{"product_id":"9780743244190","title":"Night Journey : A Novel","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eNight Journey\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Murad Kalam\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNot since Richard Wright's \u003ci\u003eNative Son\u003c\/i\u003e has the education of a young man been rendered as daringly, defiantly, and emotionally galvanizingly as in Murad Kalam's \u003ci\u003eNight Journey.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eNight Journey\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of Eddie Bloodpath, beautiful, oversized, awkward child of South Phoenix's Third Ward. Hefty and handsome, quiet and strong like his long-lost father, Eddie is the good son, seemingly immune to the powerful pull of the streets. His older brother, Turtle -- a frail, stuttering, grammar school dropout who was born to hustle -- isn't convinced that Eddie will stay out of trouble. Acting on instinct, Turtle plucks Eddie from the brink of the urban abyss and delivers him to the boxing gym. \u003cbr\u003e A perpetual innocent and reluctant pugilist, Eddie is adopted by a rogues' gallery of melancholy prizefighters, artful hustlers, strung-out mystics, pubescent crack lords, and drunken burnouts. He falls in love with Tessa, a hauntingly beautiful prostitute with whom he shares an unspeakable secret. Waiting in the wings is Marchalina, Eddie's high school crush, a privileged, bookish, North Phoenix girl who could save him from his worst instincts. \u003cbr\u003e When a senseless murder and its aftermath send Eddie running from the sun-washed landscape of the American Southwest, he tries to fight his way to safety -- first in Chicago, at the national amateur competition, and then in the surreal underworld of Las Vegas professional boxing. Rushing pell-mell toward manhood, Eddie must discover where his true allegiances lie. \u003cbr\u003e An American odyssey, \u003ci\u003eNight Journey\u003c\/i\u003e is a first novel equally remarkable for its raw power and wise empathy, borne up by Murad Kalam's unshakable belief in the ultimate grace of humanity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003eScott Turow A remarkable first novel -- gripping, moving, and original. Its vivid, impressionistic style and sheer...authority...are completely compelling. You must read this book.\u003cbr\u003eRandall Kennedy Author of \u003ci\u003eNigger\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eInterracial Intimacies\u003c\/i\u003e Murad Kalam will be compared to Richard Wright and with good reason. Like Wright, Kalam explores with an extraordinarily moving directness neglected facets of African-American life. He shows a sharp eye for the telling visual detail, a keen ear for arresting dialogue, and an uncanny ability to portray dramatic action in ways that make a reader keep reading. \u003ci\u003eNight Journey\u003c\/i\u003e announces the presence of a major new figure in American letters.\u003cbr\u003eSusan Straight Author of \u003ci\u003eHighwire Moon\u003c\/i\u003e Wonderfully original, Murad Kalam's \u003ci\u003eNight Journey\u003c\/i\u003e is a path no other writer has taken before, to places rendered with love, humor, and a strange wild grace. His people are vivid and human and unique, his landscapes harsh and yet exquisite in detail. I was intrigued and compelled to read further, to find out what they would make of their lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780743244190\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40590036730062,"sku":"9780743244190","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/O_e185a31e-2278-4036-a019-1fba428fcd7e.jpg?v=1637730128","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780743244190","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}