A BLIND EYE

A diverse community of young men struggles with challenging queer realities in this novel.

Author and former social worker Ambrose crafts a moving profile of racial unrest and social injustice through an ethnic melting pot of young gay men living and loving in Philadelphia. Headlining the action is Babe, a queer Black youth with a “mass of thick dreadlocks” raised in the predominantly White Pennsylvania suburbs. He yearns to live a life unencumbered by racial stereotypes. The story opens in a gay bar where Babe meets Chance, a Black, cheeky, so-called wigger, who wears his pants baggy and sports purple cornrows. Chance becomes a nice distraction from Babe’s faltering relationship with Matthew, whom he suspects of cheating and using crack. Things end badly when a violent barroom brawl erupts between Babe and Matthew. Suddenly single, Babe rents out the now-vacant room in his duplex to Alise, a troubled woman of faith with a housing subsidy, an errant husband, and a son. But Babe inexplicably also invites Chance to move in as his roommate. Driven by instinct since childhood, Babe senses an opportunity to help both Alise and Chance with more than a place to live, offering them a prospect for happiness. Soon, Chance attempts to romance Babe, despite jealous Matthew resurfacing to create more melodrama. In his debut novel, State of the Nation(2018), Ambrose demonstrated a skill for characterization in his portrayal of Black teenagers living in Atlanta as a serial killer stalked the city. Here, he again intensifies the narrative with both solid characterization and a plot that generates a very realistic portrait of what it’s like to be Black in America, including scenes of Babe and Chance encountering police harassment and homophobia. There are also impressively descriptive passages throughout, demonstrating the author’s gift for introspective language, as when he evokes the concept of the inner city as “a mythic imaginarium created by white flight—barbaric microcosms within the city proper where crime and vice ruled over morality and decency.” Ambrose incorporates many heady themes, like racism, bullying, mental health, and queer identity, into a story that is smoothly written and engrossing from start to finish. The author is a writer to watch.

A vibrant, gritty urban character study rich in cultural relevance, social gravitas, and interpersonal drama.