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The Day Eazy-E Died: A B-Boy Novel

Name: The Day Eazy-E Died: A B-Boy Novel
Author: James Earl Hardy
ISBN: 9781555837600

by James Earl Hardy

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Overview

"Hardy, a masterful and gifted storyteller, has written a very important work for our times. Bold and unforgettable, The Day Eazy-E Died, tackles important issues…a most engrossing story."—Black Issues Book Review

Raheim Rivers is at the top of his career; about to make the switch from modeling to movies…when an unexpected piece of news sends him reeling. His complacency shattered by the news that one of his idols, N.W.A. founder Eazy-E, has AIDS., Raheim gets tested for HIV, but keeps it a secret.

"Hardy's style is gaunt, unclouded, and lucid as he looks uncompromisingly at this central characters dilemma of preserving his love life while secretly awaiting test results for his HIV status. Hardy brilliantly lets Raheim's anxiety break through the surface of the narrative, just as it cracks through his consciousness in everyday dealings with Mitchell and his former lovers."—Library Journal

As he has so succesfully done in the past, Hardy masterfully draws his fascinating and very real characters into the ferment of compelling societal issues. He has created a powerfully real look at the issues facing young people of all sexual persuasions, young Black men, who are disproportionately infected and affected by AIDS. The book confronts the issues of sexuality, responsibility, and youthful perceptions of immortality. As the date for disclosure of his test results draws near, Raheim's fear and the ongoing stigma of the disease push him toward conflicting decisions.

James Earl Hardy is the author of the best-selling books B-Boy Blues, 2nd Time Around, and If Only for One Nite, as well as a biographies of Spike Lee and Boyz II Men. A 1993 Columbia University school of journalism graduate, Hardy is an award-winning entertainment feature writer, reporter, and critic who's writings have appeared in The Washington Post, Out, Essence, The Advocate, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, and Vibe. He lives in Manhattan.

Also available by James Earl Hardy
B-Boy Blues
TP $11.95, 1-55583-268-7
2nd Time Around
TP $12.95, 1-55583-372-1
If Only For One Nite
TP $12.95, 1-55583-467-1

Synopsis

"His messages are crucial and in no way diminish the charm of this high-fashion love story."—Booklist

Publishers Weekly

Given the recent statistics coming from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the largest spike in AIDS cases has been among young, gay African-American males it's not surprising that Hardy would use the fourth entry in his popular B-Boy Blues series (following If Only for One Night) to address this issue. In brief, diary-like vignettes ("March 28, 7:55 A.M."), Hardy spans three weeks in 1995 in the lives of black supermodel Raheim Rivers and his boyfriend, journalist Mitchell Crawford. The startling news that Raheim's idol, rapper Eazy-E, has AIDS causes the young man to examine his past and present entanglements and to secretly get tested himself for the virus. Despite the novel's underlying "message," Hardy deftly avoids any didacticism, as he revisits characters from the previous books and furthers the growing attachment between his two protagonists (despite, or perhaps because of, their frequent spats). Whether Raheim is buying his Ma a condominium ("I feel like Louise Jefferson"), discussing discrimination or the value of money with his six-year-old son, or simply being nursed back to health by Mitchell during a bout with the flu, the author's sharp ear for the foibles of human nature remains as keen as ever. His lovingly drawn characters provide a strong sense of reality, and his sense of humor enlivens the proceedings throughout (after watching Hitchcock's The Birds, Raheim notes that he'll "never look at a pigeon tha same way again"). Author tour. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

Hardy's style is gaunt, unclouded, and lucid as he looks uncompromisingly at his central character's dilemma of preserving his love life while secretly awaiting test results for his HIV status. Staggered by the death from AIDS of his idol, rapper Eazy-E, budding supermodel Raheim examines his own philandering past, trying to convince himself that his tiny betrayals could not have endangered his current lover, Mitchell (last seen with Raheim in If Only for One Nite). Hardy brilliantly lets Raheim's anxiety break through the surface of the narrative, just as it cracks through his consciousness in everyday dealings with Mitchell and his former lovers. The novel is timely given current concern over the rise of infected people in the young, gay, African American community. Highly recommended for general, black studies, and gay literature collections. Roger Durbin, Univ. of Akron, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A slight but engaging novel about AIDS, gay life, and African-American men in Manhattan. Popular New York model Raheim Rivers is making his way toward Hollywood when he learns of that one his heroes, rap impresario Eazy-E, has been diagnosed with AIDS. Startled, he drives across state lines to have an HIV test-and Hardy (B-Boy Blues, 1994, etc.) achieves nominal suspense by playing out the story during the two weeks Raheim waits for the results. He cannot bring himself to tell his lover "Little Bit" that he's been tested-and surely wouldn't tell that he recently had a drunken fling with the aggressive Malice. In the meantime, Raheim's son Li'l Brotha Man is negotiating through a new, mostly white school in New York and the social problems caused by his parents' unique relationship. Raheim is still close with Sunshine, Li'l Brotha Man's mother, but has (in the previous If Only for One Night, 1997) long since embraced his homosexuality. Thrown into the mix is his father, attempting to reconcile with the son he left behind, and some inconsequential stirrings about the O.J. Simpson trial. Raheim buys his mother a new home in Harlem and finally confesses to "Little Bit" about the test and his infidelity. He's relieved when "Little Bit" admits he too had an "indiscretion"-as is everyone else when Raheim's results come back negative. Notable for its distinct portraiture and unstudied way with dialogue, Hardy's fluent evocation of the rhythms and sounds of his characters' lives is rewarding, as is his fresh depiction of the social challenges facing upwardly mobile African-Americans. His bare treatment of contemporary politics is also blessedly free of off-putting hyperbole, leaving readers withsome appreciation for his characters' perspectives. A nicely turned, breezy snapshot, displaying most of its virtues in the accumulation of detail-and in the creation of a persuasive milieu among which the modest theme weaves.