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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
In the early 1970s, César Alvarez enlists in the navy to escape a life of crime; while the decision saves him from the streets, it also lands him amid volatile racial tensions at a crucial moment in US history.
"Skillfully blending his fictional hero’s coming-of-age story with a real-life racial confrontation aboard ship, Carter’s tale is a winning combination of military procedural, suspense, and Black history."
—Booklist, STARRED Review
"André Lewis Carter weaves a riveting tale about a side of the US Navy we seldom see. Tone-perfect delivery and an inarguably authentic voice mark the debut of a powerful new talent."
—David Poyer, author of Violent Peace
"César Alvarez doesn't know if he deserves a second chance, but he gets one anyway in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. From the streets of Orlando to the deck of a Vietnam-bound carrier, André Lewis Carter finds ambiguity in moments of conscience, self-preservation, loyalty, and betrayal. This is an outstanding read."
—Barbara J. Taylor, author of Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night
The Vietnam War is raging, the US Navy has only recently begun the process of integration, and the country is reeling from racial turmoil and unrest. So why does César, a street-tough kid of Afro-Cuban descent, enlist in the navy? He is on the run from a life of crime and from Mr. Mike, a charismatic, sociopathic gangster who was once a mentor but has now turned on him.
Escaping into a navy wrestling with its history of racism and sexism, César soon sees the absurdity of certain prejudices that seem as old as the US Armed Forces. When he is deployed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, racial tensions are high and are moving quickly toward violence. Through it all, César’s ever-growing sense of honor and self-worth force him to make moral decisions he never knew he was capable of. It’s a fortitude he will desperately need.
"Skillfully blending his fictional hero’s coming-of-age story with a real-life racial confrontation aboard ship, Carter’s tale is a winning combination of military procedural, suspense, and Black history."
—Booklist, STARRED Review
"André Lewis Carter weaves a riveting tale about a side of the US Navy we seldom see. Tone-perfect delivery and an inarguably authentic voice mark the debut of a powerful new talent."
—David Poyer, author of Violent Peace
"César Alvarez doesn't know if he deserves a second chance, but he gets one anyway in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. From the streets of Orlando to the deck of a Vietnam-bound carrier, André Lewis Carter finds ambiguity in moments of conscience, self-preservation, loyalty, and betrayal. This is an outstanding read."
—Barbara J. Taylor, author of Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night
The Vietnam War is raging, the US Navy has only recently begun the process of integration, and the country is reeling from racial turmoil and unrest. So why does César, a street-tough kid of Afro-Cuban descent, enlist in the navy? He is on the run from a life of crime and from Mr. Mike, a charismatic, sociopathic gangster who was once a mentor but has now turned on him.
Escaping into a navy wrestling with its history of racism and sexism, César soon sees the absurdity of certain prejudices that seem as old as the US Armed Forces. When he is deployed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, racial tensions are high and are moving quickly toward violence. Through it all, César’s ever-growing sense of honor and self-worth force him to make moral decisions he never knew he was capable of. It’s a fortitude he will desperately need.
336 pages, Paperback
Published January 4, 2022
4 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
André Lewis Carter
1 book4 followersAndré Lewis Carter is a retired navy veteran who writes fiction, essays, and plays in the urban sprawl of Portland, Oregon. Carter's one-act play, Reaction, was staged at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska. He holds an MA in fiction writing and an MFA in creative writing from Wilkes University, where he was a Beverly Blakeslee Hiscox Scholar. He is married to a very patient woman who occasionally tells dirty jokes. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is his debut novel.
source: Amazon
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 3, 2022
I think this was a pretty good book. A young man who made some poor choices and was drifting down a long, bad road made a decision to escape that life. He signed up for the Navy as his pathway. Not that he could ever get away from the racism that just doesn't go away. It was, is and will be here for a very long time. But I believe that there was a deep goodness in his soul that brought him through all he endured.
Thank you to LibratyThing for a copy of my review.
Thank you to LibratyThing for a copy of my review.
January 6, 2022
Andre Lewis Carter’s debut novel Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a story that examines one man’s personal odyssey from the America’s criminal urban underworld to the US Navy’s most infamous “race riot” aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in 1972.
When most young men are looking forward to setting off chasing their dreams, César Alvarez has learned that he may have seen his last sunrise. He’s a man on the run from the criminal gangsters that until recently had been the closest thing he had to a family. He attempts to evade his pursuers by shipping off with the US Navy as fast as possible. His knowledge of what military life entails is next to nothing, and the story that unfolds is the tale of a would-be sailor who must take a path of survival and discovery. This path lies through a world totally alien to him in its character, discipline, and racial dimensions. Eventually, César’s past will reach him in the vortex of one of the US Navy’s most infamous episodes.
César’s story is that of a man caught between colossal forces that are shaping his life, without any guarantee that he will survive the collision. He will experience firsthand the racial conflicts boiling within American society, but as a Cuban-American he will be afforded a chance to see these tensions from both sides, as he finds his role is not easily defined in a black/white conflict. In the prime of his life, César will ship to Vietnam, not the tropical jungles normally associated with that war, but aboard one of the largest and most powerful aircraft carriers in the world. He will feel the compelling force of the two paths that threaten to pull him apart, one is a criminal path whose tentacles will be far harder to shake than he thinks. The other path is the promising future that may be his, if he can learn to navigate the official and unofficial laws of his new vocation.
The vividness of César’s story is not simply a story of the Kitty Hawk riot. Reader’s will be treated to an all too rare look at life in the 1970’s Navy whose unique and intense culture is both mysterious and compelling, from the subtle and inscrutable numbering of buildings on a military base to the comradery that is the life blood of military service. Andre Lewis Carter’s vivid and authentic prose will take the reader into the disorienting yet compelling society of that Navy across a spectrum of experience, from surviving basic training to surviving shore leave to surviving one of the Navy’s most harrowing nights.
From the ghetto to the top deck of a warship, the novel Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea weaves a rarely trod path that will give the reader a finely crafted taste of the potentially catastrophic choices that the young men and women of the American military must make in the harsh world they can sometimes find themselves in.
When most young men are looking forward to setting off chasing their dreams, César Alvarez has learned that he may have seen his last sunrise. He’s a man on the run from the criminal gangsters that until recently had been the closest thing he had to a family. He attempts to evade his pursuers by shipping off with the US Navy as fast as possible. His knowledge of what military life entails is next to nothing, and the story that unfolds is the tale of a would-be sailor who must take a path of survival and discovery. This path lies through a world totally alien to him in its character, discipline, and racial dimensions. Eventually, César’s past will reach him in the vortex of one of the US Navy’s most infamous episodes.
César’s story is that of a man caught between colossal forces that are shaping his life, without any guarantee that he will survive the collision. He will experience firsthand the racial conflicts boiling within American society, but as a Cuban-American he will be afforded a chance to see these tensions from both sides, as he finds his role is not easily defined in a black/white conflict. In the prime of his life, César will ship to Vietnam, not the tropical jungles normally associated with that war, but aboard one of the largest and most powerful aircraft carriers in the world. He will feel the compelling force of the two paths that threaten to pull him apart, one is a criminal path whose tentacles will be far harder to shake than he thinks. The other path is the promising future that may be his, if he can learn to navigate the official and unofficial laws of his new vocation.
The vividness of César’s story is not simply a story of the Kitty Hawk riot. Reader’s will be treated to an all too rare look at life in the 1970’s Navy whose unique and intense culture is both mysterious and compelling, from the subtle and inscrutable numbering of buildings on a military base to the comradery that is the life blood of military service. Andre Lewis Carter’s vivid and authentic prose will take the reader into the disorienting yet compelling society of that Navy across a spectrum of experience, from surviving basic training to surviving shore leave to surviving one of the Navy’s most harrowing nights.
From the ghetto to the top deck of a warship, the novel Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea weaves a rarely trod path that will give the reader a finely crafted taste of the potentially catastrophic choices that the young men and women of the American military must make in the harsh world they can sometimes find themselves in.
December 10, 2021
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Andre Lewis Carter
Set in 1971 César Alvarez Joins the Navy to keep himself off the streets and an (inevitable) life of crime. He is assigned duty on the USS Kitty Hawk, where he learns of the racism that is happening within the troops. He is faced with many moral decisions that will affect him to the core.
A well written original story, with well developed characters, knowledge of the Navy and the era (Vietnam). I was engrossed from the first page until the end. Seeing what César faced as an Afro-Cuban, was emotional, and thought provoking. Overall I found Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea to be a great read. I highly recommend to all.
Set in 1971 César Alvarez Joins the Navy to keep himself off the streets and an (inevitable) life of crime. He is assigned duty on the USS Kitty Hawk, where he learns of the racism that is happening within the troops. He is faced with many moral decisions that will affect him to the core.
A well written original story, with well developed characters, knowledge of the Navy and the era (Vietnam). I was engrossed from the first page until the end. Seeing what César faced as an Afro-Cuban, was emotional, and thought provoking. Overall I found Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea to be a great read. I highly recommend to all.
January 27, 2022
Having succumbed to the lure of gang life, young César has been working his way up the ranks, earning the respect of the formidable Mr. Mike. However, when he finds himself suddenly in over his head and targeted by his former boss, unable to think of another means of fleeing to safety he abandons the gritty street life and enlists in the U.S. Navy. Though the country is right smack in the middle of a war in Vietnam, César's desperate hope is that, all things considered, the Navy will a relatively safe bet.
I found this book rather captivating for a couple of reasons. The plot itself was engaging and weighted by just the right amount of tension throughout. I looked forward to returning to the story whenever I had the opportunity. In addition, though this may not have been the author's primary purpose, I found the depictions of Navy life fascinating, to the point where I was hungry to know even more about the physical and academic rigors leading up to Basic Training graduation, as well as Navy structure, schedules and general protocols. Some of the foreshadowing is a little heavy-handed, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment. I did find myself scratching my head once, though, wondering why a bus departing Illinois would drive through Indiana on its way to California!
I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
I found this book rather captivating for a couple of reasons. The plot itself was engaging and weighted by just the right amount of tension throughout. I looked forward to returning to the story whenever I had the opportunity. In addition, though this may not have been the author's primary purpose, I found the depictions of Navy life fascinating, to the point where I was hungry to know even more about the physical and academic rigors leading up to Basic Training graduation, as well as Navy structure, schedules and general protocols. Some of the foreshadowing is a little heavy-handed, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment. I did find myself scratching my head once, though, wondering why a bus departing Illinois would drive through Indiana on its way to California!
I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
March 21, 2022
Anybody who know the US Navy and San Diego will really enjoy this book. It was a great story well written with enough intrigue to keep me reading past my break time, and Carter got all the facts right. Written in the Vietnam era, he got the jargon of the day right and his writing was smooth, complete sentences, no distractions from his story. And thank god, he gave us an uplifting ending. I'll have to agree with critic David Poyer, "...a powerful new talent".
March 22, 2022
⭐ What I liked
*I felt like I was dropped into someone else's perspective that I'd never know otherwise.
*The protagonist isn't all-knowing and I find it refreshing. He feels like a real person you could have a conversation with.
*The dialogue feels natural.
*There wasn't just one definition of what it is to be black, or to be a minority. There's a variety of political and cultural views based on where the characters are from.
*I appreciate that it's honest, but not too gory about the kind of violence people experience on the street. I also love that the protagonist ends up believing in non-violence and in the U.S. becoming an 'us' instead of 'us vs. them' country. His "There's always a they" speech hit me right in the heart.
📝 What I Didn't Like
*Aida. I mean, I know the characters are only in their early 20s, but if he's picturing future kids and she's not then they probably shouldn't be together. I also don't get why she would be attracted to him when he's just figuring stuff out and she's so ambitious. I didn't really care about their romance. 🤷♀️
*I felt like I was dropped into someone else's perspective that I'd never know otherwise.
*The protagonist isn't all-knowing and I find it refreshing. He feels like a real person you could have a conversation with.
*The dialogue feels natural.
*There wasn't just one definition of what it is to be black, or to be a minority. There's a variety of political and cultural views based on where the characters are from.
*I appreciate that it's honest, but not too gory about the kind of violence people experience on the street. I also love that the protagonist ends up believing in non-violence and in the U.S. becoming an 'us' instead of 'us vs. them' country. His "There's always a they" speech hit me right in the heart.
📝 What I Didn't Like
*Aida. I mean, I know the characters are only in their early 20s, but if he's picturing future kids and she's not then they probably shouldn't be together. I also don't get why she would be attracted to him when he's just figuring stuff out and she's so ambitious. I didn't really care about their romance. 🤷♀️
February 2, 2024
A debut novel so well done I could’ve sworn he’d had many other works under his belt.
Being a naval veteran myself I’d checked this book out at the library months ago and wondered why I’d just gotten around to it.
It’s about a young black man enlisting in the US Navy in the early 1970s amidst the Vietnam war and racial tensions at home as well as the military. The Navy was known to have the harshest racial climate out of any of the US military branches.
I grinned as I recounted the story of his initial enlisting experiencing, boot camp in Great Lakes, as well as A school (training school).
I gave myself a week to complete this book, and lo and behold it was knocked out in 3 days. 😎
Just one sticking point, the area aboard a warship where sailors eat is a “mess deck” not “chow hall”.
The author, a naval veteran himself should know better. Lots of other naval terminology was used.
5/5.
Being a naval veteran myself I’d checked this book out at the library months ago and wondered why I’d just gotten around to it.
It’s about a young black man enlisting in the US Navy in the early 1970s amidst the Vietnam war and racial tensions at home as well as the military. The Navy was known to have the harshest racial climate out of any of the US military branches.
I grinned as I recounted the story of his initial enlisting experiencing, boot camp in Great Lakes, as well as A school (training school).
I gave myself a week to complete this book, and lo and behold it was knocked out in 3 days. 😎
Just one sticking point, the area aboard a warship where sailors eat is a “mess deck” not “chow hall”.
The author, a naval veteran himself should know better. Lots of other naval terminology was used.
5/5.
January 24, 2022
I loved listening to “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” written and performed by André Lewis Carter. This book lives up to its title. We follow Cuban-American César Alvarez from the streets of Orlando, Florida where death looms in every memory into the hoped-for refuge of the US Navy during the height of the height of the Vietnam War. Racial tensions are high. Just as César begins to grow into what he thinks of as an undeserved second chance in life, all of the problems he thought he left behind come calling. Carter does an excellent job with the audio book. But this novel deserves kudos on its own for depicting the complicated issues of race, class, and gender both in the Navy and the US as a whole.
February 21, 2022
Almost 4-stars! I was immediately hooked after the first couple of pages. Author Andre Lewis Carter creates sufficient intrigue coupled with suspense, but it softens somewhere in the middle so much so that I wondered when the original conflict was going to work it’s way back into the story. All in all, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA delivers a great plot while incorporating critical social issues and an entertaining storyline with a diverse cast of characters, as one might find in the military.
March 28, 2022
I really enjoyed reading Andre Lewis Carter’s book. The story is about Cesar, a Cuban-American living in Orlando, who escapes a world of crime to reinvent himself in the Navy. I never served in the military but Carter’s precise descriptions and imagery brought life on an aircraft carrier to life for me. He also weaved Caesar’s fictionalized story into the real race riots that occurred aboard the Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War. I recommend this read for people interested in reading about life in the military and historical events. A great piece of historical fiction!
June 26, 2022
My father joined , or was highly recommended, the Navy during Vietnam Conflict. He did boot camp at Great Lakes. Cesar’s experiences helped me understand this of my father because he didn’t share much. The race relations have improved from the this time to when I served in the 1990s but I am sure with the swath of the population the Navy and any military branch has there are still biases that are hard to breakdown. If you embrace the family the only color you care about is the uniform.
June 13, 2022
An enjoyable and engaging debut novel. It showed the character learn and grow into himself. Set in the turbulent early 70's when the world was changing and racism in the military was prominent. I learned a lot about the world Andre' created, the navy, and the time in the early 70's when it was written. A really interesting story.
March 4, 2022
A great read, with great writing that puts me in places I've never been. I really cared what happened to Cesar, turning the pages until his great conflict is resolved--in the middle of great social conflict onboard the USS Kitty Hawk. My world has been expanded by this book!
June 11, 2022
Great Read
Great storyline. Author provided a great insight into Navy life aboard one of the biggest aircraft carriers in the fleet. Realistic and warm and at times brutal but honest. Looking forward to more from this author
Great storyline. Author provided a great insight into Navy life aboard one of the biggest aircraft carriers in the fleet. Realistic and warm and at times brutal but honest. Looking forward to more from this author
June 28, 2022
If you are interested in what the Navy was like for people of color in the early 1970s, this is the book for you.
January 24, 2023
I declare this book mid.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews