Multi-perspective narrative: Provides an in-depth look at the impact of Tucker Caliban's exodus on white Southerners
Acclaimed debut novel: First novel by William Melvin Kelley, recognized as a lost giant of American literature
Satirical and critical tone: Offers a sharp critique of racial injustice and societal norms
Publication in 1962: Written before the Civil Rights Movement, yet prophetic in its depiction of racial dynamics
Summarized by Shop
The stunning, thought-provoking first novel by a "lost giant of American literature" (The New Yorker) June, 1957. One hot afternoon in the backwaters of the Deep South, a young black farmer named Tucker Caliban salts his fields, shoots his horse, burns his house, and heads north with his wife and child. His departure sets off an exodus of