This work of
documentary fiction is a 2013 Coretta Scott King Honor book. I was thrilled
that out of the entire list of King winners this year, there was only one work
of fiction – less for me to read.
Please keep in
mind that I am (still) COMPLETELY enamored (and spoiled) by Bomb,
my first cover to cover nonfiction juvenile/young adult book that I wasn’t
forced to read. Whereas Bomb was
nonfiction that read like a fast-paced spy thriller, No Crystal Stair read like, well, stale nonfiction. While Bomb read like a trustworthy,
well-researched work based upon fact, No
Crystal Stair was forced to be called fiction because of the lack of
sources to fill in the blanks. It became
difficult to determine what was based upon fact versus that which was based
upon supposition.
I will get the
negative out first, so please stay tuned for the positive. There were
approximately 36 different voices contained within about 162 pages. It is tough
to keep track of so many minds. It actually made the book read more like a
scrapbook or a yearbook. Obviously some stories were more interesting than
others. The FBI files were a flop. FBI files are only interesting when they
show proof of shifty dealings. The files only showed that despite the high
traffic of African Nationals, Lewis Michaux was not a risk.
In some cases,
important personages were mentioned because they frequented the Harlem
bookstore, Malcolm X for instance. And those people were often times more fascinating
to read about than the actual subject of the novel. The reader is led to assume
that the bookseller is important by the presence of these people.
The book covers
a ridiculous amount of time – The 1930s to the present, ending with the
thoughts from people alive today who knew, were influenced, or benefitted from
by Dr. Michaux. It made for a very choppy read. It also threw potential suspense
right out the door. One memorable flaw was when Mr. Michaux started being
referred to as Dr. Michaux for no apparent reason. Then in a later chapter, his
honorary degree is finally mentioned. Backwards.
I really did not
enjoy reading this book. I never got excited about it. I was elated to finally
get it over with and that is unfortunate. There was no depth. Lewis Michaux is
a charming, intelligent, ambitious and motivating character. I really wanted to
learn more about the work he did.
The positive.
What an amazing dream this man had. Lewis Michaux grew up a thief, but grew
into a man who knew the importance of not only books, but reading them and reading
as many of them as one could get a hold of. But more significantly, it was the
kind of books he made available and the people he made them available to. Dr.
Michaux was determined that the black people read. He wanted them to read books
by, for, and about black people, American, African or otherwise. The banks run
by white men would not finance his dream because they did not think that black
people would choose to read. Dr. Michaux saw this as a challenge. He found the
money and started with five books and a book cart. It grew into a community.
It is sad,
frustrating for me to look around and see the apathy of the American people. I
think Dr. Michaux would be ashamed. I think we need people with a dream to
better their people and motivate them into action. We have become too lazy. I
would love to a have a Harlem library at the library. I just need to find the
right person to staff it. Dr. Michaux was unique, special, flawed, but he got
the job done.
I recommend
learning more about the Harlem Bookseller… I just wish a had a better resource
to recommend.
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