I Can't Wait On God - Softcover

The crowded joys and familiar despair of poor, back-alley life in 1950 Pittsburgh have a hold on most people there, but there are those who need to escape. Jeremiah Henderson and his woman, Willet Mercer, set their sights on New York City - but making good is easier said than done. Left with no choice but to give in to the pimp who'd like to try Willet on for size before selling her to his clientele, Jeremiah and Willet try to focus on the future. But just before the pimp has his way with her, Willet balks, stabbing him to death in the back of his car. Horrified, but, nonetheless now flush with the pimp's fat wad and fancy Buick, it looks as if they may be in sight of their dreams; they just have to make one last stop outside Wilmington, North Carolina, where Willet intends to see the little boy she abandoned long ago.

'Albert French is one of the more distinctive voices of the 90s...I Can't Wait On God has the wit, compassion and acute observation we expect from French, as well as the suspense...most impressive' New York Times Book Review

Life in 1950s Pittsburgh is slow and unsatisfying, at least for Jeremiah Henderson and his woman, Willet Mercer. So while the other locals sit and wait on their back-alley porches, the couple plan their escape to New York City. Poverty-stricken, Willet is forced to consider prostitution to fund their new life, but at the last minute she baulks and stabs the pimp, Tommy, to death. Aided by Tommy's money and a fancy Buick, it seems they may be in sight of their dreams; but they just have to make one last stop outside Wilmington, North Carolina, to see the little boy Willet abandoned long ago...

'This book resembles Joyce. With an ever-shifting focus and linguistic invention, French has created a kind of symphonic poem about the hard scrabble of life in the back alleys of a dirty Northern town...This is not just a black novel, but a quintessential piece of noir. In black American writing - on the male side, at least - the literary patron remains the same as in noir: Dostoevsky...I Can't Wait On God is a fine, moving novel and worthy inheritor of that tradition' Independent

'From the author of the brilliant Billy, this is equally moving and beautifully written' The Voice

'An evocative work, alternately brilliant and melodramatic, brimming with life' Publishers Weekly