Review: Three-Fifths by John Vercher

Three-Fifths by John Vercher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the publisher as part of the rerelease, all opinions are my own.

I had to sit with this review for a bit before I wrote it. This book was heartbreaking and it hit very close to home as it was written in my hometown and took place during my formative years. I went to high school very close to where where one of the main events occurred, and The "O" where this significant event occurs was a popular place to grab fries and food after school with friends. You didn't hang out there after dark though, the college kids and then a much rougher crowd gathered there as seen in the book. I was in Oakland recently for a college tour with my oldest son and sad to see how much Oakland has changed. The O or the Original Hot Dog Shop closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, which makes me sad as I have so many good memories with friends there and my kids will never get to experience an Oakland staple. Back in 1995, Oakland and other parts of the city were experiencing gang violence, you couldn't wear red, navy, or black because those were the colors associated with the local gangs. The OJ Simpson case was all everyone was watching on TV and was mentioned several times in the book as well.

This book follows Bobby, son of a white alcoholic mother and a black father whom he's never met. Raised by a racist grandfather he struggles with what his true identity is once he finds out his true parentage. Bobby passes for white, and no one questions his identity until he is in his twenties. His best friend Aaron has just been released from prison, and is no longer the comic book loving geek he remembers. Prison has changed Aaron, as he had to find a way to survive, and their friendship may not survive his new ideals. Bobby and Aaron bonded over being different and not like everyone else when they were younger, but Aaron never knew Bobby's secret. On the night of his release, Aaron assaults a stranger making Bobby and accessory to the crime. The guilt is eating Bobby alive, when Bobby's mother and father reunite in another part of town complicating the situation even more. Bobby is trying to do the right thing and save himself, his best friend, while also walking a tightrope with his mom. This tragic story comes to a crashing halt when everything comes to an intense and heartbreaking end.

Pittsburgh is a melting pot of people from everywhere. The Three Rivers brought every race, color, religion, and nationality together. I had the privilege of growing up with kids from every background and my parents taught me to respect everyone and our differences. I hope I did the same with my kids. That being said racism, classism, and bigotry did exist then and they unfortunately still exist now. I had friends like Aaron and Bobby who got bullied for not running with the right crowd or fitting in with social norms. I had wonderful African American friends who who were taunted for being not "black" enough for various reasons or not running with a gang. The 90s in both the real world and the novel was a rough time across the nation, and I can understand why a kid like Bobby would pass as white and not tell anyone especially his white best friend given the situation. Each of the characters in the novel had to make choices to protect themselves in ways you may not understand or agree with, but if you take a step back you can see that each one of them was doing their best to survive in a cruel world. Each of them struggle with their choices and the consequences, the author made them feel like real people that will stay with me for a long time. This book is heartbreaking in so many ways. It is violent and vulgar at times, but it is accurate and appropriate given the message and the content. This story is important and needs to be told.

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