Synopses & Reviews
Welcome to Soul City, where roses bloom in the cracks of the sidewalk, musical genres become political platforms, and children use their allowance money to buy records from the Vinyl Man. It's an unusually peaceful and magical American community with a strong heritage and sense of unity--at least, thats how journalist Cadillac Jackson first finds it when he visits the city for a magazine story. It isn't long before a mayoral campaign turns hostile; Cadillac falls hard for Mahogany Sunflower and is taught how to shed his embattled African-American identity so that he, too, might become a resident of this fabled city. What he discovers reveals as much about himself as it does about human nature and the meaning of race in America.
Touré is the author of the story collection
The Portable Promised Land. He's also CNN's pop culture correspondent and a contributing editor at
Rolling Stone. His writing has appeared in
The New Yorker,
The New York Times,
Tennis Magazine,
The Best American Essays, and
Da Capo Best American Music Writing, among other publications. Welcome to Soul City, where the mayoral election is about to start. It's a contest between the Jazz Party, the Soul Music Party, and the Hip Hop Nation. Soul City is a very peaceful, funky, and magical little American town, where kids use their allowance to buy records from the Vinyl Man, roses bloom in the cracks of sidewalks, and the nastiest gossip queen in town is a mind reader. At least, that's how journalist Cadillac Jackson first finds it when he arrives to profile the city for a magazine story. It isn't long before the mayoral campaign turns hostile, and Cadillac falls hard for Mahogany Sunflower. She teaches him how to shed his embattled African American identity so that he, too, might become a resident of this fabled city. What he discovers reveals as much about himself as it does about human nature and the meaning of race in America. "Touré fulfills his promise in [this] inventive debut novel."
Vanity Fair "Touré fulfills his promise in [this] inventive debut novel."
Vanity Fair "Try to imagine Ronald Firbank with a street swagger, and you have some idea of the high style of Touré's
Soul City . . . Touré's experimental fiction makes him the young man to watch in the literary arena."Tom Wolfe
"Touré has broken new ground because he breaks all the rules, which makes it that much more refreshing. He's a smart, edgy, risk-taking young writer, so watch him."Terry McMillan “Soul City is a place of uncertain geography founded by escaped slaves who could fly, a miraculous place where flowers grow out of the concrete, music is revered, and ailments are healed by doting grandmothers rather than doctors. According to Soul City legend, the escaped slaves blessed the citizens to live lives confined only by the boundaries of their dreams. Cadillac Jackson, an outsider and a writer trying to capture the essence of the community, falls in love with Mahogany Sunshine, the DJ in the Biscuit Shop and a direct descendant of the flying black folks. He struggles to reconcile what he sees and experiences with black culture lived in the 'real' world, while the citizens of Soul City are in the midst of a pivotal mayoral election that will determine the sound track of their lives and the direction of their heritage. Toure . . . offers an imaginative allegory on black culture filled with magic realism and biting social commentary.”Vanessa Bush,
Booklist“Touré draws on his awareness of today's popular culture amusingly and smartly as very few writers have.”Clarence V. Reynolds, Black Issues Book Review “In this highly entertaining debut novel, Touré expands on the magical characters he introduced in his story collection, The Portable Promised Land, pulling together aspects of African American culture within a utopian setting called Soul City. Cadillac Jackson, a reporter for Chocolate City Magazine, arrives in the city to cover the mayoral election and falls in love with a woman named Mahogany, whose family can fly like birds. She is one of many distinct characters, including the boy preacher, Lil' Mo Love, who tells amusing stories about a slave who continually outsmarts his white master; Cool Spreadlove, who wins the mayoral election and spins his soul music throughout the city; and Ecstasy, who runs a hug shop where citizens pay for a rejuvenating embrace. Numerous literary and musical anecdotes run through this imaginative story, which ultimately examines African American stereotypes against a political backdrop of power and greed. This is a cleverly written page-turner whose only disappointment is that it has to end. Highly recommended.”David A. Berone, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, Library Journal
“Well, what other name would you give paradise? It's not clear exactly how to react to a debut novel that's purportedly meant for adults yet whose first page introduces journalist Cadillac Jackson getting off the train in Soul City (where he's been sent by Chocolate City Magazine to cover the mayoral elections) and fully intending to check out the sights that include the world-famous 100-foot Afro pick and the ‘crazy sermons delivered by Revren Lil' Mo Love. Is this the start of a bad dream that our protagonist is going to wake up from? No, dear reader, music journalist Touré has his story and he runs with it . . . True enough, Cadillac keeps his clear intention of probing into the city to see what's going on with the mayoral election, but obviously that's really just a stratagem allowing him to tour the length and the breadth of this slice of paradise: where the biscuits are made with droplets of heaven-sent butter, the music is everywhere and always the best (Ellington, Prince, Marley), and there's a gorgeous Jimmy Choo-wearing femme fatale by the name of Mahogany Sunflower for Cadillac to fall in love with. There's evil, too, of course, personified in places like the nearby thug paradise of Whatevaworld and in the figure of vile billionaire tycoon John Jiggaboo . . . Fun in a grandly silly fashion.”Kirkus Reviews “In a swamp of political mudslinging tomes, this charming and quirky fairy tale for grownups comes as a restful change. Stem-cell clashes? Foreign policy? Forget it. The mayoral race in Soul City hinges on one issue and one issue only: which candidate will make the best DJ, pumping the hippest music into the speakers that hang from every lamppost in the city. The citizens of this grooving utopia, which boasts ‘more mojo than any city in the world, are entirely separated from the rest of America, and they like it that way; it leaves them free to devour Granmama's biscuits by the bushel, drive around in cars that play only the driver's favorite singer, and attend St. Pimp's House of Baptist Rapture. When Cadillac Jackson, a journalist from Chocolate City magazine, arrives to write an article about the election, he promptly falls in love with the seductive Mahogany Sunflower, but even more so with the city itselfthe only place left in America where black really is beautiful. Imaginative, buoyant and slyly funny, this satire by magazine writer Touré is a delight to read and a pleasure to hum along to.”Publishers Weekly
Review
"Magical . . . lyrically described."--
Entertainment Weekly"Touré fulfills his promise in [this] inventive debut novel."--Vanity Fair
"Try to imagine Ronald Firbank with a street swagger, and you have some idea of the high style of Touré's Soul City. . . . Touré's experimental fiction makes him the young man to watch in the literary arena."--Tom Wolfe
"Imaginative, buoyant, and slyly funny, this satire . . . is a delight to read and a pleasure to hum along to."--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Welcome to Soul City, where roses bloom in the cracks of the sidewalk, musical genres become political platforms, and children use their allowance money to buy records from the Vinyl Man. It's an unusually peaceful and magical American community with a strong heritage and sense of unity--at least, that's how journalist Cadillac Jackson first finds it when he visits the city for a magazine story. It isn't long before a mayoral campaign turns hostile; Cadillac falls hard for Mahogany Sunflower and is taught how to shed his embattled African-American identity so that he, too, might become a resident of this fabled city. What he discovers reveals as much about himself as it does about human nature and the meaning of race in America.
About the Author
Touré is the author of the story collection The Portable Promised Land. He's also CNN's pop culture correspondent and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Tennis Magazine, The Best American Essays, The Best American Sportswriting, The Best American Erotica, and DaCapo Best American Music Writing.