From the Publisher
Black Issues Book Review Real life with a touch of magic...a tightly knitted story of men, family, and the distance they must bridge.
Booklist A compassionate novel with strong characters.
Publishers Weekly
Johnson's sequel to The Harris Men picks up five years after the previous book ended, reintroducing readers to guilt-plagued patriarch Julius Harris and his three estranged sons: Austin, Marcus and Caleb. It tries to explore issues of forgiveness, redemption and familial solidarity within a humanistic framework, but is quickly sunk by graceless prose, hilariously awkward dialogue "My nipples are so hard I could cut diamonds," one breathless lover murmurs and a sensibility so middlebrow it would make Barry Manilow wince. Worse yet, Johnson's cast of middle-class African-American protagonists comprises only vapid, generic and underdeveloped soap opera stereotypes. In The Harris Man, Julius discovered he had cancer, and tried to reconcile with the adult sons he abandoned years ago; now, he learns that the cancer has gone into remission. Since Julius was able to win over only Caleb in the previous book, he spends most of this one working on Marcus and Austin. Along the way, the narrative shifts between Julius and each of his progeny, all of whom have grown up with some pretty serious character defects, as a result of not having a father around during their formative years. Marcus is self-centered and juvenile, reluctant to commit to his girlfriend, Reecie. Austin is similarly shallow, an arrogant lawyer who's willing to play custody games with his kids just to get back at his ex-wife. Caleb, an ex-con, is the best of the lot, but his quest to rescue former girlfriend Sonya and son Jahlil from evil drug-dealer Curtis is pure pulp melodrama. It occasionally manages to be trashily readable, but Johnson's second effort is mostly flat, predictable and trite. Agent, Warren Frazier, John Hawkins &Associates. 5-city author tour. (Nov.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Sequel to The Harris Men (1999), offering emotional punch if little else as it revisits an African-American family. Some quick exposition brings readers up to speed. Five years earlier, diagnosed with terminal cancer, Julius Harris tried to come back into the lives of the grown sons he abandoned long ago, but the oldest, Austin, in the middle of a divorce, had no time for family reunions; middle son Marcus was too angry; and Caleb, the baby in the family, had just gone to the slammer. While incarcerated, Caleb tentatively reconnected with Julius; finally released, he journeys to Los Angeles to be with his father, now cancer-free. As the two cautiously rebuild a relationship, Austin and Marcus are at loggerheads back home in Chicago. Since their divorce, Austin's ex-wife, Trace, has been making it increasingly difficult for him to see their two children, using them as pawns in her anger. One would think that divorce attorney Austin would have some experience in resolving disputes over visitation rights; instead, he plays games to teach Trace a lesson. Marcus doesn't help by taking on big brother's paternal responsibilities, virtually alienating Austin from his own children. Things aren't much better in Los Angeles. Caleb finally locates girlfriend Sonya and their son Jahlil, who disappeared while he was in prison. They now live with a drug dealer who proves, in an ironic twist, to be the only dedicated father in the story, doting on Jahlil as well as Sonya. To make matters worse, the cancer has returned, and sweet Julius has little time left. If Johnson's point is that fatherless sons make poor decisions, he's right-on target. Much of the drama here stems from the bad situations thebrothers foolishly put themselves into. Relief and forgiveness finally come into play-and not a moment too soon. Well-intentioned, sometimes compelling, but far too agenda-driven. Author tour
