The Tempest Tales

by Walter Mosley

Book Overview

From the acclaimed bestselling author of the Easy Rawlins series, deemed "one of America's best mystery writers" (The New York Times Book Review), comes a tale about a murdered man who does not want... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574780433
• ISBN13: 9781574780437
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Black Classic Press
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Heaven, Hell and Harlem in between

Although a very quick read, this is exactly my kind of novel. That is, an entertaining tale woven with philosophical and spiritual explorations. Mosley has created a memorable cast to guide you through his message. You will live their ultimate highs and deepest woes, using believable everyday language, even as the fate of the cosmos hangs in the balance. The book begins at the gates of Heaven, but the remainder is set mostly in Harlem. As mentioned in other reviews, race, racism and poverty weigh heavily into the discussion, and you briefly get the impression that Mosley is prepared to justify almost any ill on these grounds. Don't be fooled. While significant to the plot and characters, these phenomena serve truly as metaphors for really any number of pressures, injustice, and the human condition at large. The main character, Tempest, is uniquely subjected to the enormity of Heaven and hell. Thanks to a technicality of free will, Tempest has both sides telling him they require the ultimate sacrifice of his very soul. In the meantime, all about him, the everyday pain of poverty and desperation continue taking their toll, adding to his conundrum but also fueling his fires. This is the brilliance of the book. The struggles of Tempest are the struggles of all of us. Trying to balance the rigidity that often accompanies organized faith, avoiding the corruption of materialism, all the while witnessing pain, mortality and unpunished evil in our world - Tempest rails against these entrapments while searching for a balance he can live with (in his case, literally). Mosley somehow manages to bring a tongue-in-cheek humor to this epic struggle. Tempest describes his wife and girlfriend with equal affection. His accompanying angel, Joshua, sustains his mortal form with an accounting job and gets sick during tax season. The characters will stay with you after you put this book down. This book definitely made me want to read more Mosley. I'm appreciating it more and more as I write this review!

Great Stuff From Walter Mosley -- As Usual

Usually I review nonfiction business and career books in the "Bud's Books column on my ezine. However, I just read a great novel by Walter Mosley, and I felt compelled to feature it in the latest edition and to post it here. The Tempest Tales is the story of Tempest Landry. As the story begins, Tempest is mistaken for another man and shot and killed by the police. When he gets to the Pearly Gates, Saint Peter sentences him to hell for his sins. However, Tempest takes exception with Saint Peter's definition of sin. He refuses to go to hell and explains that his "sins" are merely things he had to do - for his family, friends and love - and to survive. Tempest gets sent back to earth - with an angel, whose job is to convince him to accept his sins and his judgment of eternal damnation. This is when it gets interesting. Tempest and the angel spar over the notion of right and wrong. Tempest does his best to convince the angel that acts, in and of themselves, are neither good not sinful. They must be viewed in context. The angel is very perplexed by the notion of shades of gray. Things are black and white in his world. I like this book for a couple of reasons. First, like all Walter Mosley books, it is well written. Second, it makes an important point about human relations. No one should presume to judge another human being until he or she has stood in the other person's shoes. In my new book, "Straight Talk for Success", I point out that successful people, among other things, are interpersonally competent. If you want to become interpersonally competent, you need to develop empathy for your fellow human beings. Things that may seem strange to you, might be perfectly logical from another's perspective. In The Tempest Tales, Walter Mosley takes you for in interesting and enjoyable ride as he goes about proving this point. If you're the kind of person who doesn't read fiction thinking that it is a waste of time, pick up and read a copy of The Tempest Tales. You'll see that helpful career and life success messages can, and often do, come in novels.

"Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone

and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." Psalms: 11:6 Walter Mosley's latest book, "The Tempest Tales", is "[d]edicated to the memory of Langston Hughes". The story, in form and content, pays homage to Jesse B Semple, the great character created by Langston Hughes in his Simple Stories. The Early Simple Stories (Collected Works of Langston Hughes) and The Later Simple Stories (Collected Works of Langston Hughes) Set in Harlem, Tempest Landry is gunned down `accidentally' by the police for a robbery he did not commit. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the story opens we see him standing in a terminally long line, waiting for St. Peter to pass judgment. Tempest is a bit upset, to say the least, when St. Peter advises Tempest that his sins outweigh his good deeds and he is condemned to damnation. But Tempest does not go quietly. He refuses to accept the judgment and this causes no end of consternation in heaven. No soul has ever refused to accept St. Peter's judgment and Tempest soon finds out that he cannot be compelled to damnation without his consent. The rules, such as they are, require that Tempest accept the judgment that has been passed on him. St. Peter decides to send Tempest back down to earth along with a guardian angel who is is tasked with the job of convincing Tempest to accept St. Peter's judgment. Tempest (now in another soul's body) and the guardian angel end up back in Harlem. The rest of the story focuses on the relationship between Tempest and the guardian angel. Mosley does a great job presenting Tempest as a man tasked with defending his life. St. Peter and the guardian angel live with a moral compass that it fixed, sure, and not subject to earthly claims of relative good an evil. In heavenly terms, good and bad are moral absolutes and not subject to bargaining or mitigation. But Tempest, basically on trial for his immortal soul, does a magnificent job of arguing, or trying to explain, to his angel that life on earth, particularly life for a black man in Harlem, creates enough magnetic or social `interference' to render that moral compass less than an absolute guide to sin or salvation. What Mosley does here, and to great effect, is to look at a man's life from an earthly perspective, where decisions are not nor perhaps cannot always be made in terms of absolute good and evil. Mosley manages to do this without slipping into the sort of moral relativism that makes excuses for any bad choices made by people here on earth. He does not advocate absolute relativism as a superior concept to moral precepts of right and wrong. My impress was that Mosley suggests that when we take the measure of a man's life that we look beyond a mere ledger of rights and wrongs. "Tempest Tales" would not have worked if Mosley had not created such fine characters. Tempest, his angel and the characters that people "Tempest Tales" are painted with depth and nuance. Mosley is a fine, entertaining

Nice job !!!!!! Please write more !!!!

This is my third Mosley book (I've read both of his science fiction books) I throughly enjoyed this book!!! On the surface you would believe it is just a cute story about a dead man not willing to go to Hell even though St. Peter commands that he go, but as you think about what you are reading you begin to see that it is more about the injustices of Racism, poverty and the overall political scene in America from a Black man's point of view. My only criticism (and it is a stretch by far) is that is is such a small book that I read in 2 days and now I'm left wanting more. One could take the position that the ending leaves much to be desired, but for me I think the ending is purposely left opened ended because there (I hope) will be more Tempest tales. Walter Mosely is the type of Author that all writers should aspire to write like. He writes with intelligence, purpose and fun all rolled into one. I loved this book!!!!!

A renaissance author...

First, a short story... I was at the 2008 L.A. Festival of Books just walking around minding my own business and I see a booth that is selling books. Nothing unusual because that is what they are there for. What WAS unusual was the book that they were pulling out of a box. A cover with a silhouette of a Black man with wings, hey I know that cover!! It's Walter Mosley's new book cover. Now I start to wonder... then I look over and there is Walter Mosley signing his new book!!!! Are you KIDDING ME!?!?! Here I am just enjoying the UCLA campus, being around other book lovers, all the delicious eye candy, and I see a freaking literary ICON!! I. Freaked. Out!! So you know I had to buy and book and get him to sign it and that is exactly what I did!! That was an unexpected treat for me and everyone else that was in L.A. that day. Anyway... on to the book.... `Tempest Tales' was a very short but VERY powerful book. Tempest is a man who is sent to Heaven after he is murdered by the police. Once there St. Peter tells him that he needs to go to Hell. Tempest says "no". Never in the history of Heaven as anyone EVER said "no". Thus begins the tale. Tempest is sent back to Earth with an accounting angel to show him that he is a sinner and therefore must accept the judgment of Heaven. Tempest is pretty hard-headed and uncommonly bright, and gives the angel a run for his halo. The underlying philosophical question in this book is: are the sins of the poor, oppressed, and Black the same as the White and well off? Tempest says no, the angel says yes, and their arguments really make this book exceptional. There are more than a few things in this book that will raise your eyebrows because you'll be thinking "no way" or "how is that possible". One of the most shocking yet entertaining twists is when "Bob" shows up. I won't tell you who "Bob" is but your body will catch goose bumps when you find out. This book won't make or break how you feel about Heaven, Hell, or God but it will cause you to think. Good vs. Evil. Fiction and Philosophy. Man vs. God. Mix those up and you get this truly very splendid book.