Literature & Fiction
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Don't Cry for Me: A Novel
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE, THE MILLIONS AND BOOKISH
"Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song."-Jesmyn Ward
A Black father makes amends with his gay son through letters written on his deathbed in this wise and penetrating novel of empathy and forgiveness, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robert Jones Jr. and Alice Walker
As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay.
But most of all, Jacob must share with Isaac the unspoken truths that reside in his heart. He must give voice to the trauma that Isaac has inherited. And he must create a space for the two to find peace.
With piercing insight and profound empathy, acclaimed author Daniel Black illuminates the lived experiences of Black fathers and queer sons, offering an authentic and ultimately hopeful portrait of reckoning and reconciliation. Spare as it is sweeping, poetic as it is compulsively readable, Don't Cry for Me is a monumental novel about one family grappling with love's hard edges and the unexpected places where hope and healing take flight.
"Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song."-Jesmyn Ward
A Black father makes amends with his gay son through letters written on his deathbed in this wise and penetrating novel of empathy and forgiveness, for fans of Ta-Nehisi Coates, Robert Jones Jr. and Alice Walker
As Jacob lies dying, he begins to write a letter to his only son, Isaac. They have not met or spoken in many years, and there are things that Isaac must know. Stories about his ancestral legacy in rural Arkansas that extend back to slavery. Secrets from Jacob's tumultuous relationship with Isaac's mother and the shame he carries from the dissolution of their family. Tragedies that informed Jacob's role as a father and his reaction to Isaac's being gay.
But most of all, Jacob must share with Isaac the unspoken truths that reside in his heart. He must give voice to the trauma that Isaac has inherited. And he must create a space for the two to find peace.
With piercing insight and profound empathy, acclaimed author Daniel Black illuminates the lived experiences of Black fathers and queer sons, offering an authentic and ultimately hopeful portrait of reckoning and reconciliation. Spare as it is sweeping, poetic as it is compulsively readable, Don't Cry for Me is a monumental novel about one family grappling with love's hard edges and the unexpected places where hope and healing take flight.
Editorial Reviews
"Sad and gripping…an example of how fiction is not just a form of literature but a place. We go there for lessons on how to live, how to change and, most important, how to forgive and seek forgiveness."-New York Times Book Review
"Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song: the epistolary dirge of a man singing to his son as he faces death by cancer. At turns intense and funny, tender and brutally honest, Jacob's letter to his son, Isaac, is revelatory. While the story is an unflinching account of a family and a community in the Black American Midwest coming of age in the modern now, it is also full of that which makes us all human, regardless of where we are from or who we are: full of fathers trying to understand sons, sons trying to understand fathers, parents feeling as if they have failed children, children realizing how they have passed their own traumas on to others and so on. It's a beautiful book. Read it."-Jesmyn Ward
"In Daniel Black's Don't Cry for Me, we're reminded that consequential movement is always happening whether we like it or not. Black manages to capture, and really free characters, scenes, and so much subtext we've felt, but rarely seen or heard in American literature. The book is unafraid of the pungent slivers of joy and those dazzling shards of horror that accompany loneliness and progress. Don't Cry for Me is literally the book my favorite books needed to read. It is an unparalleled literary achievement that already feels like it will, of all things, endure."-Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
"With clarity and a compelling depth of character, Daniel Black continues the tradition of the epistolary in Don't Cry for Me. This letter from Jacob to his son Isaac gives the reader eyes in two directions, seeing the world behind Jacob and what lies ahead for his son. Jacob, at the end of his life, offers a glimpse back through his family history and the lessons, regrets, and achievements of a black family in America. He also looks over Isaac's shoulder, imagining the life ahead. What history will repeat? What can they leave behind? This letter, its memories, and conversations give a panorama of this family where the history and the future combine through the impactful storytelling of a gifted writer. Daniel Black continues to show a compelling combination of then and now-residual racial histories and the present moment of his characters."
"Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song: the epistolary dirge of a man singing to his son as he faces death by cancer. At turns intense and funny, tender and brutally honest, Jacob's letter to his son, Isaac, is revelatory. While the story is an unflinching account of a family and a community in the Black American Midwest coming of age in the modern now, it is also full of that which makes us all human, regardless of where we are from or who we are: full of fathers trying to understand sons, sons trying to understand fathers, parents feeling as if they have failed children, children realizing how they have passed their own traumas on to others and so on. It's a beautiful book. Read it."-Jesmyn Ward
"In Daniel Black's Don't Cry for Me, we're reminded that consequential movement is always happening whether we like it or not. Black manages to capture, and really free characters, scenes, and so much subtext we've felt, but rarely seen or heard in American literature. The book is unafraid of the pungent slivers of joy and those dazzling shards of horror that accompany loneliness and progress. Don't Cry for Me is literally the book my favorite books needed to read. It is an unparalleled literary achievement that already feels like it will, of all things, endure."-Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
"With clarity and a compelling depth of character, Daniel Black continues the tradition of the epistolary in Don't Cry for Me. This letter from Jacob to his son Isaac gives the reader eyes in two directions, seeing the world behind Jacob and what lies ahead for his son. Jacob, at the end of his life, offers a glimpse back through his family history and the lessons, regrets, and achievements of a black family in America. He also looks over Isaac's shoulder, imagining the life ahead. What history will repeat? What can they leave behind? This letter, its memories, and conversations give a panorama of this family where the history and the future combine through the impactful storytelling of a gifted writer. Daniel Black continues to show a compelling combination of then and now-residual racial histories and the present moment of his characters."
Readers Top Reviews
Cheryl StoneB. Ja
Some people may not ever know our African American culture. Daniel Black gave a look into our history, our superstitions, our hopes, our dreams and our religious beliefs. I absolutely loved this book. We have to keep being reminded of our rich history and what a great people we are.
StaciDFCheryl Sto
He's done it again. Mr Black is one of the most talented and gifted writers I've ever read. Even when I don't agree with a characters point of view or way of thinking, Mr Black makes them relatable and you empathize with them. Beautifully written. I laughed, cried and felt these characters
Soleil H.Stacey T
This book was Nothing other than TOUCHING 💔...I love How it shows the History of LGBT and how parents reacted In the 70s/80s and Also I love How it speaks On the AIDS epidemic that Hit through the 80s and Gay Men were the Main hits. And it really touches you And gives so Many good Messages and Wisdom about Life. With so much death and sickness in the Story that really was an Eye opener that we all have To deal with the fact that All of us have our day coming when we have to Go and when we lose someone we love. I also love the display of strong Family Unit in Life for People in the south in those days..Its depressing , but It really digs Deep into showing the Life of Southerners in the 40s and 50 and the Stress they lived through due to Racism, and How Much they valued family, food and the church (in those days). I really wish the Epilouge wouldve given Issacs reaction to reading the letters and Us hearing what he had to say. Other than that..Daniel Black did a Great job 👍🏽❤
CCSoleil H.Stacey
I enjoyed this book. It was touching and so real. I enjoy EVERYTHING this author write. I highly recommend it especially if someone is having problems with a family member especially especially the Life style of your child.
