In
Close to the Bone, author Jake Lamar has created
a riveting novel of three young couples whose lives
intersect in curious ways. And the question that torments
all of them: What is a black man?
Hal
Hardaway is a young black executive, struggling to get
along with Corky Winterset, his white girfriend, who
holds him in "constant suspicion of machismo."
Walker Dupree, Hal's former roomate, is wrestling with
his mixed racial heritage while trying to avoid marriage
to his persistent black girlfriend, Sadie Broom. Dr.
Emmet Mercy, self-help guru and author of Blactualization
: Everyday Strategies for Reconnecting with Your Authentic
African-American Self, is obsessed with gaining fame
and fortune -- at any cost. Meanwhile, his wife LaTonya
shares a secret, sordid history with Hal.
The
story moves from New York to Paris, from Amsterdam to
Craven, Delaware, finally culminating on the eve of
one of the defining events of our time: the verdict
in O.J. Simpson's criminal trial. Using the public spectacle
of the celebrated murder case in counterpoint to the
private lives of his characters, Jake Lamar -- one of
America's most original writers -- paints a stunning
portrait of a society grappling with fundamental problems
of race and sex, identity and justice.
Reviews:
 "Lamar's
smart novel features vibrant, sympathetic characters
and dialogue that's laugh out loud funny."
--
Mademoiselle
"Lamar
renders the story with a keen sense of irony, seamlessly
straddling past and present. No one escapes his searing
wit."
--
Seattle Times
"While
Close to the Bone dives into the complexities
of late twentieth century race relations, it's not a
sermon masquerading as a novel. Accessible and engaging,
it has a strong narrative momentum punctuated by edgy
humor."
--
Houston Chronicle
"Whether
writing fiction or nonfiction, Lamar cuts through the
controversies surrounding the African American experience."
--
Library Journal
"Undoubtedly
informed by his own experience as an expatriate in Paris,
Lamar wonders if the American pursuit of happiness ultimately
leads to discontent. Although at the end of the novel
the characters seem no closer to answering this question
than when it began, they also seem so real that the
reader wonders how their lives will eventually resolve
it."
--
Washington Post
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