{"product_id":"the-awkward-black-man-9780802149565","title":"The Awkward Black Man","description":"\u003cp\u003eBestselling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. \u003ci\u003eThe Awkward Black Man\u003c\/i\u003e collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to showcase the full range of his remarkable talent.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in each of these stories--heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved, and, on the whole, odd. He overturns the stereotypes that corral black male characters and paints a subtle, powerful portrait of each of these unique individuals. In \"The Good News Is,\" a man's insecurity about his weight gives way to a serious illness and the intense loneliness that accompanies it. Deeply vulnerable, he allows himself to be taken advantage of in return for a little human comfort in a raw display of true need. \"Pet Fly,\" previously published in the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, follows a man working as a mailroom clerk for a big company--a solitary job for which he is overqualified--and the unforeseen repercussions he endures when he attempts to forge a connection beyond the one he has with the fly buzzing around his apartment. And \"Almost Alyce\" chronicles failed loves, family loss, alcoholism, and a Zen approach to the art of begging that proves surprisingly effective.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTouching and contemplative, each of these unexpected stories offers the best of one of our most gifted writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mosley, Walter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Grove Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780802149565\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.20d","brand":"Walter Mosley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32962859204683,"sku":"9780802149565","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0021\/1697\/6715\/products\/img_830e6d00-b77d-4133-a5cf-c70daac1cf91.jpg?v=1605739402","url":"https:\/\/blackbookstore.com\/products\/the-awkward-black-man-9780802149565","provider":"Black Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}