A review by rusalka
Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones

5.0

This is an excellent book of short stories centered on life in Washington, DC in the second half of the 20th century. Jones' diverse range of characters is his biggest strength - his stories center on men and women; children, teenagers, adults and the very old; educated government workers, drug dealers, auto mechanics; folks from the rural South and city folks who look down on them; rich people and poor people. The characters are often morally ambiguous, and are written with humanity, sensitivity and believability. The Washington they inhabit is intimately local and geographically exact; to me, as a white reader, it was both foreign and familiar, inhabited by people whose lives and language are largely outside my sphere of experience, but marked out by references to streets and neighborhoods that I know very well. I'd recommend this collection to any DC resident, anyone looking to read more writers of color, and anyone who appreciates short stories.