UNITED STATES AUTHOR · FICTION · AFRICAN AMERICANS
E. Lynn Harris
E. Lynn Harris (born Everette Lynn Jeter; June 20, 1955 – July 23, 2009) was an American author. Openly gay, he was best known for his depictions of African-American men who were on the down-low and closeted. He authored ten consecutive books that made The New York Times Best Seller list, making him among the most successful African-American or gay authors of his era.
Before the war they called the area where I lived in northern Virginia, Tudor Hall When the war started in 1861, it became known as Manassas.
— from In My Father's House
Most acclaimed
I Say a Little Prayer
Bestselling author E. Lynn Harris is back with another sexy, shocking, and immensely satisfying novel that explores some of today's toughest and most timely issues.Chauncey Greer is the owner of Cute Boy Card Company, a thriving company in Atlanta. As a teenager, he was a member of a popular boy band, but left in disgrace when word got out that he and his band mate D were more than good friends. Chauncey is a free spirit, on the brink of forty with a body admired by both men and women. Not into being categorized, Chauncey's been known to hook up with men and women, but now in the age of the "down low," he's found that women ask too many questions, so he's just focusing on the fellas.After one too many bad dates, Chauncey finds himself in church where the minister's message inspires him to follow his dream of a singing career once again. Although he's lost touch with D, as he starts writing songs his thoughts inevitably turn to his former lover. Chauncey's powerful performance at the church earns him a standing ovation and an invitation to participate in an upcoming revival. But Chauncey soon discovers that an ambitious fundamentalist preacher plans to use the revival to speak out against gays and gay marriage. Feeling angry and betrayed, Chauncey and other gay members of the church decide to take a stand against the church's homophobia by staging a "Day of Absence" when all of the gay members and their friends and family stay home. Everything is going as planned ...until D appears on the scene and Chauncey has to confront his past and make some hard decisions about his future. I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER is filled with the delicious plot twists, humor, compassion, and up-to-the-minute controversy fans expect from their beloved "E. Lynn." Harris has returned with another gem of a novel that will rocket to the top of bestseller lists nationwide.
In My Father's House
By an extraordinary quirk, the McLean family entertained Confederates at their Manassas home just before the battle of Bull Run--and also hosted the peace negotiations at Appomattox, where they had moved to escape the war. Staying close to documented facts, as detailed in an excellent note, Rinaldi uses the McLeans' lives to dramatize the war's moral dilemmas. From his marriage in 1852, Will McLean has an uneasy relationship with his feisty seven-year-old stepdaughter Osceola (``Oscie''), the narrator; though she loves and respects the northern governess Will hires, and absorbs many of her ideas, Oscie is uneasy with Will's progressive stance toward slavery and, later, with his profiteering. Some of Rinaldi's inventions are unevenly developed--Oscie's long-held suspicions of one slave (dispelled when she understands her true story); a couple of romances typical of the era--though they do fill out the story. The most compelling relationship is between Oscie and Will, strong-minded characters, often opposed, whose mutual respect turns believably into a father-daughter bond, touchingly acknowledged in the last scene. Meanwhile, the author skillfully weaves history into her story--offstage battles, resentment against profiteers, a remarkable depiction of the northern generals taking the McLeans' furniture as memorabilia of Lee's surrender. Despite some weaknesses (Oscie at seven is unbelievably mature, and there's a 20th-century feel to some of the dialogue): a sweeping, dramatic overview of the war, authentic and compelling. Bibliography; chronology. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Just As I Am
1997
E. Lynn Harris's blend of rich, romantic storytelling and controversial contemporary issues like race and bisexuality have found an enthusiastic and diverse audience across America. Readers celebrate the arrival in paperback of his second novel, Just As I Am, which picks up where Invisible Life left off, introducing Harris's appealing and authentic characters to a new set of joys, conflicts, and choices. Raymond, a young black lawyer from the South, struggles to come to terms with his sexuality and with the grim reality of AIDS. Nicole, an aspiring singer/actress, experiences frustration in both her career and in her attempts to find a genuine love relationship. Both characters share an eclectic group of friends who challenge them, and the reader, to look at themselves and the world around thern through different eyes. By portraying Nicole's and Raymond's joys, as well as their pain, Harris never ceases to remind us that life, like love, is about self-acceptance. In this vivid portrait of contemporary black life, with all its pressures and the complications of bisexuality, AIDS, and racism, Harris confirms a faith in the power of love -- love of all kinds -- to thrill and to heal, which will warm the hearts of readers everywhere.