ThreeFifths, John Vercher
ThreeFifths, John Vercher
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Three-Fifths

Author: John Vercher

Narrator: J. D. Jackson

Unabridged: 7 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/10/2019

Synopsis

Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a black father hes never known and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didnt, twenty-two-year-old Bobby Saraceno is passing for white. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden his truth from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a hardened racist. Bobbys disparate worlds collide when his and Aarons reunion is interrupted by a confrontation where Bobby witnesses Aaron assault a young black man with a brick. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep his secret from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the hate crime from the police. But Bobbys delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than twenty years.

About John Vercher

John Vercher lives in the Philadelphia region with his wife and two sons. He has a Bachelor’s in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program. John serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of English & Philosophy at Drexel University and was the inaugural Wilma Dykeman writer-in-residence at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. His debut novel, Three-Fifths, was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune and Booklist. It was nominated for the Edgar and Strand Magazine Critics’ Awards for Best First Novel. His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, called “shrewd and explosive” by The New York Times, was named a Best Book of Summer 2022 by BookRiot and Publishers Weekly, and named a Booklist Editor’s Choice Best Book of 2022.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paige on September 11, 2019

John Vercher revolutionizes urban fiction with crime, contemporary issues, mystery, and thriller in his debut novel, Three-Fifths, and the outcome blew me away. During various points, I sat at the edge of my seat with bones shaking, eyes tearing, and my heart racing. Although it directly faces contr......more

Goodreads review by Kemper on January 28, 2020

In Pittsburgh during the winter of 1995 Bobby is a young biracial man passing for white who has never told anyone that his father was black. So when Bobby’s old buddy Aaron gets out of prison and shows up looking like a ‘roid monster with neo-Nazi tattoos, it’s not a great situation. It gets even wo......more

Goodreads review by Becca on August 26, 2020

Content and Trigger Warnings in Spoilers An impactful and powerful novel about the never-ending cycle of violence and hate. This book punched me in the gut. While I cannot speak on the representation of black people in this novel, I can speak on the white-passing biracial representation. John Vercher......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on February 16, 2020

Yet another outstanding debut novel, this highly engaging story is timely given the current state of democracy and race. While the theme is honesty between family and friends, the core element is racial divide and correlation of crime with race. Torn by loyalty and seeking truth the protagonist is t......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on September 24, 2019

3.5 stars rounded up. Three Fifths by John Vercher was a quick read with engaging characters and the first chapter rapidly drew me into the plot.   I'll admit it contained some violence which I did not enjoy but it was critical to the storyline and was not graphic.  I was swept up into the story turn......more

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