Hunting in Harlem by Mat Johnson

Author:Mat Johnson [Johnson, Mat]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Urban, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9781582342726
Google: IDf3JI8b5QgC
Amazon: 1582342725
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Published: 2003-05-13T12:00:00+00:00

CHUPACABRA

TO BE BOBBY Finley on the following morning was a beautiful thing. The night before it seemed a dire lot for sure, but the next day, when Bobby woke up in the fetal position on his bathroom floor, his spirit traced the sunbeams back out the opaque window, past the sky and into the starlit heavens far beyond. When he got to his feet, Bobby realized he wasn't drunk anymore. It was as if in that last bit of violent vomiting before he passed out he had rid his body not only of the remaining alcohol but also of the months of romantic indulgence he had poisoned himself with. Such foolishness, that Piper Goines thing. It seemed now only one more bitter taste in his mouth to be spit into the Irving Howe with the rest of his bile.

Bobby was very much a man who believed in lessons. From every misfortune, no matter how grave, he searched for the golden rule to be salvaged, that thing to keep the experience from being a complete loss, to comfort himself that the same situation wouldn't happen again. On November 7, right there in the bathroom of Apartment 16, 342 East 123rd Street, Bobby Finley declared the End of Romanticism. No more carelessly using the L-word, misusing his heart as if it was no more than his liver. From this moment forward, Bobby swore that he would treat his own affections with the solemnity and respect they deserved, not throw them about without care and then become hurt when others treated them in a similar manner. When the one came, he would take his time in identifying her, would not be foolish enough to be confused by something as insignificant as the cut of her clothes, the relative pleasantness of her face, or her physical conditioning. When looking for a soul these were all just hindrances. As a popular song of his youth had put it, "Never trust a big butt and a smile." This shall be my motto, Bobby decided.

So much is said about being in love, finding love, losing it, why had no one raised the trumpet for having no love at all? Devoid of the phenomenon, Bobby felt light, buoyant, prone to giggling fits and whistling, both of which he stifled on the job, particularly around Snowden whom he was no longer mad at but was punishing by pretending he was for the remainder of the week. Of course, the woman Piper Goines could clearly not have been the one. The one would be his complement in every way, she would certainly share his passion, his idealism and dedication to uplifting of the race, his artistic fury. There was no way a goddess such as that could be attracted to the likes of Snowden.

Snowden was attractive in the purely physical sense, granted, Bobby could see that, but Snowden was so determined to believe in nothing he'd made that a belief system in itself. The man was dedicated to no more

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.