Percival Everett

 I read a few books back-to-back so here's quick reviews:

Trees - Seeing as Percival is African-American, he naturally has as his main protagonist/narrator a well spoken young Black man, usually with fishing and woodcutting hobbies, which I can only assume that Percival shares. In this novel a couple of MBI (Mississippi Bureau of Investigation) agents investigate unusual murders involving white men gruesomely slaughtered with their testicles removed and placed in the hands of a long dead, mutilated Black man on the scene who disappears several times after each murder. There are many twists'n'turns as they discover that the murdered folks are relatives of those who brutally tortured and killed Emmett Till years before, as well as the woman who accused Emmett initially. The southern white folks are incredible caricatures in the extreme, which seems to be a stylistic method that Everett uses for most groups at different times for different reasons. Things get even more surreal as similar events happen in other cities and we discover underground groups of avengers moving above ground. 

Erasure - This one revolves around a esoteric Black author who has written unusual, intellectual novels with minimal success (his agent says he is not "Black enough") and becomes enraged and fairly obsessed as another Black author writes a best selling novel about living in the ghetto, although she never did, using incredible stereotypes. He decides on an angry whim to do the same (using the hilarious pseudonym Stagg R Leigh) and it becomes a runaway success, despite being a wildly over-the-top parody, giving him more money than he ever dreamed of. It also causes him to rethink pretty much everything as he deals with familial tragedies and other relationship issues. Obviously, the book challenges the media's reliance and acceptance of stereotypes and the expectations put on people of color, in particular.

Assumption - In this novel a small town New Mexico deputy investigates various crimes including missing persons, murders, a mysterious plot of land, a man with one hand, stolen vehicles and more that apparently are somehow linked together. The eventual link is a somewhat unexpected one although you're never quite sure until the sudden finale.

Everett is a fine writer who really draws you in and keeps you entertained the entire time. Unlike the author in Erasure, Everett's books are easy reading and interesting and fun - not necessarily light reading but certainly not esoteric! He is also quite prolific so I will look out for more of his work.