Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In the highly suspenseful Edge of the Wind, the main character, a sensitive but deeply troubled 25 year-old black man, Alexander van der Pool, is off his meds and has begun hearing voices, especially that of his alter ego, Tobi. Having been holed up in his sister's bedroom in southwest Tennessee for two months, Alex has done nothing but read and write poetry. Until one day, he is convinced writing poetry is his life's calling and sets out to visit a local community college to have his work evaluated. But life takes a terrible turn when those at the college reject Alex and his work. When they try to kick him out, he takes matters into his own hands and holds the literature class hostage. Noted author James E Cherry holds nothing back as he tackles mental illness, race, poetry, art and the importance of relationships in this his second novel.
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Synopsis
"Alexander Van Der Pool is off his meds and high on his conviction that nothing matters more than poetry. He packs up his poems, his gun, and his knife, and sets out to stake his claim on art. In this touching and wonderful novel, James Cherry follows Flannery O'Conner's surprising dictum and literally holds a gun to his characters' heads. Their earnest and honest engagement in the moral confrontation that follows will tell you everything you need to know about race in America."
-Valerie Martin
"Early on in Edge of the Wind, three bluebirds light on a tree near Alexander van der Pool, and James E. Cherry's prose gives a sense of motion, sound, shadow, and color. As those bluebirds visit, so too do the characters who live in the books, whose voices come with the same fidelity as the west Tennessee sound that rings from these pages. The fiction is vividly composed on multiple tracks, with voices on the page, in the mind, and in the flesh, working in concert. With a narrative style that shows moments of both patience and zoom, James E. Cherry's fiction creates new intersections between fresh storytelling and the history in its roots."
-Ravi Howard