Hi all!
Today I am back for Day #16 of the Black Resilience Booksta Challenge. I explained all the rules in my first post here. I’m hoping this will inspire other readers to read, review and amplify more black voices. Feel free to join me! You can refer to the template below. You can also check out the dedicated category under the Books & Reading menu of this blog for all the posts that came before this one.
I chose The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle for Day #16 because it is a horror novella with fantasy elements. Charles Thomas Tester hustles to put food on the table and keep the roof over his father’s head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic and earns the attention of things best left sleeping…
Wow! For a novella that was shy of 150 pages, it packed a punch. Firstly, the writing was BEAUTIFUL. There were so many wonderful, captivating quotes. In particular, I loved: “indifference would be such a relief.” It was definitely a unique story open to interpretation. There were Lovecraftian undertones, with a mention of the creature Cthulhu. I also enjoyed that the plot was divided between two perspectives (Tom and Malone). There was a moment that made me audibly gasp. I’ll just say it involved time travel. Overall, I really liked it, rated it highly and recommend it. There is a very important racial narrative being told from the perspective of the author.
If you are interested in getting a copy, you can order it here.
Thank you so much for reading, I will see you next time for Day #17.
Peace & Love xoxo
Disclaimer: This post contains a link to my Book Depository Affiliate. I am not being paid or sponsored for this post/products – all my thoughts/opinions are my own