Reviews
Praise for Five-Carat Soul : "These brilliant miniatures display all of the rambunctious fearlessness of [McBride's] deeply empathetic imagination... Five-Carat Soul [is] a delight." -- The New York Times Book Review "Brash, daring and defiantly original... [these] stories are bound to stay with readers for a very long time." -- NPR "A furious joy drives these glimpses of brave lives in perilous places." -- San Francisco Chronicle "Serious fun." -- Newsday "McBride is such an agile writer that each voice feels authentic and somehow familiar. ...These are stories of and from the soul." -- Minneapolis Star-Tribune "Unpredictable, exhilarating, and, often, hilarious. ... a wild and utterly delightful ride." --BuzzFeed "Poignant, imaginative, and 'literary' in the best sense of the word." -- Christian Science Monitor "Funny, strange and touching. ... McBride proves once again that he is a master conjurer of African Americana." -- Seattle Times "McBride delivers pure gold... Five-Carat Soul shakes with laughter, grips with passion and oozes wisdom." -- Shelf Awareness (starred review), "A vivid, often funny story collection that examines serious topics like race, war, history, and self-identity--all with a deft hand and a fluid, musical voice." -- Entertainment Weekly "Humming with invention and energy, the stories collected in McBride's first fiction book since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird again affirm his storytelling gifts... McBride adopts a variety of dictions without losing his own distinctly supple, musical voice; as identities shift, 'truths' are challenged, and justice is done or, more often, subverted." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "McBride's authentic characters and stories capture with humor and poignant insight the messiness of our internal (and external) lives and the world around us." -- Buzzfeed "Stellar... McBride's short stories joyfully abound with indelible characters whose personal philosophies are far wiser than their circumstances allow... [He] brings the snappy satire that endeared him to fans of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the courage and pathos that shone in The Miracle at St. Anna ." -- Booklist (starred review) "An exceptional group of stories... There's a good amount of humor here, but most of these pieces are deeply emotional. This is McBride at his A-list best." -- Library Journal (starred review) "McBride exhibits his formidable storytelling chops in an array of voices and settings... The charm emitted by these whimsical-yet-acerbic tales seems to come from a hypothetical late-19th-century collaboration of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. McBride emerges here as a master of what some might call 'wisdom fiction,' common to both The Twilight Zone and Bernard Malamud, offering instruction and moral edification to his readers without providing an Aesop-like moral." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Praise for James McBride: "A modern-day Mark Twain." -- The New York Times Book Review "McBride . . . transcends history and makes it come alive." -- Chicago Tribune, "Humming with invention and energy, the stories collected in McBride's first fiction book since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird again affirm his storytelling gifts... McBride adopts a variety of dictions without losing his own distinctly supple, musical voice; as identities shift, 'truths' are challenged, and justice is done or, more often, subverted." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "McBride's authentic characters and stories capture with humor and poignant insight the messiness of our internal (and external) lives and the world around us." -- Buzzfeed "Stellar... McBride's short stories joyfully abound with indelible characters whose personal philosophies are far wiser than their circumstances allow... [He] brings the snappy satire that endeared him to fans of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the courage and pathos that shone in The Miracle at St. Anna ." -- Booklist (starred review) "An exceptional group of stories... There's a good amount of humor here, but most of these pieces are deeply emotional. This is McBride at his A-list best." -- Library Journal (starred review) "McBride exhibits his formidable storytelling chops in an array of voices and settings... The charm emitted by these whimsical-yet-acerbic tales seems to come from a hypothetical late-19th-century collaboration of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. McBride emerges here as a master of what some might call 'wisdom fiction,' common to both The Twilight Zone and Bernard Malamud, offering instruction and moral edification to his readers without providing an Aesop-like moral." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Praise for James McBride: "A modern-day Mark Twain." -- The New York Times Book Review "McBride . . . transcends history and makes it come alive." -- Chicago Tribune, Praise for Five-Carat Soul : "Stellar... McBride's short stories joyfully abound with indelible characters whose personal philosophies are far wiser than their circumstances allow... [He] brings the snappy satire that endeared him to fans of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the courage and pathos that shone in The Miracle at St. Anna ." -- Booklist (starred review) "McBride exhibits his formidable storytelling chops in an array of voices and settings... The charm emitted by these whimsical-yet-acerbic tales seems to come from a hypothetical late-19th-century collaboration of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. McBride emerges here as a master of what some might call 'wisdom fiction,' common to both The Twilight Zone and Bernard Malamud, offering instruction and moral edification to his readers without providing an Aesop-like moral." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Praise for James McBride: "A modern-day Mark Twain." -- The New York Times Book Review "McBride . . . transcends history and makes it come alive." -- Chicago Tribune, "Humming with invention and energy, the stories collected in McBride's first fiction book since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird again affirm his storytelling gifts... McBride adopts a variety of dictions without losing his own distinctly supple, musical voice; as identities shift, 'truths' are challenged, and justice is done or, more often, subverted." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Stellar... McBride's short stories joyfully abound with indelible characters whose personal philosophies are far wiser than their circumstances allow... [He] brings the snappy satire that endeared him to fans of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the courage and pathos that shone in The Miracle at St. Anna ." -- Booklist (starred review) "McBride exhibits his formidable storytelling chops in an array of voices and settings... The charm emitted by these whimsical-yet-acerbic tales seems to come from a hypothetical late-19th-century collaboration of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. McBride emerges here as a master of what some might call 'wisdom fiction,' common to both The Twilight Zone and Bernard Malamud, offering instruction and moral edification to his readers without providing an Aesop-like moral." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Praise for James McBride: "A modern-day Mark Twain." -- The New York Times Book Review "McBride . . . transcends history and makes it come alive." -- Chicago Tribune, "A vivid, often funny story collection that examines serious topics like race, war, history, and self-identity--all with a deft hand and a fluid, musical voice." -- Entertainment Weekly "Humming with invention and energy, the stories collected in McBride's first fiction book since his National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird again affirm his storytelling gifts... McBride adopts a variety of dictions without losing his own distinctly supple, musical voice; as identities shift, 'truths' are challenged, and justice is done or, more often, subverted." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "If there's a mode in which McBride can't write brilliantly, he has yet to prove it." -- Vulture "Each told with McBride's trademark insight, eye for character, and masterful story-telling ability, these pieces are sure to knock you out." -- Bustle "McBride's authentic characters and stories capture with humor and poignant insight the messiness of our internal (and external) lives and the world around us." -- Buzzfeed "Stellar... McBride's short stories joyfully abound with indelible characters whose personal philosophies are far wiser than their circumstances allow... [He] brings the snappy satire that endeared him to fans of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird and the courage and pathos that shone in The Miracle at St. Anna ." -- Booklist (starred review) "An exceptional group of stories... There's a good amount of humor here, but most of these pieces are deeply emotional. This is McBride at his A-list best." -- Library Journal (starred review) "McBride exhibits his formidable storytelling chops in an array of voices and settings... The charm emitted by these whimsical-yet-acerbic tales seems to come from a hypothetical late-19th-century collaboration of Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling. McBride emerges here as a master of what some might call 'wisdom fiction,' common to both The Twilight Zone and Bernard Malamud, offering instruction and moral edification to his readers without providing an Aesop-like moral." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Praise for James McBride: "A modern-day Mark Twain." -- The New York Times Book Review "McBride . . . transcends history and makes it come alive." -- Chicago Tribune, Praise for James McBride: "A modern-day Mark Twain." -- The New York Times Book Review "McBride . . . transcends history and makes it come alive." -- Chicago Tribune
