http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news...More than a man of of mysteryWalter Mosley prefers 'literary' labelJenny Shank, Special To The NewsPublished July 16, 2004 at midnightOver the fourteen years of Walter Mosley's publishing career, during which he has turned out 19 books, Mosley has experienced segregation and discrimination - in the bookstore.As a writer who's primarily known for mysteries but has also written straightforward literary fiction, science-fiction and essays, Mosley on occasion feels the sting of the "genre writer" label, an epithet that often prevents his mysteries from receiving review coverage and the attention of literary power brokers.As Mosley explained, "I had a kind of important literary novel that came out earlier this year, The Man in My Basement, and I got a lot of coverage, which was nice, and I really appreciated that. And now Little Scarlet comes out, and in many ways Little Scarlet is just as good a book, a book about ideas, and character, and character development. But I think that it will be very difficult for the literary establishment to pay attention to Little Scarlet."Mosley spoke in a phone interview from his home in New York in advance of his appearances in Denver today and Saturday.Little Scarlet, the ninth book in Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, is set amid the smoldering aftermath of the 1965 Watts riots. The 34 people killed during the riots left plenty of mysteries to be uncovered. The Los Angeles police, who usually behave in an antagonistic and patronizing way toward Mosley's Rawlins, a freelance detective/father/school janitor, call him to assist with one case, much to Rawlins' astonishment.While Little Scarlet brims with murder, mayhem, flirtation, a serial killer and other titillations standard to the genre, at every point where it could have degenerated into thriller clichés it instead moves in a fresher, more profound direction.Rawlins is a canny, reflective character, a black man who's driven to solve the mysteries of human psychology and politics during those turbulent years for race relations in America as much as he is to discover who done it.Mosley allows that the literati have been increasingly embracing his work. "Maybe I've changed some in the eyes of people," he said.A sign of this was Mosley's invitation to emcee last year's National Book Awards, at which Stephen King accepted the Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award while decrying award-givers' snubs of popular fiction.In the passionate speech that stirred up furor among bookish people, King said he doesn't "have any patience with or use for those who make a point of pride in saying they've never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."Mosley believes he's received some consideration from the literary establishment because he doesn't stick exclusively to mysteries."If there's another writer, like Ross McDonald or Raymond Chandler, and all they're writing are mysteries, they won't be accepted," he said. "And that's problematic. A lot of so-called literary novels are just not very good. They're not well-written, they're not well-thought-out. They have pyrotechnics of intelligence."On the other hand, some of the best writers and speculative ideas are in science-fiction. The science-fiction genre is completely, completely segregated. And these people are writing good stuff. They're writing about where you're going, which means they're talking about where you are."One of the things that fiction and all art has to do is bring something new to the table, and I think a lot of new things that are being done all the time are being ignored."Another sign of Mosley's increased acceptance in the literary community was an invitation to serve as guest editor of the Best American Short Stories series last year, a role such literary heavyweights as Tobias Wolff, Jane Smiley, Sue Miller and Annie Proulx have filled in the past decade."It was really fun," said Mosley, who explains his approach to selecting the stories this way: "I don't think about writers. I think about stories. . . . It was really important for me to press the people I was working with to bring me all kinds of short stories, not just the literary short story which would work in an Iowa workshop."Mosley ended up with an eclectic, entertaining collection, including a horror story by Dan Chaon, and "there was one with a robotic boy (by Ryan Harty) and a Doctorow story which was very much a crime story," he said.While Mosley's predictions for the reception of Little Scarlet may be accurate, it would be a shame if the book were overlooked. Seeing the world through Easy Rawlins' eyes is an enriching experience, because Easy Rawlins' job, apart from solving crimes, appears to be that of managing to remain a moral person even though the situations in which he's placed present him with myriad opportunities to become amoral.As Mosley said of his most famous character: "Easy wants to do what's right, which means he's not a criminal. But don't most people think they're doing what's right? They're trying to maintain a standard of moral balance."And it's interesting because Easy's notion of what's right isn't necessarily what most people in America - and certainly not what the police and the justice system - think is the right thing. And to me that's an interesting notion, to be very moral but not to go on a line with the moral and ethical structures that exist around him. . . . For instance, even when he's asked to find the white man (who police say has) murdered a black woman, he doesn't accept that. He thinks: 'Maybe. You say he did.' "In searching for the true killer, who happens to be black, "Easy crosses even some people in his own system (in the black community) who would say, 'Yeah, well of course that white man killed her.' "Another striking aspect of Little Scarlet is its use of crime-novel conventions, twisted in a symbolic way. For example, Easy Rawlins often disguises himself to complete his work, but unlike other detectives who put on wigs or hats or costumes, as even the archetypal detective Sherlock Holmes did on many occasions, Easy uses his knowledge of people's perceptions of him to disguise himself.When interviewing people in a black neighborhood, he dresses more casually than he usually does for work and changes the cadences of his speech to match those of the people gossiping on the street corner. When dealing with police, he dresses in more formal attire and uses elevated diction.Mosley said many people, both during the time in which the book is set and today, wear these sorts of disguises, changing themselves to fit in or to impress."I remember once there was a guy who arrived at this party in a Rolls-Royce, and he was all dressed up. I said, 'Wow, he's really rich.'"And my father said, 'Why do you say that?' And I said, 'Look at that suit, and he's driving a Rolls-Royce.' And my father said, 'Well, he rented the Rolls-Royce. And he bought the suit with a credit card. He hasn't got but about $10 to his name.'"My father knew this guy. But you know, he fooled you. And I think people do it all the time. Even though things have changed in America, at this time (the '60s of the book's setting) all black people looked alike - that was clear - because nobody really looked that closely at individual black people. You didn't have a black senator or president or movie star - not many. There was this kind of mass of black humanity, so it was very easy to hide."Another character in Little Scarlet, a highly intelligent computer expert named Jackson Blue, isn't able to find a job commensurate with his abilities until he puts on a pair of glasses that make him appear less threatening to his interviewers."In Jackson's case, he wasn't even fooling them, because he really was a programmer and he really could do it. But even though he had all of these talents, he had to pretend anyway," Mosley said.Perhaps the aspect that most distinguishes Little Scarlet from lesser mystery, crime and thriller novels is the way Mosley seems to be building to a good-vs.-evil showdown between Easy Rawlins and the murderer but then diffuses it into a climax that's much more subtle and satisfying.Mosley's ability to deal skillfully with shades of gray is something that "literary" novelists often lack.Mosley plans to continue his genre-straddling ways in the near future. His current projects include a book about "a deconstructionist historian" and the next Easy Rawlins book, which is called Cinnamon Kiss. And he said he's just completed his first young-adult novel, 47.Mosley has no plans to end the Easy Rawlins series any time soon."I could see him be 80 years old and have a protégé," he said.
This is one of two audio books I bought to listen to while on a plane to Hawaii, the other being Cinnamon Kiss. These are my first experience with audiobooks, too, and I was quite pleased with the experience.I'm a huge fan of Walter Mosley and his character, Easy Rawlins, who first appeared in the book "Devil in a Blue Dress", 1990, which was made into a successful movie (1995) staring Densel Washington as Rawlins and bringing Don Cheadle to fame in his role as Mouse Alexander, a natural born killer and Rawlins' best friend.These novels are the perfect solution for anyone who enjoys the noir fiction of people like Dashiell Hammett and Ray Chandler, who's gritty street life "hard boiled" characters display such depth and complexity. These Easy Rawlins' novels are the answer to the question of "How do you write a noir novel at the end of the 20th century?". The answer is to create a world view of post WW II Los Angeles from the eyes of a black man who, denied the luxury of obtaining a private detectives license due to his color, uses his natural skills at helping people solve difficult situations by "doing favors".Couched in noir detective novels, this series of books leaves you feeling that you have not only been entertained on the surface level, but have gained some insight into the complexities of society and relationships on all levels.These stories span a period in history from the late 40's through the Watts riots of 1968, a time when plentiful jobs fuel the black migration from the south to Los Angeles. Mosley has written 10 Easy Rawlins novels, starting with Devil in a Blue Dress and ending with Blonde Faith (yet to be released), all titles based on a color (Blue Dress, Yellow Dog, Little Scarlet, Blonde Faith, you get the gist). All worth while reads.I've managed to read most of the Easy Rawlins series, and look forward to polishing off the series soon.Walter Mosley's websiteMore books by Walter Mosley
What do You think about Little Scarlet (2005)?
**edited 12/30/13The LA riots have erupted, and the state of mind of Easy Rawlins, official janitor and unofficial detective, reflects the chaos around him. While saddened by the rage and violence, he understands it deeply, seeing that to even make the offenders aware of the gulf between white and black, something has to break. In the midst of his own inner turmoil, the LA police call him in to investigate a potentially racially sensitive case. Easy Rawlins has a unique perspective and voice. He is easy to like and sympathize with, and if the mystery isn't exactly brilliant, the story's theme and message are vital and heartrending....Due to my disapproval of GR's new and highly subjective review deletion policy, I am no longer posting full reviews here.The rest of this review can be found on Booklikes.
—Carly
This is a near masterpiece, and I believe the best book Walter Mosley has written. It works on the novelistic level, the detective story genre, and above all, a rendering of the internal and external reality of living in a racist society, circa 1965, U.S. Worth a raft-full of non-fiction books on sociology and society, which is where most of them belong: on a raft. Mosley is not what I would consider a 'natural' writer. He evidently has worked extremely hard to develop his craft. However, he has made a true contribution to capturing and communicating the zeitgeist of a nation at a particular time and place.
—Alan Gerstle
This is more like a 3.5 rating. I read this book for my book club. I've never read this author before, and was pleasantly surprised with the book. It's a very quick, easy read (I read the whole book in about 4.5 hours) that is very entertaining. The book follows the main character, Easy Rawlins, who is a military veteran and unofficial private investigator. He also works as the building super for an elementary school and owns several apartment buildings. The story is set during the Watts riots in 1965. While the city is burning, the police come to Easy to help them with the murder of an African American woman that they want to keep quiet so it doesn't stir the riots up again. The rumor is that she was killed by a white man she helped rescue from a beating during the riots. They know that Easy knows the streets and can look into the murder easier than a bunch of white police officers. Easy is well known and liked, and has ties to legit, and not so legit people, that help with his investigation. The author has an easy style to read, the chapters are short and the plot moves right along which makes it a very fast read. A fun, light mystery read that I recommend.
—Jane
