Buck Boy (Electric Literature's Recommended Reading Book 279)

4.4/5 ( ratings)

McBride has a remarkable ability to fully inhabit his far-ranging characters — from an old Jewish toy collector to a lion in the zoo to a child who thinks he’s the son of Abe Lincoln. In “Buck Boy,” a boy called Butter guides us through Uniontown, Pa., after a black teenager is shot by an Asian storekeeper. A preacher calls for a protest; the media descends on the town; a funeral almost doesn’t happen; a gravesite is visited. But the truth at the heart of “Buck Boy” is nothing like the synopsis. Through Butter’s eyes, the reader comes to understand the complexity of the community’s bonds and the characters’ motivations. - Katie Freeman

---

About the Author: James McBride is an accomplished musician and author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, the #1 bestselling American classic The Color of Water, and the bestsellers Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna. He is also the author of Kill ’Em and Leave, a James Brown biography. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2016, McBride is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.

About the Guest Editor: Founded in 1994, Riverhead Books is now well established as a publisher of bestselling literary fiction and quality nonfiction. Throughout its history, Riverhead has been dedicated to publishing extraordinary groundbreaking, unique writers. Riverhead’s books and authors have won or been finalists for Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, National Book Critic Circle Awards, MacArthur Genius Awards, Hurston Wright Legacy Awards, Dayton Literary Peace Prizes, and numerous other distinctions.

About the Publisher: Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature’s weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Recommended Reading is supported by the Amazon Literary Partnership, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For other links from Electric Literature, follow us, or sign up for our eNewsletter.