer. No one in their right mind would want to do that because the basement is a mess and full of old junk. There's not even a bathroom there. Astonished, Blakey turns him down. But eventually he relents . . . and opens himself to an astonishing experience.
As the story develops, we vividly see the ways that our self-image and reality are formed by the reactions of others to us and our situation. By our own actions (or inactions), we create moral consequences for ourselves and others. What line should we take in responding to those reactions in choosing actions and inactions? Mr. Mosley moves beyond conventional morality, religion and legal perspectives to suggest that we create a balance that is good for us and others. To achieve this balance, we need to challenge ourselves to play roles that are unaccustomed . . . and to see how well they fit our character and our preferences.
Anyone who reads this book will probably wonder what she or he would have done in the place of the major two characters in the book. It's that lingering question of "Whither Goest Thou?" that makes this book the second great novel I have read that was written in the twenty-first century. The other was Crabwalk by Gunter Grass.
I heartily recommend this book to those who enjoy novels that explore moral questions in challenging ways. I also recommend it to novelists who want to see what powerful metaphors can do to make a work of fiction strong and memorable.
Die hilfreichsten Kundenrezensionen auf Amazon.com (beta)
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35 von 37 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
I should have bought it
22. Januar 2004
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
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 von 47 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Bizarre But Brilliant!
21. Januar 2004
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
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 von 25 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
And Now for Something Completely Different from Mosley
2. Oktober 2004
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
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
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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