"Our premier writer about jazz and the blues... and a fictional tale spinner in the grands Southern tradition" - WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

The Spyglass Tree is a deeply affecting novel of elegant, lyrical reminiscence and profound sophistication about a young black man's advent into the world of academia - an imaginary Alabama College - in the 1930s.

Amidst the excitement of the world of ideas and adventures with new friends, Scooter sallies into "the territory of the blues," where recollection becomes legend. Here he learns to deal with the vicissitudes of life - the complexities of family ties and camaraderie, his sexuality, pride of excellence in school, the darker realities of history and human passion - through confrontation and improvisation, and with style and courage.

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