I first read this book when it was published in 2007 and was blown away by it. Unwisely, I sold it along with my entire book collection in 2019. During an unrelated book reading at the wonderful Hopscotch Reading Room in Berlin I found a used copy of the book and purchased it with no hesitation. I recently finished reading it and am still quite impressed with the writing and the story. In short, it is the story of a black man, married to a white woman with three children, on the verge of losing everything. It is an astute telling of how difficult it is to make it in America, especially considering the “myth of an integrated and racially normalised America” (quote from Dublin Literary Award 2009). The pain and frustration of the narrator is palpable and propels the narrative along at a brisk pace. I love Thomas’ writing style with internal monolog, flashbacks, links between history and the present, and the presentation of common suffering in American society. A great book I will keep on my shelves and read again in the future. Thank you Michael Thomas!