Every month we'll try to give you a new book of merit whose author may be new to most of you.
Pelecanos, George THE TURNAROUNDThe title plays on itself, referring to both dead-end streets and character redemption. And this is a bit of a turnaround for Pelecanos as well, who is knows as one of the noinest of the noir, one of the grittiest chroniclers of the mean streets. Note, this is no powderpuff, but neither is it over-the-top like Nick's Trip. The story starts in 1972 when three teenagers, high and with too little to do, drive into D.C.'s large black neighborhood, and hurl both an epithet and a pie at three black teenagers. Hemmed in by cul-de-sacs and then the boys, this proves fatal to one of the whites, and permanently mars the lives of all others. A chance meeting of two of the guys in the present day leads to many realizations, and some potential new starts. To be sure, several people die along the way, and it's not pretty, and we see our share of lost souls, but when you get to the end, the overall impression is kind of--well, sweet.
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