An awkward black surfer bum is moved from Santa Monica to West Los Angeles, where he begins to undergo a transformation from neighborhood outcast to basketball superstar, eventually becoming the reluctant hero of the neighborhood.
Gunnar Kaufman, an awkward black surfer bum, is moved from Santa Monica to urban West Los Angeles, where he begins to undergo a transformation from neighborhood outcast to basketball superstar, eventually becoming the reluctant messiah of a "divided, down-trodden people." Reprint. 12,500 first printing.
Paul Beatty's hilarious and scathing debut novel is about Gunnar Kaufman, an awkward, black surfer bum who is moved by his mother from Santa Monica to urban West Los Angeles. There, he begins to undergo a startling transformation from neighborhood outcast to basketball superstar, and eventually to reluctant messiah of a "divided, downtrodden people."
