I'm sorry to learn today of the passing of Randall Kenan. He was clearly a light of the literary world, and even though his novel A Visitation of Spirits wasn't to my personal taste, I respect the writing and the themes that it tackled.
so-soThere were things about this book that I really liked and things that didn't work for me. At its core, it's the story of an intelligent young black man in rural North Carolina in the 1980s, and the pressures on him from his family on one hand and his gay identity on the other. Both he and his family are portrayed thoughtfully and compassionately, but the book is ultimately a tragedy.
Looking forward to re-Reading this as a more seasoned reader. Randall Kenan is an under appreciated writer.#underappreciatedwriters
pickA satisfying mix of family history& magical realism that explores faith and sexuality and bigotry. Clear to see Toni Morrison's influence in some of the prose and structure but Kenan is no copycat. He's written an inspired book.
But the ghosts of those times are stubborn; and though the hog stalls are empty, a herd can be heard, trampling the grasses and flowers and fancy bushes, trampling the foreign trees of the new families, living in their new homes. A ghostly herd waiting to be butchered.
A Visitation of Spirits | 
