In the never-ending list of great authors I keep meaning to read, Walter Mosley has been near the top for years. I’m a crime-fiction lover at heart, and he’s one of the most celebrated voices in the genre. But for whatever reason, I never actually delved into his work—until now. And oddly enough, it wasn’t one of his crime novels that finally pulled me in, but a more philosophical tale that caught my eye. When I read the synopsis for The Man in My Basement, I knew I had to read it.
Charles Blakey is nearing his breaking point. He’s lost his job. He’s drinking too much. He’s behind on his mortgage payments and on the verge of losing the house that’s been in his family for generations. Then, one day, there’s a knock at the door. Standing on the other side is a man—a white man—with a strange, unnerving request. He wants to spend the summer living in Charles’s basement.
Why on earth would this stranger want to rent his basement? Charles doesn’t even want to imagine the possibilities, but the truth is, the money would help. And when he learns that Anniston Bennet is willing to pay him nearly $50,000 for the privilege, desperation wins out. Charles does what any down-on-his-luck man might do. He lets Anniston stay. But as the boarder begins transforming the basement into what looks alarmingly like a prison cell, Charles realizes he’s stepped into something far stranger and darker than he could have anticipated.
The Man in My Basement reads like a fable, one grounded by Walter Mosley's matter-of-fact approach to his writing. The scenario itself veers into the surreal, yet in Mosley’s capable hands, it all feels disarmingly real. And that makes it all the more unsettling. Mosley layers in contemplations on race, class, and atonement. It’s all quite heady and philosophical. But don’t let that fool you. The Man in My Basement is still a page-turner, even if the thrills are those of the mind. Life rarely provides neat answers, and Mosley’s story doesn’t either. Instead, it asks us to think, reflect, and draw our own conclusions. It makes for a memorable read and an excellent first impression of Mosley’s work.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2025, 92)
