A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond, as told to Percival Everett & James Kincaid (A Novel) (Akashic Urban Surreal)

“A truly funny sendup of the corrupt politics of academe, the publishing industry and politics, as well as a subtle but biting critique of racial ideology.” —Publishers Weekly This “hilarious high-concept satire” (Publishers Weekly), by the PEN/Faulkner finalist and acclaimed author of Telephone and Erasure, is a fictitious and satirical chronicle of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond’s desire to pen a history of African-Americans—his and his aides’ belief being that he has done as much, or more, than any American to shape that history. An epistolary novel, The History follows the letters of loose cannon Congressional office workers, insane interns at a large New York publishing house and disturbed publishing executives, along with homicidal rival editors, kindly family friends, and an aspiring author named Septic. Strom Thurmond appears charming and open, mad and sure of his place in American history. “Outrageously funny . . . it could become a cult classic.” —Library Journal “I think Percival Everett is a genius. I’ve been a fan since his first novel . . . He’s a brilliant writer and so damn smart I envy him.” —Terry McMillan, New York Times-bestselling author of It’s Not All Downhill from Here “God bless Percival Everett, whose dozens of idiosyncratic books demonstrate a majestic indifference to literary trends, the market or his critics.”?The Wall Street Journal Praise for Percival If Percival Everett isnt already a household name, its because people are more interested in politics than truth.Madison Smartt Bell, author of The Washington Square Ensemble Everetts talent is multifaceted, sparked by a satiric brilliance that could place him alongside Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison . . . Publishers Weekly I think Percival Everett is a genius. Ive been a fan since his first novel. He continues to amaze me with each novelas if he likes making 90-degree turns to see whats around the corner, and then over the edge . . . Hes a brilliant writer and so damn smart I envy him.Terry McMillan, author of Mama A fictitious and satirical chronicle of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmonds desire to pen a history of African-Americanshis and his aides belief being that he has done as much, or more, than any American to shape that history. An epistolary novel, The History follows the letters of loose cannon Congressional office workers, insane interns at a large New York publishing house and disturbed publishing executives, along with homicidal rival editors, kindly family friends, and an aspiring author named Septic. Strom Thurmond appears charming and open, mad and sure of his place in American history. Percival Everett is the author of 15 works of fiction, among them Glyph , Watershed and Frenzy . His most recent novel, Erasure , won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and did little to earn him friends. James Kincaid is an English professor at the University of Southern California and has written seven books in literary theory and cultural studies. These books and Kincaid himself have gradually lost their moorings in the academic world, so there was nothing left for him to do but to adopt the guise of fiction writer. Writing about madness comes easy to him. Presents a fictitious chronicle of a former senator Strom Thurmond's efforts to write a history of African Americans, revealing the antics of Congressional office workers, publishing house interns, editors, and rival editors