By Percival Everett
Hyperion
Hardcover and Paperback Editions

Thelonius "Monk" Ellison is an engaging character. He is an award-winning author with higher standards than most, yet he is struggling to earn the kind of money enjoyed by writers who pen embarrassingly stereotypical novels about African American life.

Erasure Excerpt My steps were difficult and my head was spinning as if I had been drugged. Cameras flashed and people murmured and I couldn't believe that I was walking through sand, through dream sand. © Percival Everett Published with permission from Hyperion

His father is dead, having committed suicide seven years prior. His mother is fighting Alzheimer's. His sister, the doctor, is squaring off with those who oppose abortion enough to threaten her well being. Meanwhile, Monk longs for the kind of success that will allow him to make more money and to aid his family.

My Pafology, the book Monk pens under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh, is supposed to be a statement of defiance. Unfortunately, the book is a cash cow for Monk's soggy financial career. As the story continues, Monk faces ghosts of personal contradiction. Success becomes a thing to be measured carefully.

Bookworm's Briefing
Percival Everett, a professor of literature at the University of Southern California, is a talented writer. However, when he inserts a book within a book and includes My Pafology in the middle of Monk's story, the reader is treated to every imaginable obscenity. One page features dialogue showcasing the same four-letter word.

Although Everett is clearly making a statement, it is deflated by how far he goes to make his point. This book is not for the faint of heart.