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Such Sweet Thunder

A Novel
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( 26 ratings, 7 reviews)
Brief Description
Such Sweet Thunder by Vincent O. Carter tells the story of Amerigo Jones, a young man growing up poor but surrounded by love in Jazz Age Kansas City. A precocious young dreamer, Amerigo longs for the college education that his parents could not afford. As he... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2999
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Such Sweet Thunder is a majestic and unforgettable child's-eye-view of Jim Crow America from a powerful chronicler of American family life.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Such Sweet Thunder by Vincent O. Carter tells the story of Amerigo Jones, a young man growing up poor but surrounded by love in Jazz Age Kansas City. A precocious young dreamer, Amerigo longs for the college education that his parents could not afford.

As he begins to venture further away from his doting mother and father, Amerigo encounters a world marred by prejudice. Amid the bustle and beauty of the city, violence and injustice stalk the streets.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781805332664

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 23 October 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press Classics

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Jesse McCarthy

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 656

About the Author

Vincent O. Carter (1924-1983) was born in Kansas City where he was raised during the Great Depression. At seventeen he was drafted into the U.S. Army and took part in the Normandy invasion. After the war, he studied English at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Carter then returned to Europe, spending time in Paris, Munich, and Amsterdam before settling in Bern. There he wrote fiction, painted, and worked as an English teacher. He is also the author of the autobiographical The Bern Book (1973).

Jesse McCarthy is an essayist, cultural critic, and the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and of the Social Sciences at Harvard University. His writing on culture and politics has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, Dissent, The New Republic and n+1. In 2022 he was the recipient of the Whiting Award for his essay collection Who Will Pay Reparations on My Soul?. His most recent book, The Blue Period, establishes Such Sweet Thunder as a work to be read and taught alongside those of James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison

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