Whose Song?: And Other Stories

by Thomas Glave

Book Overview

Author Thomas Glave is known for his stylistic brio and courageous explorations into the heavily mined territories of race and sexuality. This searing collection of stories is a stunning debut of a writer the Village Voice has named "One to Watch."

"Thomas Glave walks the path of such greats in American literature as Richard Wright and James Baldwin while forging new ground of his own. His voice is strong and his technique dazzling as he...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872863751
• ISBN13: 9780872863750
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: City Lights Books
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Gifted Author

I had the pleasure of interviewing Thomas Glave for a local paper, and read his book in order to prepare for the interview. I'm reminded of something Toni Morrison said about her practice as a writer, and that is that she writes the kind of stories she would want to read. Thomas Glave writes the kind of stories I want to read, and gives voice through his writing to people and experience not often heard above the din of the rest of humanity. His writing is highly readable, and he tackles his subject matter with compassion for his characters and his reader, but without attempting to find pat answers to the challenges and choices his characters face. I highly recommend this book, and hope to see much more from Glave in the future.

The Transformation of Silences

Thomas Glave's Whose Song and Other Stories is a triumphant short story collection that articulates the sounds and shouts of otherwise marginal figures. Moving back and forth from the Caribbean to the American South to the Northern metropolises, Glave captures the fluidity and undecidability of what it means to be "Black," "Caribbean," "queer," "straight," and "gendered" in our society. Glave skillfuly crafts narratives which are beautiful and disturbing and forces us, as readers, to enter the never written before, but often lived, reality of characters. An amazing first book and a definite read!!!

a pleasure, but recommended only for mature readers

Once in a while you come upon a book that you know is a great one. This book of short stories is one of those books. I think that Mr. Glave is a musician. He is also a pyrotechnician. He pulls off many things in this book that other writers would not dare to try. I teach writing and composition, and know that writers like Glave are _extremely_ rare. I would caution young people to take it easy with this book, though, since its subject matter might be too much for some of them. Mr. Glave does not shy away from harsh subjects, and some of these stories are quite frightening. But if you love beautiful language and mesmerizing storytelling, they will be _well_ worth the trip. I feel changed forever by the experience of reading this book.

A MASTERPIECE!!!!

I did not expect to read such a GREAT book when I picked this up. I dont even read short stories but this book has made me want to read more, especially by this author Thomas Glaves. He is a genius and I never heard of him before. You should read this book if you want to read something you have never read before. But be careful because these short stories will stay with you for a LONG time. And they are very painful. But he wrote them like poetry. A MASTERPIECE.

Totally amazing

This is the best book I've read so far this year. I didn't know what to expect when I got it, but one of my professors recommended it so I bought it. I hardly ever read short stories, but I'm REALLY GLAD!!! that I bought this book. This writer, Thomas Glave, writes like a magician!!!! The stories knocked me out and took me to all these different places I never thought I could go. I've never read anything like that story "Whose Song" or "The Pit" and another one, "Their Story." They're all GREAT. Who is this guy? He's AMAZING!!!!