Edward Thomas

Thelonious "Monk" Ellison is a black writer whose works are high brow and not very much read. His latest work is rejected and he's told he's not black enough and that his writing is not representative of his community. Around the same time he needs to head to Washington, DC, to care for his aging mother, after his sister, who lives nearby is killed.His family includes 3 generations of doctors and there is dysfunction and some big secrets. While at a bookstore he sees that his books are relegated to a section of the store that no one will notice them, but he sees that a bestseller is a book by a black author which is written in dialect and atrocious. In need of money he himself writes a racially offensive book as parody, and to his shock and dismay, it becomes amazingly popular. Chapters of this awful novel appear within the pages of this book. Erasure is not an easy book to describe but I thought it was great. It's sly and laugh out loud funny at times, and at other times deals with very real problems and is tender and loving. I was unaware that the book was actually written in 2001 and was the basis of the Oscar-nominated film "American Fiction." This is the 4th book I've read by Everett, and the best one yet. All are interesting reads.