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Americus
Revelations into an American Legacy
What happens to fraternal love when identical twins stop being identical? To romantic love when indiscretions done in the dark have a secret witness? What happens to a family when the love that binds—also strangles? Inspired by Egyptian mythology and young America’s coming-of-age story, AMERICUS follows the lives of rambunctious identical twins Asar and Set Americus. After Set contracts vitiligo (a skin disease that fades body pigmentation in patches), he goes from family favorite to stare-provoking freak. At10-years-old. When Set’s super-capable mother can’t keep her promise to cure him, Set blames her—but not more than she blames herself.
Praise for AMERICUS
“Set in an era of white mob violence that crested and broke in the early decades of the twentieth century, Michael Datcher weaves a narrative of three generations of sons trying to cultivate and maintain their manhood against relentless forces. Simultaneously a mythic novel and a historical one, AMERICUS is a story of the monsters that emerge from the monstrosities of American history. With this novel, Datcher joins August Wilson and Toni Morrison as an American storyteller.”
—P. Gabrielle Foreman, Ned B. Allen Professor of English &Black Studies, The University of Delaware
“Through powerful storytelling and compelling characters, Datcher weaves an American Story that makes you think deeply about the story of America.”
—Eric Jerome Dickey, New York Times Bestselling author of A Wanted Woman
“Readers (and writers) will exult in this dazzling iteration of Egyptian mythology set on the banks of the Mississippi River in East St. Louis, Illinois. In Michael Datcher's brilliantly wrought soular system, a set of twins, a family, a community, and America undergo rites de passage in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Datcher's novelistic authority includes … some passages that are reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez and Toni Morrison.”
—Eugene B. Redmond, Poet Laureate of East St. Louis, Illinois & Founding Editor, Drumvoices Revue
What happens to fraternal love when identical twins stop being identical? To romantic love when indiscretions done in the dark have a secret witness? What happens to a family when the love that binds—also strangles? Inspired by Egyptian mythology and young America’s coming-of-age story, AMERICUS follows the lives of rambunctious identical twins Asar and Set Americus. After Set contracts vitiligo (a skin disease that fades body pigmentation in patches), he goes from family favorite to stare-provoking freak. At10-years-old. When Set’s super-capable mother can’t keep her promise to cure him, Set blames her—but not more than she blames herself.
Praise for AMERICUS
“Set in an era of white mob violence that crested and broke in the early decades of the twentieth century, Michael Datcher weaves a narrative of three generations of sons trying to cultivate and maintain their manhood against relentless forces. Simultaneously a mythic novel and a historical one, AMERICUS is a story of the monsters that emerge from the monstrosities of American history. With this novel, Datcher joins August Wilson and Toni Morrison as an American storyteller.”
—P. Gabrielle Foreman, Ned B. Allen Professor of English &Black Studies, The University of Delaware
“Through powerful storytelling and compelling characters, Datcher weaves an American Story that makes you think deeply about the story of America.”
—Eric Jerome Dickey, New York Times Bestselling author of A Wanted Woman
“Readers (and writers) will exult in this dazzling iteration of Egyptian mythology set on the banks of the Mississippi River in East St. Louis, Illinois. In Michael Datcher's brilliantly wrought soular system, a set of twins, a family, a community, and America undergo rites de passage in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Datcher's novelistic authority includes … some passages that are reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez and Toni Morrison.”
—Eugene B. Redmond, Poet Laureate of East St. Louis, Illinois & Founding Editor, Drumvoices Revue
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2014
21 people want to read
About the author
Michael Datcher
15 books13 followersMichael Datcher, a journalist and spoken-word poet, has written for Vibe, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Buzz.
A former Pacific News Service correspondent, Michael Datcher has contributed essays to a number of anthologies.
A former Pacific News Service correspondent, Michael Datcher has contributed essays to a number of anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 6, 2015
Americus, a first novel by Michael Datcher, is a compelling story told on two levels—the first is the story of a black family at the turn of the century that struggles to find and hold a place in society, and come to grips with dealing with each other, while the second is a gripping narrative of race relations in America at the early part of the 20th century.
The main story is about twins, Set and Asara Americus, born seven minutes apart, who both try to win the love and respect of their demanding and hypercritical father, Keb. Part of East St. Louis, Illinois’ black upper class, they experience the trauma of growing up in a family where the demands on them would weigh down the strongest person, alongside the even greater trauma of living in a society where their position is determined more by their skin color than their family’s wealth.
Datcher takes us through their lives from the time of their 10th birthday in 1893, through the turbulence of race riots provoked by the mass migration of blacks from the segregated south to the north where they seek jobs and dignity. In the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, this is a book that digs beneath the slogans and sound bites and takes the reader into the psyches of people who have to endure stereotyping and the constant struggle to live the American dream that for all too many is in reality a nightmare.
You’ll come away from this book with the view that #AllLivesMatter in the end.
The main story is about twins, Set and Asara Americus, born seven minutes apart, who both try to win the love and respect of their demanding and hypercritical father, Keb. Part of East St. Louis, Illinois’ black upper class, they experience the trauma of growing up in a family where the demands on them would weigh down the strongest person, alongside the even greater trauma of living in a society where their position is determined more by their skin color than their family’s wealth.
Datcher takes us through their lives from the time of their 10th birthday in 1893, through the turbulence of race riots provoked by the mass migration of blacks from the segregated south to the north where they seek jobs and dignity. In the wake of recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, this is a book that digs beneath the slogans and sound bites and takes the reader into the psyches of people who have to endure stereotyping and the constant struggle to live the American dream that for all too many is in reality a nightmare.
You’ll come away from this book with the view that #AllLivesMatter in the end.
March 28, 2016
Powerful!
Wow, this was a powerful, emotional read. Beautifully written, it's historical fiction that makes the history come alive for the reader by creating complex characters you can't stop thinking about. I usually recoil from violence and parts of this book are extremely violent, but the writing is so good, the story so gripping, I couldn't stop reading, even as I was shocked by what was on the page. I found myself speeding through, because I couldn't wait to see what would happen, then rereading, because the writing was so good I needed to experience it again.
Wow, this was a powerful, emotional read. Beautifully written, it's historical fiction that makes the history come alive for the reader by creating complex characters you can't stop thinking about. I usually recoil from violence and parts of this book are extremely violent, but the writing is so good, the story so gripping, I couldn't stop reading, even as I was shocked by what was on the page. I found myself speeding through, because I couldn't wait to see what would happen, then rereading, because the writing was so good I needed to experience it again.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews