The Homewood Trilogy collect 3 of John Edgar’s works that are now considered a trilogy. This book has Damballah, Hiding Place and Sent For You Yesterday. All three books were very beautifully written and the author did a great job with storytelling. Although this isn’t something I would typically pick up, I did really enjoy reading this series of thought provoking books.

Thank you Scribner for sending me a copy of this book. 4 s David220 24

Out of print for 40 years, Wideman’s brilliant trio of books presents a kaleidoscopic panorama of his Pittsburgh neighborhood, described by one character as more than mere bricks and boards: “Homewood was them singing and loving and getting where they needed to get.” Written simultaneously, Damballah, The Hiding Place, and Sent for You Yesterday are not a trilogy in the conventional sense but a mosaic of stories and novels whose styles range from gritty vernacular and bluesy lyricism to Joycean stream-of-consciousness and objective reportage, reflecting the complexity and diversity of its subjects. Wideman’s relationship to his incarcerated brother, subsequently explored in his 1984 memoir Brothers and Keepers, looms large here in his unflinching depiction of persecuted fugitives past and present, while the author’s own self-imposed exile both enhances and complicates his efforts to bear witness to a culture and a way of life, as tributary to a flowing tradition of griots and musicians stretching back to Africa. Aptly described as an urban Black complement to Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha novels and a prose analogue to playwright August Wilson’s Pittsburgh-set “Century Cycle,” this masterly, transformative work of remembrance is nothing short of a masterpiece.2 s J Earl2,151 97

The Homewood Trilogy collects three of John Edgar Wideman's works together, Damballah, Hiding Place, and Sent for You Yesterday. Collectively they have come to be known as a trilogy and having them in one volume is an excellent opportunity to read or reread these classics.

I first read them shortly after they came out then not again until I studied them. Getting this volume gave me the opportunity to again read them for pleasure, though this time I had a much better grounding in what is being accomplished. A couple of his later works had become what I immediately thought of when I thought of his writing, and I am so happy to be reminded of just how good these are.

Depending on your own background, you can read them as the story of a community, over time and through many changes. You might read it as a microcosm of the Black experience in the United States. You can appreciate what they say about storytelling, the importance of the oral tradition both historically and within specific communities, even juxtaposed with written storytelling. Maybe you can relate to feeling outcast from your own community or having to do work to fit into your community. These are all themes, among others, that are explored here.

But what makes this trilogy so wonderful is that you can, and should, read them for the wonderful writing and storytelling. Simply enjoy them. Then let the thoughts they will ly generate for you lead you into considering whatever themes speak to you. Don't, in other words, read them to "get" any messages, read for the pleasure of the text and let the messages come to you naturally. Some of my takeaways from this reading are certainly different, because of where I am in my own life and where I perceive the world to be right now, than when I first read them several decades ago.

Highly recommended for both those who will want to reread these works as well as a great introduction to those new to Wideman. But don't stop here!

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.1 Annarella13.2k 143

I never read anything by this author and this was a great and happy surprise as I discovered a master storyteller.
To review this book means writing a long essay and simply say that it's a thought provoking, enthralling and well written set of novels.
The style of writing and the storytelling are superb, that plot is tightly knitted and makes you think
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mineedelweiss literary2 s Cynthia55

I loved this series of books. Read them years ago. Jim59 4

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