I've read enough Walter Mosley now that I trust him completely to lead me into the dark soul or the glorious heart or the brilliant mind of his characters, and this collection did not disappoint. The characters in these stories feel like living people who were waiting somewhere, whole and vivid, until Mosley came along and wrote them down. There is a melancholy to these stories that affected me. The dialog is remarkable. The storytelling is elegant. I feel like I'm being treated like an honored guest as I read, where every curiosity or need for scenic detail is anticipated and accommodated. This collection was my first experience with Mosley's short fiction and it was a delight to read.

A collection of short stories examining the lives of black men from various circumstances. Mosley shatters stereotypes with this intimate look into the lives of these unique individuals. Love affairs, loneliness, failed relationships, career transformations, mad scientists…this collection has a little bit of everything.

“Me, I’m racing ahead at fifty miles a year, but at the same time I’m going backward at forty-nine point nine miles. And so at the end of each year, almost everyone around me has traveled ahead ten miles, while I’ve gone ten times that but am only a tenth of a mile farther from the starting line.”

I felt that in my bones. In 'Leading from the Affair' we get to know Frank, who stays in a relationship with a woman who he knows has been cheating on him for nearly a year. Even after ending the relationship, it seems to drag on with neither of them able to fully move past it. Frank is so desperate to understand why he feels so stuck in his life that he is seeing two therapists simultaneously.

'An Unlikely Series of Conversations' felt longer than the other (perhaps because it was at the end?), but I enjoyed it so much. Jackson interviews for a job at an investment firm. Rather, he attempts to interview for a job but instead turns it into a discussion on race, ethnicity, and diversity before the first question is even asked. After being asked to leave, he returns to his job as a bank teller and continues his normal routine…until a strange man appears in his life starts asking questions. I found the direction this story rather intriguing, though I will admit that it was one of the stories I wish had a more definitive ending.

I just recently discovered a love for short stories. Previously, they felt unfulfilling. Lately though, in a world of endless growing series and constant binge-watching, I find them rather refreshing. It is an opportunity to become acquainted with characters quickly, and far more deeply. I feel like I physically met each of these men over the past several days (I wish I would have). I don't often re-read books, but I will definitely be coming back to this one.