But there are a few conditions: As a kind of. In exploring those topics, he gives a nod to classic existentialist novels of the past. One day, Anniston Bennett, a wealthy, 57-year-old WASP, appears at Charles' doorstep and offers 50,000 to rent his basement for the summer. Mosley uses the mock prison-cell setting to play with the dynamics of race, freedom and manipulation. of the first rank-The Man in My Basement tells the story of Charles Blakey. And an experimental relationship unfolds with Bennett playing the role of a white prisoner, with Blakey as his black jailer. The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley (9780316159319) - PaperBack - Crime. But there are a few conditions:Īs a kind of self-punishment, Bennett transforms the basement into a locked cage.

One day, Anniston Bennett, a wealthy, 57-year-old WASP, appears at Charles' doorstep and offers $50,000 to rent his basement for the summer.

If there is a The Man in My Basement SparkNotes, Shmoop guide, or Cliff Notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. Mosley pursues that goal by matching two characters whose lives are worlds apart.Ĭharles Blakey, the protagonist, is an African-American slacker who has lived a directionless life since being fired from his latest job. FreeBookNotes found 11 sites with book summaries or analysis of The Man in My Basement. His parents are dead, he cant find a job, he drinks too much, and his friends have begun to desert him. Summary Charles Blakey is a young black man whose life is slowly crumbling. 'I wanted to show a meeting between evil and innocence,' he tells NPR's Cheryl Corley during a discussion of his book and its underlying themes. The Man in My Basement Walter Mosley, 2004 Little, Brown & Co. But this time he has even more fundamental mysteries in mind. Walter Mosley's latest novel, The Man in My Basement, examines race, power and identity - core subjects of much of his past work.