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A review by christine_queenofbooks
The Coyotes of Carthage by Steven Wright
5.0
This world needs more smart political fiction.
Enter: The Coyotes of Carthage.
This book lays bare the inner working of a political campaign, as the main character fights to pass a ballot initiative on behalf of a mining company. Oh yeah, bring on the moral and ethical quandaries!
That character is Dre, a Black political consultant who suddenly finds himself in the boondocks of South Carolina on a shoestring budget. He's "unlikeable" but sympathetic, which you could probably say about all the characters in this one. Aka: They're complex! This is not a happy book, but it's a great read about how we treat people, how our actions influence others, and a glimpse at how politics can work.
The Coyotes of Carthage is a debut by Steven Wright, who's a professor and co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, so it might be a minute before he's got another book out. But this debut has me locked in as a fan for sure. (See also, USA Today's list of "100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read" - they recommend him too!)
Enter: The Coyotes of Carthage.
This book lays bare the inner working of a political campaign, as the main character fights to pass a ballot initiative on behalf of a mining company. Oh yeah, bring on the moral and ethical quandaries!
That character is Dre, a Black political consultant who suddenly finds himself in the boondocks of South Carolina on a shoestring budget. He's "unlikeable" but sympathetic, which you could probably say about all the characters in this one. Aka: They're complex! This is not a happy book, but it's a great read about how we treat people, how our actions influence others, and a glimpse at how politics can work.
The Coyotes of Carthage is a debut by Steven Wright, who's a professor and co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, so it might be a minute before he's got another book out. But this debut has me locked in as a fan for sure. (See also, USA Today's list of "100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read" - they recommend him too!)