At first, I found myself relatively unenthused by this book and the characters, but the further along I’m reading, the more I’m starting to like it. I’d initially thought that our main character, Easy, was somewhat unremarkable, but then his human interactions with others led me to believe otherwise. He seems to have some sort of charm about him, or perhaps he just leaves and impression, based on other characters’ reactions to him. Overall, he seems cordial, educated, experienced, well liked and even respected. I like that the racism in this book is a lot less subtle in those we’ve read before (i.e.Cotton Comes to Harlem) and that Easy does what he can to defy it. I’ve enjoyed the parts where he’s stuck up for himself, like with his interrogation with the police, when he talked to his old boss, when he was dealing with the little man outside of DeWitt’s office, and so on. As we get even further, I also enjoy the characterization that’s brought on by the retelling of his time in the army. I’ve also just reached the point where he starts talking about “the voice”, which I find very amusing but also intriguing.
I liked when we finally met Daphne also because I thought that that was going to be the majority of the book. I like how the plot is getting slightly more twisted, but the various crimes, such as murders, aren’t all graphic, violent and in your face.This seems like a smarter, more practical and believable novel with a concise story line and a plot that’s easy to follow. I enjoy this more than the convoluted sequence of events in past books like Red Harvest. I also enjoyed Daphne’s interaction with Easy and am interested to see where that goes. Overall, the book has been a surprisingly pleasant read thus far and I’m excited to see where it ends up.
