A review by ericode
Mr. Jimmy from Around the Way by Jeffrey Blount

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I really wanted to enjoy this book. And when I looked at the reviews from others, I fully expected to enjoy this book. (I seem to be one of the very few who was disappointed.) So, where did this story go sideways for me? 

For starters, the dialog was far too on the nose. Every conversation sounded scripted and expository. If someone was sad, they said it. “I’m sad.” Disappointed? “I’m disappointed.” The dialog rarely felt authentic but instead precise and entirely lacking in nuance and subtext, regardless of which character was speaking. 

Secondly, our protagonist drove me nuts. For a Black billionaire who must have overcome tremendous obstacles and had the determination of a pit bull to get to that point in his life, he took every throw coming at him fully on the chin. With every false accusation and conflict, he walked away with his head down and defeated – with the possible exception of the scene in the hospital where he only threatened to put his wealth to use. James Henry Ferguson never felt real to me because his reactions seemed at odds with what had to be his history. (I’ll add that Fountain also felt entirely unrealistic to me. His character lurched from angry/violent/lost to unrealistically contrite [see Biff Tanner, “Back to the Future”] and then to discouraged/resigned and finally to confident and successful all in the course of one year.) 

Which brings me to another issue. The story entirely depends on our protagonist having the wealth and resources of an Oliver Warbucks. The only lesson you can gain from the story arc is that it will all work out as long as you are blindingly rich or you have a billionaire at your back. How I would love to hear this story retold but with a protagonist who can’t buy himself/herself out of every lousy situation. 

To wrap up with one more frustration, the ending felt very deus ex machina. Everything is ready to collapse for Mr. Ferguson and the community until an all-too-convenient discovery provides a way out. 

But that’s just my two-cents.