Brother man, Brother man
A review of Walter Mosley's Walkin the Dog (pub. Little, Brown, & Company) 1999

Walter Mosley has done it again! He has broken the mold for literary fiction. Mosley is one of the premier writers of this generation who refuses to be pigeonholed. The media and the publishing industry tried to define him as a mystery writer, after his successful series of Easy Rawlins books. They also tried to define him as a novelist, after his blues allegory/ impressionistic fiction, RL's Dream, then as a science fiction writer during the publication of Blue Light. More recently he completed a series of non-fiction essays, Workin' on The Chain Gang, exploring the post-slavery generations of African-Americans in this country. As a writer, Mosley feels writers should tell stories of all kinds to fully be part of the canon of writers.

The follow-up to his collections of stories, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, is Walkin' the Dog with its protagonist, Socrates Fortlow . Walter Mosley has given us a modern day, Jesse B. Simple of Langston Hughes' fame (by the way, Mosley is producing Simple Tales for HBO based on the Hughes' character). Socrates Fortlow, the ex-con turned street philosopher, is a Jesse for the 90's. He observes the trials and tribulations of black society in latter day Los Angeles and Watts (circa. 80's). We follow Socrates as his ponders his place in the world much in the same way Jesse did in 1960's Harlem.

What I love about Socrates and Mosley is that they are walking, breathing redemption songs for black men. Socrates like most brothers is trying to find peace in his world and in his heart. Socrates, a pariah of sorts, is the namesake of one of the greatest philosophers, whose idea of life is, ironically, discovering knowledge. Mosley, the skilled writer that he is, takes the reader along with him as he explores black-on-black consciousness in his community. Mosley takes us on a journey into the inner-city neighborhoods and the back alleys where Socrates' lives. He also takes us to the streets at twilight time and to the homes and hearts of the characters that populate this world.

The characters and some of the lessons Socrates learns are revisited in Walkin the Dog. Darryl, the man child that Socrates "adopts," is here for Socrates to pass on his life lessons to a growing young black male, who has questions of his own about the world and his place in it. Harold and his wife, Corrine are back giving light to the life Socrates might have had if he had taken a different road. The presence of Right Burke is felt throughout the book, but strongest in the story, Promise, in which Socrates tries to keep his word and honor his friend's wishes and memory. Socrates has a new friend in a two-legged dog, amply named, Killer (they share a handicap and a burden of what they have done and both have a cross to bear). Mosley doesn't let us forget that Socrates is a man "whose done terrible things" but he is someone who is trying to make peace with his past. This time out he encounters a mugger (a younger Socrates) that he kills in "self defense," He contemplates "killing" a rogue cop that is terrorizing the community and he allows someone to love him and make love to him, kissing away the scars and pain. Mosley has given us the everyman of the 90's in Socrates Fortlow. Reading Walkin the Dog, I knew "Soco" just like I knew other brothers in our community. They live in our community, in our families, and most importantly in our hearts.

Mosley lets you experience the everyman's trials and tribulation of getting his life back. As a reader, I was wrapped up in Socrates' day-to-day activities and adventures. As a Black man, I laid back, sometimes giggling, sometimes crying, and always saying softly to myself, "brother man, brother man."

Reviewed by TS Murphy
26 July 2000