White Rat

Originally published in 1977, "White Rat is a collection of twelve provocative tales that explore the emotional and mental terrain of a diverse cast of characters, from the innocent to the insane, which will inspire new debate and dialogue among general readers and academics alike. In each, Gayl Jones displays her unflinching ability to delve into the most treacherous of psyches and circumstances: The title story examines the identity and relationship conundrums of a black man who can pass for white, earning him the name "White Rat" as an infant; "The Women" follows a girl whose mother brings a succession of female lovers to live in their home; "Jevata" details eighteen-year-old Freddy's relationship with the fifty-year-old title character from the perspective of her old friend Floyd; "The Coke Factory" tracks the thoughts of a mentally handicapped adolescent abandoned by his mother; and "Asylum" focuses on a woman experiencing a nervous breakdown, trying to protect her dignity and her private parts as she enters an institution. In uncompromising prose, and dialect that veers from Northern, educated tongues to down-home Southern colloquialisms, Jones limns lives that society readily ignores, moving them to center stage. Her words and ideas will linger for years to come.