Aquaboogie

Praise

“The great strength of Aquaboogie, Susan Straight’s remarkable first work of fiction, is the way this ‘novel–in–stories’ brings to life the rich and vibrant life of an all–black community.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Aquaboogie is a love story in fragments . . . A book by a writer whose love for her characters infuses her work with the dignity and urgency they so clearly deserve.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Straight has taken the cadence and color of spirited voices, her community’s venerable oral tradition, and given it unequivocal form on page.” —LA Weekly

“Rarely is a black community so precisely, humanly, and searchingly delineated.” —Star–Tribune (Minneapolis)

“Vividly captures people who know the rhythm of their own lives. They twist and turn to its beats, yet they remain partially submerged, trying not to drown.” —The Washington Post

“The dialogue in these stories flows like a river of talk, pulls you along with its rhythms until you’re in it; you’re the reader, then the listener, then the speaker.” —St. Louis Post–Dispatch

“Straight has created an entire world, and her small neighborhood is overgrown and lush with legends—hardly a dry river. A rich collection of stories that demands to be read and reread.” —San Francisco Chronicle