Washington Square Ensemble, The

Madison Smartt Bell's debut a story of drifters, outcasts, junkies, and dealers surviving in the heart of 1980s New York City Over one busy weekend, small-time heroin dealer Johnny B. Goode and his alliance of fellow pushers work their trade amidst students, businessmen, and assorted sewer rats while avoiding the law. Narrated from the separate perspectives of each member of the gang, "The Washington Square Ensemble" follows the twisted paths that have led the seven men through the grittyNew York underworld and towards a fragile alliance at Washington Square. With humor, compassion, and an uncanny ear for voices of the streets, Madison Smartt Bell delivers a stunning indictment--and occasional celebration--of a blighted New York landscape.

Madison Smartt Bell is the author of two collections of stories and nine novels, including All Souls' Rising, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Best American Fiction.