Knucklehead

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About Knucklehead

Knucklehead is the only title shortlisted for the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence!"By setting his novel in the '90s, Smyer, who lives in Oakland, has crafted some brutal deja vu. As [protagonist] Marcus reflects on Rodney King, the Million Man March and the Oklahoma City bombing, we think of Freddie Gray, Black Lives Matter and school shootings that have become a way of life. And when Marcus laments San Francisco's dwindling black population, here we are more than 20 years on, and it's only gotten worse. We should all be furious."--San Francisco Chronicle"Here is a list of things you'll need to read this book: ample space for stretching out the side stitches you'll get from laughter; half a box of tissues for the most gripping and harrowing dramas at the heart of the novel; a fresh stress ball for the tense situations the protagonist finds himself in (both of his own doing and not); and just a bit of that space in your heart to see people, in all their complexity, trying to do their best."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"This book is bold in how it treats the reader as an insider to the reality of American blackness. It can be, in turns, lyrically poignant, cynical, hilarious, and infuriating."--Foreword Reviews, Starred Review"In this comic debut novel, lawyer Marcus Hayes careens through the racially divisive 1990s while trying to manage his compulsive anger, chaotic love life, and economic misfortunes...Smyer gives Marcus a sardonic and hilarious voice reminiscent of a Paul Beatty protagonist and endows him with a troubled psychology that plumbs the nuances of black male identity."--Kirkus Reviews"Marcus is an intelligent, acerbic, and often hilarious narrator, bringing a fresh, biting perspective to the social and racial tensions of the time that, as debut novelist Smyer makes clear, are not particularly diff