Three-Fifths - by John Vercher (Paperback)

About the Book

"Three-Fifths is about a biracial black man, passing for white, who is forced to confront the lies of his past while facing the truth of his present when his best friend, just released from prison, involves him in a hate crime. Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a black father he's never known, and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didn't, twenty-two year-old Bobby Saraceno has passed for white his entire life. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden the truth about his identity from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a newly radicalized white supremacist. Bobby's disparate worlds crash when, during the night of their reunion, Bobby witnesses Aaron mercilessly assault a young black man with a brick. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep the secret of his mixed race from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the crime from the police. But Bobby's delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than twenty years, forcing his past to collide with his present"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a Black father he's never known, and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didn't, twenty-two year-old Bobby Saraceno has passed for white his entire life. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden the truth about his identity from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a newly radicalized white supremacist. Bobby's disparate worlds crash when, during the night of their reunion, Bobby witnesses Aaron mercilessly assault a young Black man. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep the secret of his mixed race from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the crime from the police. But Bobby's delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than twenty years, forcing his past to collide with his present.

Three-Fifths is a story of secrets, identity, violence, and obsession, with a tragic conclusion that leaves all involved questioning the measure of a man. The book was inspired by the author's own experiences with identity as a biracial man during his time as a student in the nineties, amidst the simmering racial tension of the L.A. Riots and the O.J. Simpson trial.

About the Author

John Vercher lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons. He has a BA in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in creative writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program. John was an assistant teaching professor in the Department of English and Philosophy at Drexel University, was the inaugural Wilma Dykeman writer-in-residence at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and is the 2024-2025 artist-in-residence at Monmouth University. His debut novel, Three-Fifths, was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune and Booklist. It was nominated for the Edgar Award and the Strand Critics Award for Best Debut Novel. His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, called "shrewd and explosive" by the New York Times, was named a Best Book of Summer 2022 by Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and a Booklist Editors' Choice book of 2022. His novel, Devil Is Fine, was named one of Time's Must-Read Books of 2024 and has been longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize.