R.L.'s Dream - by Walter Mosley (Paperback)

About the Book

From the author of Devil in a Blue Dress comes "the most powerful and poetic novel about black life in America since Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man (Digby Diehl, Playboy). RL's Dream, the first work of his to break from his mystery series, focuses on an aging bluesman named Soupspoon Wise.

Book Synopsis

It's 1939 and Easy and Mouse are young men just setting out in life--Easy has yet to develop his skill for unraveling the secrets of others, and Mouse has yet to kill his first man. But all that will soon change.

Soupspoon Wise is dying on the unforgiving streets of New York City, years and worlds away from the Mississippi delta, where he once jammed with blues legend Robert "RL" Johnson. It was an experience that burned indelibly into Soupspoon's soul--never mind that they said RL's gift came from the Devil himself. Now it's Soupspoon's turn to strike a deal with a stranger. An alcoholic angel of mercy, Kiki Waters isn't much better off than Soupspoon, but she too is a child of the South, and knows its pull. And she is determined to let Soupspoon ride out the final notes of his haunting blues dream, to pour out the remarkable tale of what he's seen, where he's been--and where he's going.

Mosley creates a "a meditation on the history and meaning of the blues" (Entertainment Weekly) in R L's Dream, which practically sings a soulful blues song itself.

Review Quotes

"Fans of Mosley's Easy Rawlins series will not be disappointed by RL's Dream....Mosley's sense of timing and mystery is as powerful as ever....Mosley is a master storyteller, and in RL's Dream the blues are real."-- "Chicago Tribune"

"Heart-stopping....a beautiful little masterpiece....a meditation on the history and meaning of the blues and, in its sorrowful lyric, virtually a blues song itself....Every part of this novel -- every page -- comes alive."-- "Entertainment Weekly"