Three Fifths by John Vercher
Rating: 5 stars

Summary: Two young men that were childhood friends go on different life paths. When Aaron is released from prison Bobby picks him up to take him home. On the way a fight breaks out and there paths once again meet in a devastating way.

Comments: Like a bad reader and a bad reviewer that I am, I skipped the debut of Vercher. The staying power of Vercher is loud and I finally got to it. Holy cow did I waste a year. Great hardcore noir crime novel. Vercher can outright tell a character driven novel. Highly recommended. Now reading his sophomore novel set in one of my favorite cities, Philadelphia. It a barn burner already.

I read this fabulous book as soon as it debuted in 2019. Daring and insightful. John Vercher is an author to watch!

It was a great read that I found myself quickly invested in but I thought it ended too abruptly. I simply thought threads would have been wrapped up differently.

Vercher is an extremely talented writer. This is a powerful book about issues that are very relevant to today's political climate.

Three-Fifths is beautifully written, gritty, horrifically realistic. The ending is painful, yet I don't think it could have realistically ended any other way.

Vercher is a gifted writer and I'll be watching for his future books.

Content Warnings (SPOILERS) below:




ableism; rape; misogyny; racism; homophobia; victim-blaming; toxic masculinity

Wowzers! Three-Fifths is a SOLID 4.5 read. I had issue with the last scene with Bobby and Aaron. For me, it was confusing and wasn't impactful as anticipated. Immediately after finishing this book I thought of Forty Acres by Dwayne Alexander Smith. Maybe because they both read as movie scripts in my head. RUN to read this book.

I can't thank the Netgalley and Polis Books enough for approving me to read this gem. I'm big on covers and if being honest, without reading the synopsis, I would've passed this book right on up. There's a lot to discuss and unpack here. I highly recommend and when you do read Three-Fifths come back and lets discuss it.

I can't say I loved Three Fifths, however it's one ofthose stories that lingers in your subconscious. I might recommend Three Fifths as a book discussion selection simply because as I was reading,and even after, there were so many things I wanted to talk over.
John Vercher's words made me think, his stellar characters made me feel. I really admired his ability to make his characters relateable, even when I didnt like them, I was interested in them. The characters are complex, compelling and memorable.
Three Fifths will run you through the wringer, which is why "enjoy" is such a weak word. Mr. Vercher opened my eyes to situations I have no real connection to, and helped me see through a clearer lens.
I'd rather say I "experienced" Three Fifths.
This is John Vercher's debut novel, I look forward to more!
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

What a raw and thought provoking book that made me pause and think various times. I appreciate books that push me to think.

This is not a story for the light-hearted.

The only reason that I did not give this book 5 stars was the ending. I won’t spoil the book but I felt like the ending was rushed. It was like the author was told he needed to hurry up. I also did not like how the book ended with Bobby. I knew that this story was likely not going to end on a happy note. But I just was disappointed in the end.

Synopsis/blurb....

A compelling and timely debut novel from an assured new voice: Three-Fifths is about a biracial black man, passing for white, who is forced to confront the lies of his past while facing the truth of his present when his best friend, just released from prison, involves him in a hate crime.

Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a black father he’s never known, and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didn’t, twenty-two year-old Bobby Saraceno has passed for white his entire life. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden the truth about his identity from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a newly radicalized white supremacist. Bobby’s disparate worlds crash when, during the night of their reunion, Bobby witnesses Aaron mercilessly assault a young black man with a brick. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep the secret of his mixed race from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the crime from the police. But Bobby’s delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than twenty years, forcing his past to collide with his present.

Three-Fifths is a story of secrets, identity, violence and obsession with a tragic conclusion that leaves all involved questioning the measure of a man, and was inspired by the author’s own experiences with identity as a biracial man during his time as a student in Pittsburgh amidst the simmering racial tension produced by the L.A. Riots and the O.J. Simpson trial in the mid-nineties.
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My take....

A hard-hitting novel regarding ....... identity, denial, acceptance, friendship, family, separation, loss, racism, alcoholism, upbringing, insecurity, marital break-up, working class struggles, low paying employment, money worries, addiction, prison, belonging, confrontation, a violent act, fear, a chance meeting, an unexpected re-union, a glimmer of hope, a light extinguished.

It would be difficult to say that this was a book I enjoyed. It would be hard to take pleasure from reading about Bobby's life, his relationship with his mother, Isabel and Aaron his only real friend; the inner conflict he has regarding how he presents and identifies racially, drawn sharper into focus with his complicity in a racial attack by Aaron and the re-appearance of his black father into his life.

In addition to Bobby's story, we get a glimpse of his mother's struggles, her battles with the bottle, her failings and broken promises, her past and her pregnancy, her relationship with Bobby's father, her insecurities, her life with Bobby and her racist father, blown apart by her revelation about Bobby's father. We also have some focus on Robert, Bobby's father. He's a doctor and he's still grieving the recent break-up of his marriage after the loss of an unborn child. He's in ignorance of the fact that he has a grown-up son, until a revelation by Isabel informs him of the fact.

Three-Fifths I found to be incredibly powerful and moving. You would need a heart of stone not to be affected by Bobby's life story and his struggles to accept his own self for who he is. No happy ending for anyone concerned here.



Characters, plot/story line, pacing, style of writing, setting - O.J. Simpson's trial as a back drop to events, length, outcome - all plusses.

4.5 from 5

Three-Fifths is John Vercher's debut novel. I'll be interested to see what he comes up with next.

Read - October, 2019
Published - 2019
Page count - 176
Source - Net Galley, courtesy of Agora an imprint of Polis Books
Format - ePub read on laptop

http://col2910.blogspot.com/2019/10/john-vercher-three-fifths-2019.html

After finishing Three-Fifths, many days ago, I have sat with it. I'm not sure how to write how I feel, how the story and its characters made me feel.
It is a very big story, related as a small story. A young man has been "passing" as white his whole life. Bobby is then a witness to a hate crime to a young black man by a friend who instills both loyalty and fear in him. It is a story told in days, but is really about years. The duality of his life and his relationships never leaves Bobby. It tears at him, leaves him adrift, leaves him without purpose. There are other pieces of his life that contribute to this, including the care of his alcoholic mother, and the hatred he remembers from his grandfather.
The duality, the conflicts, they also writhe within the other characters as well, including the man who is Bobby's father, unknown to him, and the life-long friend, now an ex-con filled with the hatred and denigration of prison.
This is not an easy read.
You stop and start a lot. Some of the transitions are a bit clunky as well. But that never is obstacle to feeling this story and its ongoing tragedy.
I really recommend this story, and I really look forward to reading more from John Vercher.

Full review here:

http://murderincommon.com/2019/10/13/john-vercher-three-fifths/

Great book! Characters are fully developed
Aaron is positively frightening
Interesting sub-plot of Bobby's father and mother
Good pacing

There are a number of tightly packed stories that alternate and ultimately intersect here. John Vercher's is a terrifying depiction of alcohol's effect on a family, and his take on race, racism and nature vs nurture is fascinating and at the same time horrifying. I appreciate his use of violence to make a clear point without being gratuitously graphic, I like that after violent scenes there are realistic consequences, and I was touched by the scene where Bobby is vulnerable enough to cry in front of Robert. Initially I thought the title referred to racial makeup, as in I'm half-Japanese, quarter-German; so I figured Bobby to be 3/5 black and passing for white. But then it seemed to refer to a quantity of alcohol, so I'm not sure why it's hyphenated in the title?

If you’re looking for something even a little darker, I highly recommend reading John Vercher’s debut novel, Three-Fifths. Like Tori Eldridge’s THE NINJA DAUGHTER, THREE-FIFTHS is one of the first titles from Polis’s new Agora imprint, which focuses on diversity in crime fiction.

John Vercher’s fiction has appeared in Akashic Books’ Mondays Are Murder and Fri-Sci-Fi. He is also a contributing writer for Cognescenti, the thoughts and opinion section of WBUR Boston.

In Three-Fifths, a literary noir novel, we meet Bobby, a man struggling to make ends meet, while also trying help keep his alcoholic mom, Isabela, sober. But his problems balloon when his best friend, Aaron who is fresh out of prison, involves him in a brutal act violence and must decide whether to report it or not.

Three-Fifths is much more than a crime novel. It delves deep into the issues of race, identity, and the difficult choices people make as a matter of survival.

The writing is both beautiful and emotionally raw. The characters are complex and deeply flawed. The deeper the story delves into the characters’ back stories, the more human and vulnerable they become and the less black and white the morality of their actions appears.

Don’t expect a typical murder mystery or even a happy ending with Three-Fifths. But do expect to be emotionally moved by this emotionally gripping drama.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read this book. I was totally shocked. This was a very interesting and well written story. The pacing was just right, there was not too much predictability, and I was flabbergasted at several scenes. And the ending I had to read twice just to be sure I read what I thought I read. Man this book was a very well written story.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All Thoughts and opinions are my own.

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 turning page after page and have to say the ending, though fitting, was simply not at all what I was expecting.

Bobby's best friend Aaron unexpectedly rocks up at his workplace surprising Bobby in more ways than one.    Not only is Aaron fresh out of prison after three years but he's a changed man - not for the better.   This new Aaron looks, speaks and acts differently and to put it plainly, kind of scares Bobby.      Aaron has become some kind of neo-Nazi and, whilst beer fuelled, he commits a violent and hate filled race crime.    Bobby finds himself in the unenviable position of not only being an accessory to the crime but carrying a
frightening secret.   Though white skinned, Bobby's father had been a black man, yet Bobby has managed to deny his race his entire life.    Aaron's dangerous new ways cause Bobby to acknowledge the truth he's buried deep and to fear for his safety.

Set in 1995 against a backdrop of some high profile race related cases the book was well written.    It shone a spotlight on racism and made me think about some of the many ways it impacts lives. It challenged racial programming and stereotyping, and portrayed some of the after effects of racism and race denial on individuals.    

My thanks to the author, to Polis Books and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book will stay with me for a long time. Great writing and the characters are well written. This book moves at a steady pace and gives one something to think about. I feel this would also be a great book club selection and book discussion. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review.

Fantastic story and my first read of this author's work. As I get older, I really appreciate reading stories that give me a clearer perspective of the lives of others. Highly recommended.

The story unravels in that year when OJ Simpson was in the courts for murder, with one young man out in the streets, after doing some time in jail for drug dealing, he’s drunk paired up with buddy since back in the day, both out reunited, with a bite to eat in store amongst other actions, conflict in the tale with bad turns, bad moves, spinning things into one helluva evening.

Relevant and potent tale full of character and compelling elements, with a dose of needed human drama and tragedy in framework of fiction. Become an interloper of American dreams askew, fiction narrative dealing with important social and personal things, Identity, race, and inner-city struggles, and that good old fierce pull of blood, family, at core of this tale, broken family, broken lives, in need of mending.
There is Russian doll telling here, a story within a story, there is the crime, but there is the inner and the outer, the other story, the heart at battle with itself great aspect to it.
A memorable meaningful thrilling debut novel.

EVERYONE SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO READ THIS BOOK!!!!


Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a black father he’s never known, and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didn’t, twenty-two year-old Bobby Saraceno has passed for white his entire life. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden the truth about his identity from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a newly radicalized white supremacist. Bobby’s disparate worlds crash when, during the night of their reunion, Bobby witnesses Aaron mercilessly assault a young black man with a brick. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep the secret of his mixed race from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the crime from the police. But Bobby’s delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than twenty years, forcing his past to collide with his present.

Three-Fifths is a story of secrets, identity, violence and obsession with a tragic conclusion that leaves all involved questioning the measure of a man

I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. In 1995, I was approximately the same age as the main characters in the novel. I remember the OJ trial quite well, and even the snow storm. I've visited several of the locations mentioned in the novel.

This book goes so far beyond just being an important and spectacular read about racial identity and politics. As a mother, it is a heartbreaking read. Several times I had a difficult time convincing myself to go on to the next chapter. But it was well worth it, despite the violent and devastating conclusion. The characters, and this story, will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow, this novel hit the ground running and never looked back.

Touching on very sensitive themes such as intraracial racism, the author has written a tale that is bound to capture the mind of the reader and have them pondering many questions and attempting to derive possible solutions.

This is deep story and has a dense, but accessible, message between the lines.

Can't wait to have a physical copy on my shelf.