King Comus

by William Demby, Melanie Masterton Sherazi (Editor)

The product of 20 years of literary labor, King Comus was completed shortly before Demby died in 2013. It may well come to be considered his masterpiece. In King Comus, Demby employs a cinematic-like style to track the paths of an escaped slave, two African American World War II servicemen, their white commanding officer, and a black female gospel singer, as they converge in a time-bending tale of survival and kinship. Narrated in part by his descendant, Tillman, a World War II GI serving in Italy, it follows the escaped slave and master musician, King Comus, on a fable-like journey to freedom. Tillman relates his family history to a fellow serviceman named D. whose role in this mysterious tale includes some parallels to the author's own life story. When the plotline turns to the 21st century, these veterans unite in Rome with their white commanding officer, Joe Stabat, to stage a gospel summit featuring gospel star, Little Antioch. King Comus weaves elements of the neo-slave narrative and Afrofuturism into a panoramic vision encompassing the forces of empire, race, gender, and religion. Demby's posthumous novel is the last of the Black novelists who served in World War II.

Genres: Novels

159 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2017

About the author

African American novelist William Demby was born on December 25, 1922 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

In 1950 Demby published his first novel, Beetlecreek, which he situated in West Virginia. Fifteen years later he published his second novel, The Catacombs. His novels carry themes of race and national identity, and although he spent much of his life into Italy, his novels were focused on American experiences.

Reviews

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Demby novel and so of course I now want to read more. Beautifully written- the story, characters and setting are interesting and compelling. I love the play on time.