GORGEOUS, HEARTBREAKING JAMAICAN novel captures the beauty of the country, the struggles of its people. A MINUS

HERE COMES THE SUN
Liveright Publishing Corporation
2016

INCISIVE YET LYRICAL novel captures Berlin and Chicago in the 1980s through the eyes of a gay Black writer. B PLUS

BLACK DEUTSCHLAND
Farrar
2016

RAW, BLUESY BIO of James Brown takes on his complicated life, transcendent music, place as a Black icon.

WILD, ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURE set in a “Steamfunk” universe where Harriet Tubman is a superhero. Fun SF/F! SOLID B

MOSES: THE CHRONICLES OF HARRIET TUBMAN: FREEDONIA
Roaring Lions Productions
2015

RAW, BRILLIANT ESSAYS by Kiese Laymon (with notes from family and friends) unfold a black American experience. B PLUS

THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE of Eslanda Robeson, influential writer, civil rights activist, and wife of Paul Robeson.

AN INNER-CITY LONDON teacher’s life is thrown into chaos by a man who may be her long-missing son.  Devastating.

I don’t review poetry here, but I cannot help taking a minute to rave about the new collection of poems by the late, great Lucille Clifton.  The poems are beautifully curated, the book design is clear and readable, and the foreword by Toni Morrison was touching in its recognition of Clifton’s gifts.  Do think about buying this if you’re a poetry fan—or maybe even if you aren’t!  Clifton was a strong and distinctive voice, and the power of her work cannot be denied.

THE INCOMPARABLE KENYAN WRITER Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s second volume of memoir juxtaposes political and personal.

QUIETLY COMPELLING NOVEL focuses on a Nigerian expatriate in London, and her sense of alienation even at home.