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Bedrock Faith (Paperback)

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Description


A deeply engaging debut novel about a morality clash in an insular Chicago neighborhood.


“In this vivid, suspenseful, funny, and compassionate novel of epiphanies, tragedies, and transformations, May drills down to our bedrock assumptions about ourselves, our values, and our communities. As sturdy as a Chicago bungalow and bursting with life, May’s debut is perfect for book clubs.”  —Booklist, Starred Review



“May’s expansive first novel reveals the complicated emotional economy that holds together a neighborhood in crisis . . . May’s vivid descriptions of the rhythms of life in the suburb . . . reveal vibrant lives in ordinary houses.” —Publishers Weekly


After 14 years in prison, Gerald “Stew Pot” Reeves, age thirty-one, returns home to live with his mom in Parkland, a black middle-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. A frightening delinquent before being sent away (his infamies included butchering a neighbor’s cat, torching another neighbor’s garage, and terrorizing the locals with a scary pit bull named Hitler), his return sends Parkland residents into a religiously infused tailspin, which only increases when Stew Pot announces that he experienced a religious awakening in prison. Most neighbors are skeptical of this claim, with one notable exception: Mrs. Motley, a widowed retiree and the Reeves’s next-door neighbor who loans Stew Pot a Bible, which is seen by Stew Pot and many in the community as a friendly gesture.



With uncompromising fervor (and with a new pit bull named John the Baptist), Stew Pot appoints himself the moral judge of Parkland. He discovers that a woman on his block is a lesbian and outs her to the neighborhood, the first battle in an escalating war of wills with immediate neighbors: after a mild threat from the block club president, Stew Pot reveals a secret that leaves the president’s marriage in ruin; after catching a woman from across the street snooping around his backyard, Stew Pot commits an act of intimidation that leads directly to her death.



Stew Pot’s prison mentor, an African American albino named Brother Crown, is released from prison not long after and moves in with Stew Pot and his mom. His plan is to go on a revival tour, with Stew Pot as his assistant. One night, as Stew Pot, Mrs. Reeves, and Brother Crown are witnessing around the neighborhood, a teenager from the block attempts to burn down the Reeves home. He botches the job and instead sets fire to Mrs. Motley’s house. She is just barely rescued, but her house is a total loss and she moves in with a nearby family. Neighbors are sure Stew Pot is behind the fire. The retaliations against Stew Pot continue, sending him over an emotional ledge as his life spirals out of control with grave consequences. Through the unforgettable characters of Stew Pot and Mrs. Motley, the novel provides a reflection on God, the living and the dead, and the possibilities of finding love without reservation.



About the Author


ERIC CHARLES MAY is an associate professor in fiction writing at Columbia College Chicago. A Chicago native and former reporter for the Washington Post, his fiction has appeared in the magazines Fish Stories, F, and Criminal Class. In addition to his Post reporting, his nonfiction has appeared in Sport Literate, the Chicago Tribune, and the personal essay anthology Briefly Knocked Unconscious by a Low-Flying DuckBedrock Faith is his first novel.

Praise For…


May slowly builds suspense as he persuasively unfolds the narrative in this work that reads like an Agatha Christie mystery. The characters, even those whose names are never mentioned, are versatile and relatable, and May’s descriptions embody a tapestry of words.




— Library Journal

A perceptive and entrancing meditation on friendship and family, love and forgiveness.
— Kirkus Reviews

May paints a memorable portrait of a community confronting itself. . . . Recommended for fans of authors such as Valerie Wilson Wesley and would be an excellent candidate for book clubs.
— Chicago Public Library, Staff Pick

The depth and the magnetism and the humor of Eric Charles May’s truly unforgettable characters makes this a neighborhood well worth visiting.
— New York Journal of Books

Bedrock Faith is a strong, engaging novel—full of warmth and charm and honesty.




— Bookforum

Product Details
ISBN: 9781617751967
ISBN-10: 1617751960
Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.
Publication Date: March 4th, 2014
Pages: 420
Language: English