De Mojo Blues

New York. 1986. Dutton. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Dustjacket. 0525243763. 1st Novel. 216 pages. hardcover. Jacket painting by Enoch Placide. Jacket design by Nancy Etheredge. keywords: African American Literature America Vietnam. DESCRIPTION - Three black soldiers are dishonorably discharged from the Vietnam War due to a mutinous fragging' incident. They return home resolved to take on the world, but ambition and poverty begin to dissolve their precious brotherhood forged in the trenches of southeast Asia. To counter this growing fragmentation, the hero-prophet of the group, Tucept HighJohn, inspired by a set of mystical bones passed on to him by a dying brother in Vietnam, undergoes hoodoo' training in his isolated house on stilts in a wilderness park in Memphis. His new self-mastery enables him to relive his memories of Vietnam and to rally his ex-companions-in-arms with a vision of the triumph of black people everywhere. This rich first novel about the Vietnam inheritance of three black combat veterans, written in an original, rhythmic prose, marks the debut of a gifted young black novelist. Weaving the experiences of the veterans in war and in peace, Arthur Flowers forces us to understand why the powerless become mythmakers trying to determine their own destiny. DE MOJO BLUES portrays the ugliness and violence of war, but it's a story told with humor as only a brother can tell it.' - ROSA GUY. Art's jungle war scenes were so vivid and dynamic that I literally craved more of them.' - LOUISE MERRIWETHER. Arthur Flowers' novel is a late twentieth century fable. not only a compelling tale of several young black men fighting in a war on behalf of ideals that are not honored in the country where they are espoused, but also a meditation on tradition, destiny, and the exercise of mojo (power) as a healing force in a world poised for destruction.' - WESLEY BROWN. inventory #24809.…