Night Work by Nelson George

Rating:   PENS!!!!

More Than Night Work

Night Work by Nelson George gives us a glimpse into the life of Neal Daniel Taylor, a young man who feels “childhood is the root of evil,” and that his “family died along with his Ma.” At the age of sixteen, Neal overcomes one of his “demons” by self-acceptance.  He begins to love himself and his color, being very dark skinned, he begins to call himself “Night.”  Night is a male prostitute who aspires to be the next big R&B recording artist; he wants to hear his voice in more than background music. In Night Work, you will meet Night’s family: Nikki, his younger and sickly sister, who he views as his ‘opposite’, and “Pops,” his father, a former activist now postman.  Night describes his father as a “difficult man.”  They have an estranged relationship, if they have one at all. Hopefully in his efforts to overcome all obstacles and lead a ‘better’ life, the family will come to terms with each other.   Nikki desires to see what’s left of their family come together.   

There are some surprise twists and turns of events.  Unfortunately a couple of the events land Night down in the police station.  Detective Tyrone Williams would like nothing more than to see Night behind bars, especially after Night’s female pimp, Raffaella, fingers him as the man she sent to the home of a now DEAD client.  Now, along with everything else, Night is the number one suspect in a MURDER case, which definitely won’t be good for his business.  Night’s dubbed as a “Black American Gigolo,” in the headlines.  D of D’s Security, Night’s friend who has saved his life more than once, can hopefully do it again. 

There is a history hinted at here between D and the Detective.  D refers to Detective Williams as “Fly Ty”.  The tension between them is almost palpable BUT once Night asks the ‘million dollar question’ D replies, “That’s a long story, Night. We don’t have enough daylight left to tell it and I wouldn’t talk about it after dark. You feel me?”  Well, neither Night nor I understand what that meant. Which left me wondering, “What’s the deal?!”  So, that’s a loose end for me.

However, I would definitely recommend Night Work.  It was a quick and easy read, capturing my attention from the very beginning and held it.  You will get a glimpse into the life of a gigolo and a well-developed character. Night Work is more than Night’s sexual escapades, dealing also with relationships between his family and friends. It’s a suspenseful story of self-acceptance and HOPE with a little drama and a ‘whodunit’.

Felicia

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