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Any Way the Wind Blows E. Lynn Harris
$19.95 / Hardcover / 345 pages
ISBN 0385495056
Doubleday
Fiction / African American Fiction
Harris has a serious knack for writing bestsellers. In the final pages of
Not a Day Goes By—Harris’s previous best-selling novel—John Basil
Henderson, the hero of both this and his latest novel, a philanderer and a
confirmed bisexual, declares: "I’m back, in full form. And I’m out there.
Roamin’. And switching lanes." And indeed he is. In Any Way the Wind
Blows, Harris’s latest chronicle of Basil’s tumultuous life, Basil, up
to his old shenanigans again—a major part of which is having a number of
simultaneous affairs with both women and the men—gives an interesting new
twist to his usual, good-looking adventurer, homme fatal performance.
His ex-fiancée Yancey Harrington Braxton, a Broadway star left by Basil
at the altar a year earlier, is back, but Basil is not certain if she has
forgiven him or if she is out to get revenge. Surrounded by a chorus of
unforgettable characters, the two of them find themselves entangled in a
complex ballet of vengeance, as they wrestle with each other while trying to
maintain a sense of direction in their lives.
Family members, as well as new entries into their circle, get involved in
their struggle. Yancey’s mother, Ava "Mama Dearest" Braxton, an aging show
girl; the wise Windsor Adams; and the new man on the scene, Bartholomew
Cumbar, an attractive and charming fellow who as a professional con-artist
makes Basil look like a boy scout, are some of the remarkable characters
that are involved in the exciting plot.
E. Lynn Harris was named one of the fifty-five Most Intriguing
African-Americans by Ebony and was inducted in the Arkansas Hall of
fame. Harris’s masterful storytelling proves once more that the recognition
that he has received over the years is well deserved. With his wicked
mixture of love, compassion, and unexpected plot twists, he offers a
uniquely contemporary African American narrative that combines psychological
depth with satisfying, sophisticated entertainment. |
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