Suggested reading from Chicago Review Press
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A Novel
By Shawn Shiflett
FICTION
312 Pages, 5.5 x 8.5
Formats: Trade Paper, Mobipocket, EPUB, PDF
Trade Paper, $14.99 (CA $19.99) (US $14.99)
ISBN 9781613735602
Rights: WOR
Chicago Review Press (Sep 2016)
Academy Chicago Publishers
Overview
In this honest novel set in the racial tinderbox of Chicago in 1969, Simon Fleming, the white son of an activist minister, is sent to a predominately African American high school, feeling charged to carry out the family's commitment to school integration. He is dropped into a world where gang warfare, drug abuse, and violence are rampant. Simon's quest for survival introduces him to Clyde, a gangbanger turned political militant; Louis, a brilliant, self-destructive boy; Clark, a racist police officer who vies for allegiance in return for protection; John, a communist teacher who teaches Simon as much about politics as about biology; and Dia, the object of his affections. Hey, Liberal! exposes an out-of-touch education system and the universality of racial violence amidst a nation moving, inch by hard-fought inch, toward a more culturally diverse future.Reviews
"Hey, Liberal! is an arresting coming-of-age story, presenting an entirely singular perspective on race and politics during the turbulent late 1960s. Utilizing satire, pathos, and humor, Simon's story is as engaging as it is challenging." —Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned, Office Girl, and Marvel and a WonderAuthor Biography
Shawn Shiflett is an associate professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago. He is the author of Hidden Place, which was included in Library Journal's 2004 "Summer Highs, Fall Firsts" list of "most successful debuts."