A Different Drummer Av William Melvin Kelley

<p><b>''More than lives up to the hype'' <i>Observer</i></b><br><b>''Set to become a publishing sensation'' Kirsty Lang, BBC Front Row</b><br><b>''An astounding achievement'' <i>Sunday Times</i></b><br><b>''The lost giant of American literature'' <i>New Yorker</i></b><br><br>June, 1957. One afternoon, in the backwater town of Sutton, a young black farmer by the name of Tucker Caliban matter-of-factly throws salt on his field, shoots his horse and livestock, sets fire to his house and departs the southern state. And thereafter, the entire African-American population leave with him.<br><br>The reaction that follows is told across a dozen chapters, each from the perspective of a different white townsperson. These are boys, girls, men and women; either liberal or conservative, bigoted or sympathetic - yet all of whom are grappling with this spontaneous, collective rejection of subordination.<br><br><b>In 1962, aged just 24, William Melvin Kelley''s debut novel <i>A Different Drummer</i> ea