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"Seattle Times"
""The Right Mistake,.".is a thought-provoking exploration of wickedness -- and what's to be done about it."
""The Right Mistake,.".is a thought-provoking exploration of wickedness -- and what's to be done about it."
Product Description
Living in south central L. A. , Socrates Fortlow is a sixty-year-old ex-convict still strong enough to kill men with his bare hands. Filled with profound guilt about his own crimes and disheartened by the chaos of the streets, Socrates calls together local people of all races and social stations and begins to conduct a Thinkers Club, where all can discuss lifes unanswerable questions. Infiltrated by undercover cops and threatened by strain from within, the Thinkers Club doesnt have it easy. But simply by debating racial authenticity, street justice, and the possibility of mutual understanding, Socrates and his unlikely crew actually begin to make a difference. The Right Mistake is Walter Mosley at his most incisive. At once an affectionate and coruscating portrait of ghetto life, it abides the possibility of personal redemption and even, with great struggle, social change.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a fan of Walter Moselys' Easy Rawlins books I was interested in any other books he had written. His Fearless Jones books occupy the same time period as Easy Rawlins, the 20 years post ww2 but Soctates Fortlow lives in modern day LA. This is the third book and whereas Easy Rawlins and Fearless Jones are crime thrillers these are (as the title might suggest) more philosophical in tone. Socrates is a former prisoner, a murderer and rapist, who when released back into society has to adjust and build his life all over again.
I loved all 3 books and can only recommend that you read this book (after checking out the first 2 "Always outnumbered, always outgunned" and "Walking the Dog". I can't wait for the next one.
I loved all 3 books and can only recommend that you read this book (after checking out the first 2 "Always outnumbered, always outgunned" and "Walking the Dog". I can't wait for the next one.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left." -- 2 Kings 22:1-2 (NKJV)
We all like to play the blame game. Whenever something happens we don't like, well, just blame someone else.
There's only one problem with that approach: Nothing is ever improved. Even if we make mistakes, it's good to take personal responsibility and do our best to do the right thing. If everyone did that, we would all be amazed at the improvements.
The Right Mistake looks deeply into that premise through the battered body and soul of Socrates Fortlow, former felon, now philosopher of life. If you have missed the earlier books that include this character (Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned and Walkin' the Dog), you should go back and read those first. They will put the character and his unique perspective into a better frame than just reading this book on its own.
This isn't a novel. It's more like a series of short stories in a chronological sequence that allows you to imagine the rest of a story line. It's a lot like the approach the impressionist painters used to let you finish the "big picture" in your head. The spaces between the short stories frame the issues nicely, and you'll definitely have a reaction to the social commentary as well as the personal philosophies expressed here.
I believe the book also serves a redemptive purpose for Walter Mosley in helping him to transcend genre into making more fundamental statements than fiction usually permits.
I found myself drawn deeply into the story, identifying with Socrates Fortlow (even though on the surface we have little in common), and being curious about where Mr. Mosley was taking me. It was a worthwhile ride. Be sure not to miss it!
We all like to play the blame game. Whenever something happens we don't like, well, just blame someone else.
There's only one problem with that approach: Nothing is ever improved. Even if we make mistakes, it's good to take personal responsibility and do our best to do the right thing. If everyone did that, we would all be amazed at the improvements.
The Right Mistake looks deeply into that premise through the battered body and soul of Socrates Fortlow, former felon, now philosopher of life. If you have missed the earlier books that include this character (Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned and Walkin' the Dog), you should go back and read those first. They will put the character and his unique perspective into a better frame than just reading this book on its own.
This isn't a novel. It's more like a series of short stories in a chronological sequence that allows you to imagine the rest of a story line. It's a lot like the approach the impressionist painters used to let you finish the "big picture" in your head. The spaces between the short stories frame the issues nicely, and you'll definitely have a reaction to the social commentary as well as the personal philosophies expressed here.
I believe the book also serves a redemptive purpose for Walter Mosley in helping him to transcend genre into making more fundamental statements than fiction usually permits.
I found myself drawn deeply into the story, identifying with Socrates Fortlow (even though on the surface we have little in common), and being curious about where Mr. Mosley was taking me. It was a worthwhile ride. Be sure not to miss it!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
29 reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Levels off the series, not exceeds it
9 Nov 2008
Format:Hardcover
Mosley churns out 2-3 books a year and unfortunately the wear and tear on his imagination is beginning to show. The one concept of his that hadn't seemed to jump the shark was his Socrates Fortlow series, featuring a wise ex-con living in the street of L.A.
I love this character, his world and the stories Mosley has traditionally applied to them. A little of the magic has worn off in this third installment, but not enough to stay away. The book looks like it maintains the short-story-collection charmof the previous books, but really it's just a more chopped-up longer, more traditional narrative, making it a book with significant chapters instead of separate stories that build to a theme or climax. It also contains a more spartan, less colorful style and a cast of characters that, when coupled with little description beyond one-liners, is unwieldly and tedious.
It's a fast read, and I say that as a slow reader. I love the series, but instead of getting better, it dipped. Mosley offers a book that artists sometimes create that feature well-known characters that they don't really want to interact with anymore. A little deus ex machina, a little over-the-top confrontation, and then the loose-thread offer of life-change that ensures that the character will never again be the character you know and love. If you're a fan, read it, but expect it to level off or dip, not exceed.
I love this character, his world and the stories Mosley has traditionally applied to them. A little of the magic has worn off in this third installment, but not enough to stay away. The book looks like it maintains the short-story-collection charmof the previous books, but really it's just a more chopped-up longer, more traditional narrative, making it a book with significant chapters instead of separate stories that build to a theme or climax. It also contains a more spartan, less colorful style and a cast of characters that, when coupled with little description beyond one-liners, is unwieldly and tedious.
It's a fast read, and I say that as a slow reader. I love the series, but instead of getting better, it dipped. Mosley offers a book that artists sometimes create that feature well-known characters that they don't really want to interact with anymore. A little deus ex machina, a little over-the-top confrontation, and then the loose-thread offer of life-change that ensures that the character will never again be the character you know and love. If you're a fan, read it, but expect it to level off or dip, not exceed.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Does Mosley ever have a bad day...?
28 Oct 2008
Format:Hardcover
What if Plato was a pimp? What if Aristotle was a gang-banger? What if Nietzsche was a drug dealer? Would their philosophy be the same if they were these things on the streets of New York? Those were some of the questions I came up with as I was reading this book. Socrates is an ex-con (2 murders & 1 rape that we know of) who starts a thinking group to debate and discuss some of the issues directly relating with their community.
He assembles leaders and followers from around the community to his house that he... um... creatively leased from someone to hold the meetings. The guest list includes drug dealers, deacons, decent women, hookers, business owners, bums, Asians, Whites, Blacks, gay, straight, quiet, loud, lawyers and police. With this unique mix of people you know that trouble was just one comment away. One of the most interesting discussions was "who or what makes a REAL Black man"?
Socrates deals with life as it comes and is surprisingly astute for someone who spent 27 years in prison. Women love bad boys and he's about as bad as they come. This isn't Mr. Mosley's first visit with Socrates but it was MY first book about him. Now I'm curious to see if Socrates was always this "calm" and introspective or did prison and an extremely hard life create this persona.
I know I sound like a broken record... but this man's mastery of the craft is second to none! I only wish others knew what I know about Walter Mosley. Those who know him read and love him, but I can't help but think that his talent is simmering below the surface like lava for those who don't know and one day... sometime soon... it's going to erupt like Mount St. Mosley.
He assembles leaders and followers from around the community to his house that he... um... creatively leased from someone to hold the meetings. The guest list includes drug dealers, deacons, decent women, hookers, business owners, bums, Asians, Whites, Blacks, gay, straight, quiet, loud, lawyers and police. With this unique mix of people you know that trouble was just one comment away. One of the most interesting discussions was "who or what makes a REAL Black man"?
Socrates deals with life as it comes and is surprisingly astute for someone who spent 27 years in prison. Women love bad boys and he's about as bad as they come. This isn't Mr. Mosley's first visit with Socrates but it was MY first book about him. Now I'm curious to see if Socrates was always this "calm" and introspective or did prison and an extremely hard life create this persona.
I know I sound like a broken record... but this man's mastery of the craft is second to none! I only wish others knew what I know about Walter Mosley. Those who know him read and love him, but I can't help but think that his talent is simmering below the surface like lava for those who don't know and one day... sometime soon... it's going to erupt like Mount St. Mosley.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Release
20 Dec 2008
Format:Hardcover
Walter Mosley's latest Socrates Fortlow novel, The Right Mistake, maintains an emotional intensity throughout that engages readers and made me catch my breath at the end of some chapters. Ex-con Socrates gathers people together in West Central Los Angeles to talk. Like his namesake, he asks questions, and claims no wisdom of his own. Along the way, he builds community, finds redemption alongside other characters, and in some way or another, each character finds a release from whatever constrains them. This is a finely written novel with real characters living as best they can. Recommended.
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