Get In, Get Out

by Saleem Little

Rough, raw, and riveting, Saleem Little's first novel is a gritty portrayal of survival in an urban setting, where working the GAME (or dealing drugs) becomes the only way to escape stifling, racist-driven poverty. To most Americans, the GAME exists in a fantasy world, a violent world either glamorized by hip hop music or demonized by data and government statistics. Saleem Little illuminates it as a realm inhabited by real families and real children, a world where harsh choices determine outcomes for life or death. Marquise Jackson inherits the responsibility of caring for his mother and brother when his father is killed in a hail of bullets. As Mar navigates the world of drug dealers, street sharks, and other players in the GAME, he discovers that his intelligence and caution make him an excellent competitor. He is so successful that he lifts his mother, his brother, and his beautiful fiance, Lexi, out of street-level poverty into a world of success that results in education, charity, and social responsibility. Although the rewards are great, this tournament of wits is a dangerous sport, and the stakes are high. Saleem Little creates a surprise ending that twists and turns as Marquise and Lexi discover the fatal price for playing the GAME. (Get In, Get Out) is a high-speed train that carries the reader on a non-stop journey filled with sex, drugs, and violence. In that sense, it is dynamic and action-packed. The story, however, becomes more compelling when the reader discovers Marquise Jackson's deep desire to live a NORMAL life: a life where his children can grow up safely, where his little brother can go to college, where his mother can open her own shop and earn a living, where his family can gather for a Thanksgiving dinner like any other family in America. Saleem Little creates a world where the language of the street reveals an undeniable aspect of American culture, a reality that many Americans try to ignore. The irrefutable fact that a tremendous proportion of young African American men are incarcerated proves Little's point that playing the GAME is sometimes the only option to escape street-level poverty.

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 11, 2011

About the author

Writer, Poet, Publisher - Saleem Little is the author of over ten novels and Co-Founder and Owner of Mitanni Publishing (A subsidiary of Lexington Press). Some of his interest include: writing, reading, traveling, painting and spending time family.

In 2006 I lost a friend named Kareem Williams. He was murdered at the age of 24. At that point, I knew no other way to express myself than through writing. I began to write about our lives up until the point of his death and what had led us to that point.

The path to self-discovery starts with this sort of introspection and in this introspective state I discovered within the self a love for writing. After completing "Get In, Get Out" a story loosely based around the lives of those closest to me, I realized I had so many more stories to tell. This led to the sequel of "Get In, Get Out" - "Love and the Game" - and a plethora of books to follow.

In between books I kept myself busy with the writing of poems and songs. This led to another discovery, the artist within.

After exhausting a lifetime of ideas, I decided to publish the works of others while my life experiences slowly developed new stories to be written later.

Writing is a major part of my life and I appreciate all who take time out of their busy days to view and support my work.