Close to the Bone

by Jake Lamar

In the tradition of Bebe Moore Campbell, Terry McMillan, and E. Lynn Harris, author Jake Lamar has created a riveting novel of three young couples whose lives intersect in curious ways. And the question that torments all of What is a black man?

Hal Hardaway is a young black executive, struggling to get along with Corky Winterset, his white girlfriend, who holds him in "constant suspicion of machismo."

Walker DuPree, Hal's former roommate, is wrestling with his mixed racial heritage while trying to avoid marriage to his persistent black girlfriend, Sadie Broom.

Dr. Emmett Mercy, self-help guru and author of Everyday Strategies for Reconnecting with Your Authentic African-American Self, is obsessed with gaining fame and fortune--at any cost. Meanwhile, his wife LaTonya shares a secret, sordid history with Hal.

The story moves from New York to Paris, from Amsterdam to Craven, Delaware, finally culminating on the eve of one of the defining events of our the verdict in O.J. Simpson's criminal trial. Using the public spectacle of the celebrated murder case in counterpoint to the private lives of his characters, Jake Lamar--one of America's most original writers--paints
a stunning portrait of a society grappling with fundamental problems of race and sex, identity and justice.

Genres: African American

343 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 1999

Reviews

[Brown Girl Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4,5 stars

There is something to say for reading backlist books over new releases. Close to the Bone comforted me in the idea that reading backlist books can be as enjoyable if not more enjoyable than running after the new releases.
Close to the Bone explores the many layered question "What is a black man?". This question is the opening of the book from there we're introduced to a myriad of character who will take us done a storyline that attempts to answer that question.
Lamar uses OJ Simpson and his subsequent murder trial to anchor ideas around what a black man is. The themes that arise from this story are: racism, sexism, abuse, trauma, relationships, therapy, and much more.
Close to the bone will have you hollering with laughter and scared next. Well-written and taking into consideration the novel is placed in the 90s you may think it's dated but not at all. It gives great insight into the difficulties that black men went through and still go through.

I highly recommend Close to the Bone that will have you engrossed and I recommend you buddy read it or suggest it for your book club because once you've finished reading it you'll want to discuss it. This would make a great mini series too.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so picked up this book with no idea what it was going to be about only knowing the premise of a being a race related nobel with characters aimed to answer the age old question "What does it mean to be a black man?"...Too complex for words and definitely for a book with less than three hundred pages but it pulls it off in a quite entertaing and engrossing way..You are drawn into a meeting of black men all trying to answer that same question and gain some self awareness and clarity on their roles in society and their relationships..Three of the men are in relationships; one married to a mysterious black woman with a secret past, one dating a black girl ready for commitment although he is not really and then one man who is dating a white woman who he loves but she doesnt really feel the same..As you meet the men, hear their views then relive through flashbacks how intimately two of the men knew each other in college..I thoroughly enjoyed the basic relationship analysis Mr Lamar provides through the book and the conversations, arguments and insight are right on. As the lives of these characters intersect and merge throughout the book it is set against the secondary major aspect of the book which is the most high profile case in the century--of course the O.J. trial..In the minds of whites and blacks this trial and verdict is reviewed and the disturbing questions of "Would this matter if Nicole was a black woman" and "Do all black men harbor violent tendencies" were thought provoking and definitely a reason to look for more work on this author whose intelligent and racially oriented works remind me of a favorite author of mine, Richard Wright..Recommended if not just for the million and one questions it leaves you with and the opportunity to raise one of them up to see how the people in your life really feel..