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Only the Strong
Jabari Asim’s debut novel returns readers to Gateway City, the fictional Midwestern city first explored in his acclaimed short story collection, Taste of Honey. Against a 1970s backdrop of rapid social and political change, Only the Strong portrays the challenges and rewards of love in a quintessential American community where heartbreak and violence are seldom far away.
Moved by the death of Martin Luther King Jr., Lorenzo "Guts" Tolliver decides to abandon his career as a professional leg-breaker and pursue a life of quiet moments and generous helpings of banana pudding in the company of his new, sensuous lover. His erstwhile boss, local kingpin Ananias Goode, is also thinking about slowing down—but his tempestuous affair with Dr. Artinces Noel, a prominent pediatrician, complicates his retirement plans. Meanwhile, Charlotte Divine, the doctor’s headstrong protégée, struggles with trials of her own.
With prose that's sharp, humorous, and poetic, Asim skillfully renders a compelling portrait of urban life in the wake of the last major civil-rights bill. Massive change is afoot in America, and these characters have front-row seats.
Moved by the death of Martin Luther King Jr., Lorenzo "Guts" Tolliver decides to abandon his career as a professional leg-breaker and pursue a life of quiet moments and generous helpings of banana pudding in the company of his new, sensuous lover. His erstwhile boss, local kingpin Ananias Goode, is also thinking about slowing down—but his tempestuous affair with Dr. Artinces Noel, a prominent pediatrician, complicates his retirement plans. Meanwhile, Charlotte Divine, the doctor’s headstrong protégée, struggles with trials of her own.
With prose that's sharp, humorous, and poetic, Asim skillfully renders a compelling portrait of urban life in the wake of the last major civil-rights bill. Massive change is afoot in America, and these characters have front-row seats.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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About the author
Jabari Asim
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Praise for Only The Strong
"Jabari Asim is such an elegant writer that you won't realize how smoothly he drew you in until you're halfway through this book. Humane and humorous, compassionate and willing to get a little rough, this describes both the writer and the novel. Only The Strong does for St. Louis what Edward P. Jones has done for Washington D.C., Raymond Chandler for Los Angeles---marked it as place on the literary map where you'll want to stay for a long while. A riveting novel." --Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver
“Only the Strong is a lushly atmospheric and passionately written piece of work, bursting with colorful characters that shine on every page.” ---Bernice L. McFadden, author of Gathering of Waters
"Only the Strong effortlessly transmits Jabari Asim’s profound affection for this book's charismatic and varied characters. This is a vivid, revelatory portrait of 1970s America in the disheartened aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death." —Rafael Yglesias, author of The Wisdom of Perversity
"There's an eerie timeliness to the publication of this fictional study of Saint Louis black communities of the 1970s. Only the Strong reminds me of Chester Himes’ Harlem entertainments—in its deceptively light handling of desperately serious subject matter. Jabari Asim is a writer to watch, and to listen to closely, in these difficult times." —Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising and Zig Zag Wanderer
"It is like stepping into a time capsule of my old neighborhood in the 1970s...to read about Gateway City, Jabari Asim’s fascinating rendition of St. Louis, as an adult brings back memories of time and place, and also admiration for his storytelling." —Susan Straight, author of Between Heaven and Here and A Million Nightingales
Praise for A Taste Of Honey
"A Taste of Honey has the power of memoir and the poetry of fiction. Suddenly, it is 1968 once more, with all of the hope and violence and seismic change that rocked the cities that summer. It's all here and it's all beautifully rendered. This books is a gem."
—Chris Bohjalian, author of Secrets of Eden
"Jabari Asim has written a brilliant coming-of-age tale filled with compelling characters navigating race relations in 1968, navigating familial and neighborhood demands, and triumphantly reaffirming what it means to be human. A lovely, lyrical collection of connected stories that will leave readers breathless and ecstatic with passion and joy."
—Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Yellow Moon
"Offering the bitter with the sweet, Jabari Asim's first collection of stories, A Taste Of Honey, serves up a multilayered dish. Asim ranges through and across a Midwestern African American community in the wake of the civil rights movement and the social changes of the last forty years, writing from the inside out and unforgettably bringing to life a world that still is too seldom seen in American fiction."
—John Keene, author of Annotations
"Jabari Asim's rich short stories read like a novel . . . full of people we love getting to know—Rose, Gabriel, Pristine, Ed, Reuben, and Guts. I particularly loved the male characters in these pages . . . men who live by their brains and their brawn, shelter their children, their community. They embrace their wives. They love hard, laugh deep, and cry inside."
—Denise Nicholas, author of Freshwater Road
"Asim successfully delves into politics, domestic violence, racial identity, young love, and more in this humorous and poignant collection..."
—Publishers Weekly
"With his debut work of fiction, the Guggenheim Fellow proves himself to be a promising storyteller." -Library Journal
"This fiction rings true." -Kirkus Reviews
More about Jabari Asim
He is the author of What Obama Means . . . For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future,, The N Word
"Jabari Asim is such an elegant writer that you won't realize how smoothly he drew you in until you're halfway through this book. Humane and humorous, compassionate and willing to get a little rough, this describes both the writer and the novel. Only The Strong does for St. Louis what Edward P. Jones has done for Washington D.C., Raymond Chandler for Los Angeles---marked it as place on the literary map where you'll want to stay for a long while. A riveting novel." --Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver
“Only the Strong is a lushly atmospheric and passionately written piece of work, bursting with colorful characters that shine on every page.” ---Bernice L. McFadden, author of Gathering of Waters
"Only the Strong effortlessly transmits Jabari Asim’s profound affection for this book's charismatic and varied characters. This is a vivid, revelatory portrait of 1970s America in the disheartened aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death." —Rafael Yglesias, author of The Wisdom of Perversity
"There's an eerie timeliness to the publication of this fictional study of Saint Louis black communities of the 1970s. Only the Strong reminds me of Chester Himes’ Harlem entertainments—in its deceptively light handling of desperately serious subject matter. Jabari Asim is a writer to watch, and to listen to closely, in these difficult times." —Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising and Zig Zag Wanderer
"It is like stepping into a time capsule of my old neighborhood in the 1970s...to read about Gateway City, Jabari Asim’s fascinating rendition of St. Louis, as an adult brings back memories of time and place, and also admiration for his storytelling." —Susan Straight, author of Between Heaven and Here and A Million Nightingales
Praise for A Taste Of Honey
"A Taste of Honey has the power of memoir and the poetry of fiction. Suddenly, it is 1968 once more, with all of the hope and violence and seismic change that rocked the cities that summer. It's all here and it's all beautifully rendered. This books is a gem."
—Chris Bohjalian, author of Secrets of Eden
"Jabari Asim has written a brilliant coming-of-age tale filled with compelling characters navigating race relations in 1968, navigating familial and neighborhood demands, and triumphantly reaffirming what it means to be human. A lovely, lyrical collection of connected stories that will leave readers breathless and ecstatic with passion and joy."
—Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Yellow Moon
"Offering the bitter with the sweet, Jabari Asim's first collection of stories, A Taste Of Honey, serves up a multilayered dish. Asim ranges through and across a Midwestern African American community in the wake of the civil rights movement and the social changes of the last forty years, writing from the inside out and unforgettably bringing to life a world that still is too seldom seen in American fiction."
—John Keene, author of Annotations
"Jabari Asim's rich short stories read like a novel . . . full of people we love getting to know—Rose, Gabriel, Pristine, Ed, Reuben, and Guts. I particularly loved the male characters in these pages . . . men who live by their brains and their brawn, shelter their children, their community. They embrace their wives. They love hard, laugh deep, and cry inside."
—Denise Nicholas, author of Freshwater Road
"Asim successfully delves into politics, domestic violence, racial identity, young love, and more in this humorous and poignant collection..."
—Publishers Weekly
"With his debut work of fiction, the Guggenheim Fellow proves himself to be a promising storyteller." -Library Journal
"This fiction rings true." -Kirkus Reviews
More about Jabari Asim
He is the author of What Obama Means . . . For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Future,, The N Word
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
December 22, 2015
This is a tender read about a very outwardly tough character: Lorenzo "Guts" Tolliver, a former professional leg breaker, moved to mend his ways after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. He is rendered thoroughly complex. I haven't read his short story collection, but this novel uses the same fictionalized Midwestern City - Gateway City set in the 1970s. The political and sociological shifts of the time this story is set in lend themselves to the complexity of the plot and depth of characters. We want Lorenzo and Charlotte and Ananias to succeed, but also realize that violence and pain is a constant looming threat. That their past isn't all that far behind. We want Lorenzo to eat his banana pudding.
This is not a novel exactly, but it's not a novella, or a short story collection either. Whatever it is, trust me when I say it's good. It's a glorious panorama. It takes on three major characters and they all intersect. They are all set in a fictionalized version of St. Louis during a very tumultuous time of political and social upheaval. In the first story, Lorenzo struggles to escape his past, and ends up working for Ananias Goode, a local criminal. The second story focuses on Goode, who is also seeking to live a life free from violence and his past, but his relationship with a doctor in good social standing in the community complicates things. And the third story is about Charlotte, a particularly colorful character. She has a complicated relationship she is in while in college. What is interesting in the narrative is that each section takes on different emotions or styles or historic periods, sometimes it's psychological, other times cultural with history being weaved throughout. The language is hypnotic and poetic, with wonderful control throughout. It is very rare to find fiction about very hard characters and renders the writing with tenderness. When you find something like that, you scoop it up!
This is not a novel exactly, but it's not a novella, or a short story collection either. Whatever it is, trust me when I say it's good. It's a glorious panorama. It takes on three major characters and they all intersect. They are all set in a fictionalized version of St. Louis during a very tumultuous time of political and social upheaval. In the first story, Lorenzo struggles to escape his past, and ends up working for Ananias Goode, a local criminal. The second story focuses on Goode, who is also seeking to live a life free from violence and his past, but his relationship with a doctor in good social standing in the community complicates things. And the third story is about Charlotte, a particularly colorful character. She has a complicated relationship she is in while in college. What is interesting in the narrative is that each section takes on different emotions or styles or historic periods, sometimes it's psychological, other times cultural with history being weaved throughout. The language is hypnotic and poetic, with wonderful control throughout. It is very rare to find fiction about very hard characters and renders the writing with tenderness. When you find something like that, you scoop it up!
August 6, 2015
This deserves a better, more thorough review than I can write. It's a great book - funny, sharp, and I enjoyed that it wasn't written at a breakneck pace. The non-urgency made the characters and setting so enjoyable. A semi-retired gangster, the right-hand man to the local crime boss, is enjoying his new pastime of feeding ducks and working at a taxi cab dispatch company. One day the crime boss calls him back to hang out with and guard a major league baseball star. Set in a 1970s fictional St. Louis-like city, the details and people in the novel were obviously created with skill and care and love.
A mix of Walter Mosley and Elmore Leonard? It's a very assured voice and I want to read more.
A mix of Walter Mosley and Elmore Leonard? It's a very assured voice and I want to read more.
May 27, 2016
Just a really well written book that was both a slice of life character study taking place during a reasonably compact period (maybe a few months) in "real time" in the 1970's in a fictional take on St. Louis...as well as a thought provoking, multigenerational take on responsibility, family, class and subtle (and not so subtle) racism and sexism in the era covering many years and events through memory and flashbacks (often lyrically interwoven into the present). Not being African American or old enough to remember much of the 70s, I can't say whether it "captured" the experience. But I can say the the characters were compelling and interesting, the community was well depicted, everything felt right, and absolutely nothing felt preachy. I loved the way the book opened us into this world through the eyes of a reforming "enforcer," and then interlocked with stories of a few characters in the community, adding depth, layers and little surprises throughout.
I only picked this up because it was on the staff recommendations shelf at my local library and the cover note referencing a fictional St. Louis (where I go frequently) caught my eye. Glad it did.
I only picked this up because it was on the staff recommendations shelf at my local library and the cover note referencing a fictional St. Louis (where I go frequently) caught my eye. Glad it did.
October 23, 2021
James McBride mixed with a chunk of Walter Mosley. Black lit at its finest. Though a bit wordy and it seems too drawn out in some places, this was a delight to read. I was enthralled with the character Guts as I was hoping the book was all about him but it turned out it followed several characters. The book eventually intertwined the characters but the ending felt incomplete. It was drama, mystery, action, and a love story all rolled up in one. The author could have easily fleshed out the story line for each character. Charlotte, the abandoned at birth but now grown adult who lives with Dr. Noel who is having an affair with the notorious gangster Mr Goode whose wife is in a coma who was protected by the now reformed loved smitten Guts Tolliver whose parents died ( interesting story how the parents a died) and left him alone as a huge teenager. Not in that order. Lol
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2016
at first it seemed asim was maybe new to fiction, overexplaining, a little clunky, not the least bit shy of cliche. but he knows exactly what he's doing. he is overexplaining to document a vanished world. he squeezes every cliche for its humor, its utility in masking, and for play.
January 15, 2016
I loved it. Only the Strong started out sounding like it was going to be a gritty gangster novel. It turned into a portrait of many aspects of mid-century African-American life in Gateway City, modeled after the author's native St. Louis.
October 24, 2019
I fell in love with the people of Gateway City through short stories in A Taste Honey. In this novel, based in the City, we get a closer glimpse at some minor and major characters. We experience domestic violence, rags to riches, love stories, coming of age and mental health issues.
October 19, 2017
An absolutely captivating novel. Because I'd read Taste of Honey, this felt like bringing people back into my life. Could not put it down.
November 26, 2022
Rounding up from 3.5 stars. The main story and characters are engaging, and the author provides a thoughtful and colorful (both humorous and empathetic) perspective on mid-20th century Black history in a fictional midwestern American city (that is a lot like St. Louis). Some of the flashbacks go off track, and the ending is both rushed and leaves some questions, but this was an entertaining and enjoyable read.
June 8, 2015
Incredible story, in the light of Ferguson & the unrest in our communities all over these United of States. Given the time period of this novel it speaks to how black people live.
April 17, 2020
An interesting study of some complex, well-rounded characters, with some larger historical themes threaded throughout. I went back and forth on whether to give this three or four stars. I liked the author's use of language, and subtle yet impactful way of describing events in characters' memory. But the forward momentum of the story definitely lags, and then comes to a sudden resolution that depends a bit too much on coincidence for my tastes. Some subplots (Crenshaw and his ring) get a bit tedious.
March 28, 2023
Having read and enjoyed Yonder I was keen to read others by this competent author.
This book did not disappoint.
In spite being a hardened criminal Lorenzo's epiphany after Martin Luther's death endears himself to the reader.
Interwoven in the story are serious and confronting issues from racism (will it ever vanish from our society ???)...sexism( same)...
There was a hint of James Baldwin and a sprinkle of Walter Mosely which can only be a positive.
This book did not disappoint.
In spite being a hardened criminal Lorenzo's epiphany after Martin Luther's death endears himself to the reader.
Interwoven in the story are serious and confronting issues from racism (will it ever vanish from our society ???)...sexism( same)...
There was a hint of James Baldwin and a sprinkle of Walter Mosely which can only be a positive.
December 27, 2024
3.5⭐
There are just too many POV characters - only Guts and Artinces are worthwhile. These characters are great and I would have enjoyed the book better if it had proceeded from only their viewpoints. I was particularly bored and ready for this book to end during Charlotte's section.
The ending is pat and, consisting of a rushed denouement, is entirely unsatisfying and out of pace with the rest of the book.
There are just too many POV characters - only Guts and Artinces are worthwhile. These characters are great and I would have enjoyed the book better if it had proceeded from only their viewpoints. I was particularly bored and ready for this book to end during Charlotte's section.
The ending is pat and, consisting of a rushed denouement, is entirely unsatisfying and out of pace with the rest of the book.
February 21, 2020
This was a slow read. The intersecting story lines weren't necessarily boring but somehow they still dragged. The ending felt extremely rushed. It's like the author didn't know how to continue after the climax of the story and just tied things off in the simplest way possible. Overall I still liked the book but in some ways it fell short.
June 23, 2021
Set primarily in a 1970s St. Louis-like city, Asim explores some of the struggles black men and women faced during a turbulent period in American history. Gangsters and bad guys trying to make good, women who love fiercely in different ways, and young people trying to make their way and succeed against the uncertainties of life. Overall 3.5 out of 5
August 18, 2022
Quick, great story telling. Kept my interest throughout. Loved all the references to St. Louis, MO! Mr. Asim can get you to love (and or dislike) a character in only 2 pages! Excellent boiled down descriptive story telling. I wish more authors would realize that less is more! because..so many books ...so little time...
May 26, 2017
I read this for a One Book, One Conference program for a library conference and really enjoyed it. It's three long short stories or novellas, linked by characters and setting. I like the way the stories interweave and the vivid details that capture a time and place.
December 31, 2017
Slow start, but so glad I finished it. I was content with the interconnected stories and the characters they introduced, but was pleasantly surprised there was a culminating event that got my heart rate up.
January 9, 2020
Winding and unsettling and witty and heartrending—something like a lovechild of Toni Morrison and Spike Lee.
July 30, 2022
The author claims that the city, Gateway, was made up. Has to be St. Louis because too many of the details fit (& the author grew up there).
Good read.
Good read.
January 21, 2025
beautifully written but sort of hard to get into
October 26, 2025
Loved this portrayal of St. Louis and the complex cast of characters.
December 2, 2019
I liked this book strong story about a tough guy turned gentle. Strong African American inner city story
March 10, 2017
writers of color challenge #9
This is a gritty kinda-crime novel set in 1970 pseudo-St Louis. Lots of great insights on life and race and culture in Black communities at that time. There is character development across the board, from the Crime Boss to the Local Doctor to the Thug and the Student and the MVP Baseball Player. Some folks are two-dimensional (baseball player!) but most are really well done. A lot of the character illustrations depict the realistic struggles, hard choices, past tragedies, and small victories that feel like big milestones for each character.
The book follows three main people, one at a time, so we see all of the events from a shifting perspective. First we get the Thug, then the Doctor, and last the Student. I got most attached to Guts the Thug but I also liked the others.
This is a gritty kinda-crime novel set in 1970 pseudo-St Louis. Lots of great insights on life and race and culture in Black communities at that time. There is character development across the board, from the Crime Boss to the Local Doctor to the Thug and the Student and the MVP Baseball Player. Some folks are two-dimensional (baseball player!) but most are really well done. A lot of the character illustrations depict the realistic struggles, hard choices, past tragedies, and small victories that feel like big milestones for each character.
The book follows three main people, one at a time, so we see all of the events from a shifting perspective. First we get the Thug, then the Doctor, and last the Student. I got most attached to Guts the Thug but I also liked the others.
August 25, 2016
I enjoyed reading Only the Strong which brought back some of the characters from the stories in A Taste of Honey and the addition of some new characters. I found the storytelling interesting and it definitely kept me wanting to read more. However, I am hoping that he's leaving room for a sequel or continuation of the stories because there were certain times when he would allude to something yet to happen (as a way to move the story ahead, I'm sure), but I am quite interested to know what happens. I thought Sharp's storyline and especially how it culminated in the ending could have used a little more fleshing out and detail - it seemed a little quick, but again, I'm hoping this is to leave room for stories to tell in the sequel. All of the characters, even the minor ones, are so interesting and truly add a richness and sense of depth to the book. I liked how we get to see what a city looks like in the years following the death of MLK and the Panthers and whatnot. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading future novels of Jabari Asim.
June 22, 2015
Full disclosure, I've known Jabari Asim for a while now, and consider him a friend.
Only The Strong takes some of the characters from his last novel A Taste of Money and explores them in a bit more depth here using a Walter Mosley-style mystery structure. Set in "Gateway City" (a fictional version of St. Louis) in the civil rights era, Asim does a wonderful job of exploring the characters and the setting, using both to talk about civil rights era black life in a segregated semi-southern setting. If you liked Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress, you'll most likely like Only the Strong. It's not quite as complex as one of Mosley's mysteries, but reading this you'd think that Asim spent most of his career writing fiction like this.
Only The Strong takes some of the characters from his last novel A Taste of Money and explores them in a bit more depth here using a Walter Mosley-style mystery structure. Set in "Gateway City" (a fictional version of St. Louis) in the civil rights era, Asim does a wonderful job of exploring the characters and the setting, using both to talk about civil rights era black life in a segregated semi-southern setting. If you liked Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress, you'll most likely like Only the Strong. It's not quite as complex as one of Mosley's mysteries, but reading this you'd think that Asim spent most of his career writing fiction like this.
January 1, 2017
Urban drama with references to 70's events and R&B titles. I may be somewhat partial because my hometown is in close enough proximity to this fictional setting to be mentioned (along with its nuances) a few times. The characters remind me of people with whom I lived, worked, worshipped - and yes -- partied. Throwback narrative boosts this urban fiction title. Narrator delivers female voices well.
March 4, 2016
Great novel from someone very well acquainted with old St. Louis. This story is set in a fictionalized version called "Gateway City." The locations made me think of my Grandpa. All it needed was a cup of his instant coffee, his old AM radio tuned to 1120AM KMOX, and the Globe Democrat on the table.
Lost a star from me because some of the plot points were too obvious. I enjoyed it immensely, though.
Lost a star from me because some of the plot points were too obvious. I enjoyed it immensely, though.
June 10, 2015
The story is set in 1970s North St. Louis, a time when MLK’s assassination was fresh in everyone’s minds and Delmar served as the dividing line between the races of the “Gateway City”. The story is not specifically about the "divide". Instead, Asim uses the mood of the time to create a fictional story of passionate characters with separate, yet interconnected story lines. The story was well-developed and an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews