A Tinker's Damn

In this powerfully affecting novel, Darryl Wimberley explores the relationship between Tink and Carter Buchanan, a father and son whose differences have always been outweighed by a grudging mutual respect and fragile loyalty. But when a brutal murder and a generations-old feud threaten the tenuous balance of their relationship, Carter must soon decide for himself where—and with whom—he belongs. His is a violent world, mired in corruption and racism, a place more inclined to take an eye for an eye than to turn the other cheek, a place where betrayal can seem a lesser evil. Until one betrays oneself. Set in the swamplands and tobacco fields of 1940s Florida, rich in imagery and character, A Tinker's Damn is a forcefully moving novel of revenge, redemption, and the blurred distinction between the two.

It is Zululand in the 1870s; a bloodthirsty Zulu king is embroiled in bitter war with the English. Witches dwell in every cave and wizards are abroad in every village. The son of the chief of the Tshanini tribe, Benge, is a frail cripple, but he is believed by some to be a magic dwarf, a person set apart, with strange powers. This superbly written novel, originally published in 1957, is the story of Benge, leader of men, caught in a body too small for his heart. It is a tale that bridges the emotional barrier between the reader and the Zulus with greater passion and precision than any factual accounts can achieve.

J.J. Spencer is one of the many hungry young lawyers eager to climb the corporate ladder to the great future awaiting him. With his first annual review approaching, J.J. is confident his keen work for the top Manhattan law firm he is employed by will be praised allthe way to the bank. Until, that is, he gives in to a sudden surge of compassion for one of his clients during a chance encounter at a diner. J.J. discovers how swiftly no good deed goes unpunished: the consequences of his generous impulse snowball and before he knows it, J.J. Spencer has been beaten bloody, arrested for drunk driving, and fired from his job.