Tumbling: A Novel
<p><strong>“Warm and intimate. . . . An accomplished novel, with sharply drawn characters, exuberant prose, plenty of period detail and a wise, forgiving outlook on family life.” — <em>Los Angeles Times Book Review</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>Tumbling</em> is the beloved bestselling debut novel that launched the luminous career of Diane McKinney Whetstone, critically acclaimed author of <em>Tempest Rising, Blues Dancing, Leaving Cecil Street</em>, and <em>Trading Dreams at Midnight</em>. Writing in a style as accessible as Terry McMillan, yet with the literary touches of Toni Morrison, McKinney Whetstone’s <em>Tumbling</em> is a poignant, exquisitely rendered story of the ties that bind us and the secrets that keep us apart.</strong></p><p>Noon and Herbie are deeply in love and living in a tightly knit African American neighborhood in South Philadelphia during the 1940s. But their marriage remains unconsummated because of a horrible incident in Noon's past, so each seeks comfort elsewhere: Noon in the warm acceptance of the neighborhood church; Herbie in the arms of Ethel, a jazz singer. Then one day an infant girl is left on their doorstep, and later Ethel blesses them with her five-year-old niece. Suddenly and unexpectedly a family, Herbie, Noon, and their two girls draw closer—until an outside threat reawakens a fire in Noon, causing her to rise up and fight to hold her family and her community together.</p>