Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (Socrates Fortlow #1)

Walter Mosley

Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars
4.19 · 16 ratings · 234 pages · Published: 01 Apr 1997
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley
In this cycle of 14 bittersweet stories, Walter Mosley breaks out of the genre--if not the setting--of his bestselling Easy Rawlins detective novels. Only eight years after serving out a prison sentence for murder, Socrates Fortlow lives in a tiny, two-room Watts apartment, where he cooks on a hot plate, scavenges for bottles, drinks and wrestles with his demons. Struggling to control a seemingly boundless rage--as well as the power of his massive "rock-breaking" hands--Socrates must find a way to live an honourable life as a black man on the margins of a white world, a task which takes every ounce of self-control he has.

Easy Rawlins fans might initially find themselves disappointed by the absence of a mystery to unravel. But it's a gripping inner drama that unfolds over the pages of these stories, as Socrates comes to grips with the chaos, poverty and violence around him. He tries to get and keep a job delivering groceries; takes in a young street kid named Darryl, who has his own murder to hide; and helps drive out the neighbourhood crack dealer. Throughout, Mosley captures the rhythms of Watts life in prose both lyrical and hard-edged, resulting in a haunting look at a life bounded by lust, violence, fear and a ruthlessly unsentimental moral vision.

Amazon Other stores
As an Amazon Associate thebooknaut.com earns from qualifying purchases

Tagged as:

    romance tags

    crime tags

    literary-fiction tags

    historical-fiction tags

    fantasy tags

    sci-fi tags

    action-adventure tags

    thriller tags

    horror tags

    Collections/Custom tags

    Report duplicate books, missing or wrong information

    The 'Socrates Fortlow' series

    4.19 · 16 ratings
    audiobook · book · fiction · poc-mc · literary-fiction · crime · noir · black-mc · law-enforcement · mystery · young-adult
    Socrates Fortlow reading order and complete book list  ❯

    Reviews

    Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley

    Report duplicate books, missing or wrong information