I really enjoyed these short stories. They center around Socrates Fortlow (named Socrates because his mother thought it would make him smart), a convicted murderer now released from prison after 27 years. He lives in Los Angeles in a poor black neighborhood. He provides guidance for those who seek it from him. It seems most people seek him out as a tough to help them, but his words are wise and violence is never an option for the neighborhood's problems."you stood up for yourself Darell", Socrates said. "That's all a black man can do. You're always outnumbered you're always outgunned." "But they're still gonna come after me. They still wanna get me." Darell said. "Well, that's right" Socrates agreed nodding."But now you stood up. Now you've done your best. And you don't have anything to be sorry for ever again in your life." "Well, how's that gonna help me?" "You've done your job, Darell, now leave it up to me."...."I'm saying," Socrates said, looking the old man on the eye, "that killing' ain't no answer for civilized men. I'm saying that being right don't wash the blood from your hands."..."...we don't want nobody who can't stand up to what's got to be done." Socrates said. "And just what is that?" Howard asked. "Well, what's the biggest problem a black man has?" Socrates asked as if the answer was as plain as his wallpaper. "Black Woman" Right said. They all laughed, even Socrates. "The police" Said Howard. Socrates smiled. "There always trouble at home too, but they ain't the problem, not really." "So, what is?" Stony asked. "Being a man. That's what. Standing up and saying what it is you want, and what it is we ain't gonna take." "Say to who?" Right said. "The cops" "I don't believe in going to no cops over something like this here." Socrates said. "A black man, no matter how bad. Being brutalized by a cop is a hurt to all of us. Going to the cops is like asking for chains."
So close to being a 5 star read, Mosley has scaled new heights in my estimation with this wonderful series of vignettes featuring Socartes FortlowRead on the plane from London to CopenhagenIt might even get upgraded to 5 stars after some more time but this took me by complete surprise after finding it for a measly 50 pence in a Colchester charity shop.Technically these are short stories featuring the same character but the way that they put together in this volume it works as something similar to John Steinbeck's Cannery Row sequence but from a late 90s Black American perspective. Set in the black slums of LA these are the adventures of a proud man fighting against his roots and his past.Always seeking morality in his situation and constantly working towards redemption but never suspecting it Socrates really is heroic in his outlook. Mosley never lets his stories become race centred but is always asking questions of his protagonist and his readers; Why do you live this way? What is your purpose in life? Is there a better way? Without ever getting preachy or judgemental. His character is a strong man who knows/believes he is weak and this is the perfect vehicle for Mosley's observations on life and these probing questions he wants to ask.I enjoyed the Easy Rawlins series enough to want to finish it but this book really set Mosley at a whole new level. Very impressive indeed.Edit: Just found out this was a made for TV movie starring Laurence Fishburne in 1998, if anyone has a lead on where I can see a copy, please leave a comment.
I'm not a big fan of short story collections, but Walter Mosley's episodic look at a hard-luck Socrates trying to stay straight in the ghettos of Los Angeles has unexpected wisdom and perfect pitch for the urban environment in which these chapters are set. Socrates is a believable character, and an ex-convict more stoic than bitter. He is, if I may say so, a community activist, although he does not think of himself as such (and is all the more authentic for that lack of vanity). He knows his own strength; he knows his limitations, and, refreshingly, he lives by a moral code. This is gritty fiction made memorable in good ways.
—Patrick
This has to come close to being the best collection of short-stories written in English during the last twenty years.At their best the taut writing and uncanny ability to explode the confusion and emptiness at the heart of many people's lives recalls Raymond Carver, but where Carver is content to leave his ethics enigmatic, Mosley is righteous and fierce. This is not to say that the central character, Socrates Fortlow is a judgemental moralist. Far from it. This burly ex-con with his huge rock-crushing hands and terrible past, is searching for truth in a world where truth is no much unfashionable as crushed out of people's souls by injustice. He is a seeker not a saviour.The stories also form the link between Mosley's crime writing and his outstanding first SF novel, Blue Light, where issues of metaphysics are brought further into the foreground. Through the stories, Socrates acquires a kind of nobility that can only come from a totally honest struggle our own impulses as well as with the environment that surrounds us. There is a sense of place in 'Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned' that is very specific to 1980s Watts, but mythic and resonant and almost timeless at the same time. This only comes from genuine wisdom and understanding, qualities in which Mosley far outshines almost all contemporary authors.There are one or two weaker stories, notably one in which Socrates gets involved with the courts again, but this is a collection to come back to. And as with Raymond Carver, I felt compelled to stop for quite some time after each one as the subtle but powerful emotional impact percolated through my brain.
—Flying_Monkey
Mosley is one of those authors I can always rely on. Amazing stories, characters, plots, descriptions. He writes so well about redemption and people's ability to change. The only criticism I can make is his laziness when it comes to women, who only ever exist as props to the male action.Anyway I hadn't come across the Socrates character before, but I really liked him. Not usually a fan of short stories, especially as these are collected from different publications, but they work so well as one story which is a real testament to Mosley's writing skills. Beautiful series of stories about one man's journey to change his path.
—Saz Gee
