The Turnaround by George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos has produced a masterpiece in The Turnaround. It charts the aftermath of an incident of adolescent racism in Washington DC from 1972 to the present. A tale of reconciliation and revenge, it proves beyond all reasonable doubt that crime fiction can be as good — if not better — than any other kind of literature.
Synopsis by Foyles.co.uk
On a hot summer afternoon in Washington DC 1972, three white teenagers, stoned and fearless, drive a stolen car into Heathrow Heights - a rough, black neighbourhood near where they live. Taunting local black kids through the car window, they speed off to what they think is safety. Tragically, they find themselves trapped in a dead-end street whilst an angry mob gathers. In the ensuing chaos, two of the white boys manage to escape, but Billy - the third friend - is shot dead. The youths from both neighbourhoods eventually go their separate ways, but this event will remain the defining moment in many of their lives. Thirty-five years later, one of these men reaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. However, another survivor of that day is now out of prison, and is looking for reparation in any form he can find it...The Turnaround takes us on a journey from the rock-and-soul streets of the 1970s to the changing neighbourhoods of DC today. It is a novel of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory and ultimately violent redemption.
