mbennett78's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
matt4hire's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic, heartbreaking, humanist writing. The series of short stories start out, about 85% of the time, like most noir would. Then, however, they invariably end up about community, about helping others to live the best they can, and about pride and when to let it go. Such excellent stuff.
anna1isa's review
5.0
Gritty & beautiful story about a man who is full of love, righteousness, violence, and turmoil. Vignettes in place of a larger plot work well to distill characters into small interesting stories. Accessible and powerful read
sheilabookworm3369's review
5.0
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned has so much going for it. I wouldn't normally consider the short stories aspect as one of the things going for it, but the way Walter Mosley does it, I do. Each story centers on the same character, and that character grows more likeable/admirable as we get to know him. Not in a superman way, but in a super person way. And the telling of those stories - deep, rich, honest, touching and sometimes laugh out loud funny.
the_naptime_reader's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a series of short stories featuring, Socrates Fortlow, and other friends from his neighborhood in Compton/Watts, CA. This is a book I would have recommended to some of my boys at Fitz who were more reluctant readers perhaps. The stories all depict some aspect of urban life,but they delve into deeper philosophical and moral issue. Socrates is very different from Omar Little of The Wire, but he reminds me of him, because he seems to be someone who is trying to keep to the code, even as he remakes himself after a 27 year prison sentence in Indiana for murder. My favorite stories were probably "Equal Opportunity", "Crimson Shadow", and "The Thief". You could definitely read a few and not all of the stories if you just wanted to check it out.
stuff4bd's review
3.0
I found Socrates to be an extremely frustrating character. He made poor choices for reasons that were almost right but misguided. He learned from his life experiences but only part of the lesson. He is a flawed character that I couldn’t find likable.
jakewritesbooks's review
5.0
Whew.
I don’t even really know where to begin with this one. Not because it’s a complex book. On the surface, it’s rather simple: 14 tales of an ex-con trying to make it in the underbelly of south central Los Angeles. No more, no less. No central plot except a man trying to survive.
But hell, man, this is a tale of living.
James Weldon Johnson once wrote in a poem: “Make me a world.” Walter Mosley does that.
I’ve had an interesting journey with Mosley’s work. I started with the Easy Rawlins series, only recently branching out to the Leonid McGill books and his standalones. I’ve seen his evolution as a writer. As I wrote in my most recent reviews of his stuff that came out in the aughts and 10s: he seems to have developed this certain style where his writing takes place on an ethereal plane, with existentialism sprinkled in every tale. His modern books are interesting, if at times unfocused.
This came out in the 90s, when he’d been at it for about a decade. And it’s one of those books writers tend to write in the middle of their careers when their full talent and ingenuity pass each other like the sun and moon during an eclipse.
This book is greatness. It’s Mosley’s best by far.
I can describe it but there’s nothing I can say that you can’t get from the book description: it’s about a poor ex-con named Socrates. He gets into difficult situations and deals with them in various ways. Every story feels self-contained. Most are connected. All of it is a world. You don’t root for or against Socrates. He’s not a great guy or a terrible guy. He’s a guy trying to make his way. It allows for the book to unfold in an incredible way. Mosley can use his story to examine social interactions, structural racism, philosophy…all of the things he normally tackles in his books. But here, it’s more focused, concise, with stakes and characters to get invested in.
This is a contender for book of the year.
I don’t even really know where to begin with this one. Not because it’s a complex book. On the surface, it’s rather simple: 14 tales of an ex-con trying to make it in the underbelly of south central Los Angeles. No more, no less. No central plot except a man trying to survive.
But hell, man, this is a tale of living.
James Weldon Johnson once wrote in a poem: “Make me a world.” Walter Mosley does that.
I’ve had an interesting journey with Mosley’s work. I started with the Easy Rawlins series, only recently branching out to the Leonid McGill books and his standalones. I’ve seen his evolution as a writer. As I wrote in my most recent reviews of his stuff that came out in the aughts and 10s: he seems to have developed this certain style where his writing takes place on an ethereal plane, with existentialism sprinkled in every tale. His modern books are interesting, if at times unfocused.
This came out in the 90s, when he’d been at it for about a decade. And it’s one of those books writers tend to write in the middle of their careers when their full talent and ingenuity pass each other like the sun and moon during an eclipse.
This book is greatness. It’s Mosley’s best by far.
I can describe it but there’s nothing I can say that you can’t get from the book description: it’s about a poor ex-con named Socrates. He gets into difficult situations and deals with them in various ways. Every story feels self-contained. Most are connected. All of it is a world. You don’t root for or against Socrates. He’s not a great guy or a terrible guy. He’s a guy trying to make his way. It allows for the book to unfold in an incredible way. Mosley can use his story to examine social interactions, structural racism, philosophy…all of the things he normally tackles in his books. But here, it’s more focused, concise, with stakes and characters to get invested in.
This is a contender for book of the year.
cyndin's review
3.0
Almost a set of short stories about the same character. It makes it rather disjointed. All of it was well done but it was hard to follow the arc at times.