Understand This - (California Fiction) by Jervey Tervalon (Paperback)

About the Book

"Gritty and gripping, "Understand This" marks the debut of a powerful new voice in American fiction."--Henry Louis Gates Jr., author of "The Signifying Monkey"
"Lean, wire-tight, and dazzlingly structured, Tervalon's "Understand This" is a book for our times."--Jose Saldivar, author of "Border Matters"

Book Synopsis

Jervey Tervalon's novel about young people in South Central Los Angeles grows out of his experience teaching in a high school there and his pain at the death of one of his favorite students.

From the Back Cover

"Gritty and gripping, Understand This marks the debut of a powerful new voice in American fiction."--Henry Louis Gates Jr., author of The Signifying Monkey

"Lean, wire-tight, and dazzlingly structured, Tervalon's Understand This is a book for our times."--José Saldívar, author of Border Matters

Review Quotes

""Understand This" speaks convincingly in the idiom of the street, weaving in and out of several characters' stories, the dramas behind them described with intelligence and charity."--Michael E. Ross, "New York Times Book Review"

About the Author

Jervey Tervalon teaches English at California State University, Los Angeles. His most recent novel is Dead Above Ground (2000).