#BookReview: ONLY THE STRONG by Jabari Asim

Set in the early 1970s in the fictional Gateway City he created in A Taste of Honey, Only the Strong reads like Jabari Asim’s love letter to his hometown of St. Louis. Gateway City is changing. The decay of the north side of town has already begun. Mill Creek Valley had been demolished and the promises of new housing and business developments in that area have been broken. The revolutionaries that once fought for civil rights have moved within the establishment and are now politicians. The segregated businesses of previous years have gone by the wayside and there’s even a black woman working at the lingerie counter at the local department store.

Only the Strong is centered around Guts Tolliver, former enforcer for local kingpin, Ananias Goode. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Guts finds that he no longer has the heart for breaking legs and killing his fellow man at the bequest of his boss. With Goode’s blessing, Guts instead spends his time running a taxi service and thinking about Pearl Jordan and banana pudding. Still, he keeps his ear to the ground, always aware of what’s going on around him, and always on the lookout for things or people that might bring harm to Goode.

Tolliver’s days start with feeding the ducks at Fairgrounds Park and catching up with the locals, like the two women that tend a memorial garden daily, and observing the quiet fisherwoman that never seems to move from her spot. Guts has just been hired to babysit Rip Crenshaw, a star player for the local baseball team, which would be easier if Rip wasn’t such a wild card. A missing ring causes more trouble than Guts is sure Rip is worth, but he promises him that it will turn up eventually and he’s a man of his word.

Guts’ interactions are often entertaining but never more so than when he’s visited by Playfair, a local booster. Playfair is a lighthearted hustle man who peddles his wares out of his car. He immediately brings to mind a charismatic Huggy Bear-like character. In addition to Playfair, there’s the cast of characters that always seems to hang around local businesses: the three gentlemen that hold court in front daily, including a man that works across the street but always seems to be at the cab stand; Nifty, a petty thief whose life Guts once spared and now uses an informant; and others in the neighborhood that stop by to chew the fat.

Dr. Artinces Noel is a model citizen. Once a quiet girl from Honey Springs, Kentucky, she’s now a respected pediatrician in Gateway City. During her tenure in the city, she’s worked her way up to the head of pediatrics at Abram Higgins Hospital. While no one bats an eye at the doctor taking in Charlotte Divine, a sullen teenage, the city would be scandalized to learn of who’s company the good doctor is keeping behind closed doors.

Most of the main characters are struggling with insecurities. As strong as he is physically, Guts can’t seem to find the wherewithal to meet the demands Pearl has placed on him. Charlotte’s abandonment as a baby has left her doubting whether or not anyone can truly care for her and she protects herself by rejecting people before they can reject her. Even Rip has problems believing that people like him and not his money or fame. Their insecurities don’t serve to make them weak characters; they’re more humanized because of them.

I could go into comparisons between Guts and other male protagonists like Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins or Brawley Brown or Attica Locke’s Jay Porter, but I won’t. Guts is a great character in his own right and there are really no comparisons to be made. As I read about him cruising down Natural Bridge or Delmar, crossing over Vandeventer or venturing across the bridge, while listening to the Man in the Red Vest, I couldn’t stop thinking about his next adventure in the Gateway City streets. Asim has created all of these great characters that have stories to tell and stories I want to hear.  Yes, I have a deep affection for stories set in St. Louis, but I would venture to say that Only the Strong is one of those books that resonates with you regardless of whether or not you have a connection to the area.

288 p.
Published: May 2015

Colorful Lit Alert, Spring 2015 - The Diverse Lit Edition

Sisters of Heart and Snow by Margaret Dilloway
400pp
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pub. Date: April 7, 2015

Rachel and Drew Snow may be sisters, but their lives have followed completely different paths.

Married to a wonderful man and a mother to two strong-minded teens, Rachel hasn’t returned to her childhood home since being kicked out by her strict father after an act of careless teenage rebellion. Drew, her younger sister, followed her passion for music but takes side jobs to make ends meet and longs for the stability that has always eluded her. Both sisters recall how close they were, but the distance between them seems more than they can bridge. When their deferential Japanese mother, Hikari, is diagnosed with dementia and gives Rachel power of attorney, Rachel’s domineering father, Killian becomes enraged.

In a rare moment of lucidity, Hikari asks Rachel for a book in her sewing room, and Rachel enlists her sister’s help in the search. The book—which tells the tale of real-life female samurai Tomoe Gozen, an epic saga of love, loss, and conflict during twelfth-century Japan—reveals truths about Drew and Rachel’s relationship that resonate across the centuries, connecting them in ways that turn their differences into assets.

#BookReview: A Taste of Honey: Stories - Jabari Asim

When Jabari Asim rolled through St. Louis earlier this year, I didn't attend the book signing because I hadn't yet read the book.  Now I really wish I had gone just to hear him read.  Billed as a set of sixteen short stories, A Taste of Honey is so much more than that.  It would be impossible to tell just one story and not wonder where it leads to or how the characters in that particular story affect characters in other stories.

Set in 1967 Gateway City, residents and those familiar with St. Louis will immediately recognize street names and neighborhood distinctions sprinkled throughout.  With a healthy cast of characters who could all be the main character, it is young Crispus that grabs my attention.  Though all stories are told in third person, when reading this I felt as if they were being told through the eyes of this young man.

There is the story of Rose, a young woman with the voice of an angel who lives to sing at church on Sundays, but spends the rest of the week pretending that her husband isn't as bad as he seems.  There's the friendship between the Reverend Washington and the notorious gangster, Ananais Goode, that no one can figure out. The neighborhood is rounded out with Guts Tolliver, the hit man with a sense of humor; Ray Mortimer, a white cop patrolling the beat; and several others that make this an absolutely delightful read.

What did you like about this book?
The author is a master of language and uses it to set the backdrop for an absolutely fascinating take on what life in St. Louis must have been like for African Americans, especially a nine year old boy.

What did you dislike about this book?
At just a little over 200 pages, I could have used a bit more.

What could the author do to improve this book?
Nothing.  If J. California Cooper were to decide to stop writing tomorrow, Jabari Asims could easily step into her role as the master of the short story.

205pp
Published March 2010




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