The Book of Numbers (The Virginia Bookshelf)
Mr. Pharr begins in Biblical rhythms... and sustains his tempo with parables of love, brotherhood, and death. Fortifying the novel's supple style is its inescapable vitality; it surges through The Block, bringing to life every major and minor invention.(New York Times Books Review)Alienation, loneliness, the quest for authentic communication between people, the effort to make sense out of a meaningless world pervade many black novels as fully as they do the works of such writers as Joseph Heller or Bernard Malamud. In Robert Deane Pharr's rich new novel The Book of Numbers, the hero strives for the illusion of independence while actually becoming totally dependent on others.(Newsweek)