A Red Death by Walter Mosley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Police and government officials always have contempt for innocence; they are, in some way, offended by an innocent man."

Walter Mosley who comes strongly recommended by a dear friend of mine is another new author for me. I am thankful for the suggestion: I like the novel and will definitely read more books by Mr. Mosley, although it is hard for me to be enthusiastic about A Red Death (1991). Yes, a good book, with solid grounding in social and political issues, but not particularly remarkable. Maybe the "sophomore curse" can be blamed: this is the second novel in the Easy Rawlins series, one that follows the immensely popular Devil in a Blue Dress.

The story takes place about 1953 in Los Angeles. We meet Easy (Ezekiel) Rawlins, an African American war veteran who moved to LA from Houston, as he cleans an apartment building in the Watts neighborhood. However we soon learn that he actually owns the buildings where he works as a handyman. He explains:

"That's why I kept my wealth a secret. Everybody knows that a poor man's got nothing to lose; a poor man will kill you over a dime."

We also learn that Easy was successful as a sort of amateur detective a few years ago and that there are secrets in his past, which is probably a reference to the previous book.

Easy is in serious trouble. IRS is on his back threatening him with a prison term for tax evasion. The woman he had an affair with in the past has just come to him with her little son. Her estranged husband who had been Easy's best friend may be looking for her: he is a killer and "has gone crazy," according to the woman. In addition, one of the tenants - unable to pay the rent - commits suicide in a building that he owns. When Easy is resolved to kill the IRS agent who pursues him he is miraculously saved by FBI: they promise him help in the tax case if he helps them infiltrate the African American community. He is supposed to set a Jewish man, a suspected Communist organizer, for a fall. The captivating criminal plot gets even more complex, there are more deaths, and it is Mr. Rawlins who provides crucial contributions to resolving the case.

These are the times of "Red Scare", suspected Communist hunts, blacklists, arrests, trials, and other kinds of repressions in the U.S. These are also the times when soldiers come back home dead or wounded from the Korean War. The story takes place in some of the poorest African American neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Racism is overt and ubiquitous and the author - who is himself of mixed black and Jewish ethnicity - draws parallels between persecution of Jews in Europe and economic and social oppression of black people in the U.S.

There are several compelling scenes and threads in the novel. The portrayal of a mass in the First African Baptist Church makes a strong impression. Both the suicide scene and the "dental" fragment (I can't say more without spoilers) are graphic and powerful, and I find the thread of the African Migration group very interesting. Sadly, the author's great efforts are damaged by his tendency to provide unnecessary commentary on the characters' motives and his attempts to tell the readers what they are supposed to think as if they were unable to think on their own. Still, A Red Death is a worthwhile read.

Three stars.

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