Great Black Hope
A Novel
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4.0 • 25 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Cool and concise; a talent to watch.” —Jay McInerney author of Bright Lights, Big City
“You’re going to get papercuts, you’re going to turn the pages so fast.” —Brad Thor, Today
A gripping debut from an electrifying new voice about an upwardly mobile and downwardly spiraling Black man caught between worlds of race and class, glamourous parties and sudden consequences, a friend’s mysterious death and his own arrest.
An arrest for cocaine possession on the last day of a sweltering New York summer leaves Smith, a queer Black Stanford graduate, in a state of turmoil. Pulled into the court system and mandated treatment, he finds himself in an absurd but dangerous situation: his class protects him, but his race does not.
It’s just weeks after the death of his beloved roommate Elle, the daughter of a famous soul singer, and he’s still reeling from the tabloid spectacle—as well as lingering questions around how well he really knew his closest friend. He flees to his hometown of Atlanta, only to buckle under the weight of expectations from his family of doctors and lawyers and their history in America. But when Smith returns to New York, it’s not long before he begins to lose himself to his old life—drawn back into the city’s underworld, where his search for answers may end up costing him his freedom and his future.
Smith goes on a dizzying journey through the nightlife circuit, anonymous recovery rooms, Atlanta’s Black society set, police investigations and courtroom dramas, and a circle of friends coming of age in a new era. Great Black Hope is a propulsive, glittering story about what it means to exist between worlds, to be upwardly mobile yet spiraling downward, and how to find a way back to hope.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Rob Franklin’s outstanding debut novel dazzles with the confidence of a close-up magician. Busted for cocaine possession in the Hamptons weeks after his semi-famous best friend suffered a drug-induced death, young Black professional David Smith is at a crossroads. Something’s got to give—either his hard-partying Brooklyn lifestyle or the expectations of his well-heeled, Atlanta-based parents. Franklin works with the live-wire energy of early Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney, capturing both the allure of nightlife and the unforgiving daylight that follows. He peppers his prose with throwaway pop-culture references that deflate any dourness. David is keenly aware of his exact level of privilege, which infuses his observations with a wry detachment, no matter which direction he’s looking. Great Black Hope deftly reworks the traditional Gatsbyesque New York coming-of-age story for a new generation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Franklin's radiant debut, a queer Black man reckons with his class privilege and drug use in the aftermath of his best friend's mysterious death. David Smith, a 25-year-old tech worker and aspiring writer, is partying with old friends in the Hamptons when he's arrested for cocaine possession. After returning to his Brooklyn apartment, Smith is jolted by memories of his best friend and roommate's tragic death three weeks earlier. Elle England, the daughter of a famous soul singer, was found dead on the banks of the Bronx River, rumored to have taken fentanyl-laced cocaine. After Smith reluctantly tells his well-to-do Atlanta parents about his arrest, they hire a white Southampton lawyer, correctly presuming that the man's "local color" will work in Smith's favor. The plot is tightly woven and satisfying, culminating in Smith's visit to Atlanta, where he's hounded by a journalist looking for a scoop on Elle's death. What makes the novel really shine, however, is Franklin's deeply perceptive view into Smith's self-appraisal, which develops as he undergoes court-ordered drug treatment and joins a group of Black artists in homeless advocacy work, prompting him to reflect on the cost of going along with what his parents and friends want for him. Along the way, the author keenly portrays Smith's grief over Elle and how they fell into their hard-partying life. Readers will be rapt. Agents: Audrey Crooks and Ellen Levine, Trident Media Group.
