Them

Mirron Willis relates this sensitive and often disturbing story of a white couple taking up residence in the largely black neighborhood of Atlanta's Fourth Ward. The story varies in its tone and could have been a challenge for even the most experienced narrator. However, Willis is a narrator who not only assumes the identity of the story's central character but also skilfully steps back into impartiality with the story's omniscient narrator. Willis's theatrical experience as a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is apparent from his deep and inspired reading, though he never allows it to sound over the top or forced. The result is a perfect combination for a memorable listening experience. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Starred review from September 3, 2007
The embattled characters who people McCall's trenchant, slyly humorous debut novel (following the 1994 memoir Makes Me Wanna Holler
and a 1997 essay collection) can't escape gentrification, whether as victim or perpetrator. As he turns 40, Barlowe Reed, who is black, moves to buy the home he's long rented in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. His timing is bad: whites have taken note of the cheap, rehab-ready houses in the historically black neighborhood and, as Barlowe's elderly neighbor says to him, “They comin.” Skyrocketing housing prices and the new neighbors' presumptuousness anger Barlowe, whose 20-something nephew is staying with him, and other longtime residents, who feel invaded and threatened. Battle lines are drawn, but when a white couple moves in next door to Barlowe, the results are surprising. Masterfully orchestrated and deeply disturbing illustrations of the depth of the racial divide play out behind the scrim of Barlowe's awkward attempts to have conversations in public with new white neighbor Sandy. McCall also beautifully weaves in the decades-long local struggle over King's legacy, including the moment when a candidate for King's church's open pulpit is rejected for “linguistic lapses... unbefitting of the crisp doctoral eloquence of Martin Luther King.” McCall nails such details again and again, and the results, if less than hopeful, are poignant and grimly funny.

March 1, 2008
McCall ("Makes" "Me Wanna Holler") follows up his autobiography with a first novel that focuses directly on the old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, the former home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Now the neighborhood is changing, as white couples find this the perfect place to resettle. The "gentrification" of the area begins next door to Barlowe Reed, an African American through whom McCall filters the anger, tensions, and sensibilities of the community. With his new neighbor Sandy and her husband, Sean, old grievances, beliefs, and hopes are explored and tested. McCall manages to make the characters fully genuine, and narrator Mirron Willis brings them quite expertly to life. Much more happens within the minds of these characters than in many more action-packed stories. Recommended.Joyce Kessel, illa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY

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