In 1963, at the age of 17, Dwayne Hallston discovers James Brown and wants to perform just like him. His band, the Amazing Rumblers, studies and rehearses Brown's Live at the Apollo album in the storage room of his father's shop in their small North Carolina town. Meanwhile, Dwayne's forbidden black friend Larry--aspiring to play piano like Thelonius Monk--apprentices to a jazz musician called the Bleeder. His mother hopes music will allow him to escape the South.
A dancing chicken and a mutual passion for music help Dwayne and Larry as they try to achieve their dreams and maintain their friendship, even while their world says both are impossible. In THE NIGHT TRAIN, Edgerton's trademark humor reminds us of our divided national history and the way music has helped bring us together.
Industry Reviews
PRAISE FOR THE NIGHT TRAIN---
"The Night Train is classic Edgerton, with crackling wit and lines that make you laugh out loud--but also classic is the great, generous heart at its center that leaves the reader filled with hope and compassion."--Jill McCorkle, author of Going Away Shoes, -
"Clyde Edgerton has an ear for the good stuff, and he has put music on the page for us to read."--Glenn Taylor, author of The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart
"How good it feels to throw back one's head and howl with a great comic novel. The 'burial tuck' alone should make The Bible Salesman a classic."--David Sedaris, -
"I don't know how Clyde Edgerton does what he does, how he makes me both happy and sad at the same time, but I'm glad he's doing it....Edgerton is funny and wise as ever and, somehow, keeps getting better."--Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
"I read Clyde Edgerton's new book with much delight and envy. He is at his subtle and clever best in The Night Train. Every page rings with the music of these characters' voices, stories, and songs. The novel tackles 1963 with complete abandon. As always, Edgerton's message is not there until you discover you agree with it. A beautiful novel."--Percival Everett, author of I Am Not Sidney Poitier
"Like all of Clyde Edgerton's work, The Night Train has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but what I love most about this novel is its hard-earned hopefulness that if music can change, perhaps hearts can as well."--Ron Rash, author of Serena
"Two music-mad boys live in divided communities, poignantly characterized by the burdens of their respective pasts....What happens between them is the work of a generous, restrained writer whose skill and craft allow small scenes to tell a larger, more profound story."--Publishers Weekly (starred review), -
