Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas

Man Gone Down

Michael Thomas

This is make or break. The story moves between a man's present day struggle to maintain his dignity and the years of both catastrophe and brilliance that have led him here. The author charts the churning of his stomach physically, emotionally and metaphysically in exacting observations. I found this style relentless and all the more moving as I got to understand the estrangement he feels and began rooting for a happy ending.

Extract
Perhaps we princes were only dreaming. How else do rogues get the chance, either together or alone, to turn everyone on and free the world? The first true children of integration; up south, over pond, peeking out of ghettos; no factories or fisheries or railroad yards for us to languish in - set for dreaming. We slept too long. Everything passed us by.
Parallels
  • The Catcher In The Rye by J D Salinger
  • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison