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This account of two Black writers makes for a memorable audiobook. Both narrators are masters of cadence and pace. The unnamed first-person protagonist, portrayed expressively by Golden Voice Narrator JD Jackson, wins a National Book Award. Ronald Peet eloquently portrays the writer Soot. Both writers are wounded--one by a knife and the other by loss. Europe is the setting for the protagonist's book tour, and his experiences there underpin the plot. Soot's story, told in every other chapter, begins with an appearance on a Minnesota campus that has just been upended by the murders of several Black students. Guns metaphorically and in gruesome reality are a theme. In an autobiographical endnote, Mott reveals the novel's backstories. A.D.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2025]