Bell's ninth novel is a stunning accomplishment; alternating between the explosive language of Baltimore's drug culture with the meditative qualities of Tae Kwon Do, he examines race relations, hope and compassion, and most specifically, the moral dilemma of doing and not just saying. The novel takes places in modern day Baltimore, both in the suburbs of upper middle class, as well as the inner city urban homes.

Mike Devlin seemingly has it all, a successful psychiatric practice, a nice home in one of the wealthier suburbs, a loving wife and a daughter getting ready to go off to the college of her choice in a year. He is also a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and as the top student in his Master's school, Devlin is sent to start a new branch. This branch is set up in the inner city of Baltimore. It is here that the rest of our cast is introduced.

We meet many inner city youth at his school: Trig, Gyp, Kool-Whip, Freon, Sharmane, Tamara, Buster, D-Trak, Clayvon, Stuttz, amongst others. Here we see the opposite life to Devlin's; those with nearly nothing. Living in projects, one or maybe no parents, and children way before they were ready.

There are virtually no minor characters in this novel besides maybe some of Devlin's patients. They are used to foreshadow some events and to allow the reader the possibility that Devlin is not satisfied with his current life. Over half of the dope dealers and those residing in the projects are fully realized. We understand what they do, how they do it, and sadly, why they do it.

Bell is one of the few authors out there seriously writing about race issues. It's as if he needs to do so, as if his writing about the problem will help him come to some conclusions. In lesser writer's hands, this set up could lead to a very cliché book. In the hands of Bell it becomes anything but. His use of language is true; as the story alternates between various narrators (including an omniscient third person narrator), the language takes on the structure and vocabulary expected.

To the outsider, as Devlin gets more involved in his school, he begins acting strangely. To some it would appear as some sort of a mid-life crisis. Even his wife, an ex-social worker with some professional acumen, feels he is sliding down a tunnel of depression and warns him he won't drag her along. He even struggles himself at times to come to words for what he is doing, but before his final actions he comes to a realization.

He is not succumbing to the notion that one individual can't make a difference. He is following the words of his Master and doing what he says, not just saying it. He is getting involved in lives, trying to make a difference. For an hour a day, he is fairly successful. It is the other 23 that put him to the test.

There is plenty of action throughout the novel; both in and out of the Tae Kwon Do school. Bell does a great job of describing hand to hand combat. His writing allows the reader to visualize each action, almost well enough to believe he or she is learning Tae Kwon Do, banging along with the characters, or watching Devlin's patients describe their lives.

You won't soon forget Devlin, his daughter Michelle, Trig or any of the other characters in this book; their efforts, actions and plight will stick with readers for awhile. Amazingly enough, Bell published this book in between volumes I and II of his Haitian trilogy. With ten novels in print now, and two short story collections, Madison Smartt Bell has enough to keep you busy reading for a long time. Take advantage.

I'm not much of a reader. As a matter of fact, I used to avoid books like the plague. Ten Indians is a book that I had to read during summer school last year in college, and I am glad that I did. The author did a wonderful job of grabbing my attention and keeping it throughout the entire novel. Basically, this review goes for all you non-readers out there, if you have to read a book, read this one.

Madison Smartt Bell does a masterful job of contrasting inner city and middle-class life through speech, thought, and experience. A good read...compares favorably with Richard Price's "Clockers"

This is worth reading even if just for "Customs of the Country," a work of tremendous sadness, sensitivity, and restraint, one of the great American stories of the last 25 years.

This is a collection of short stories by a great writer. My favorites were "Petit Cachou" about hustlers and marginal types on the French Riviera and "Move on Up" about relationships among street people in New York. Absolutely first class

Finally! A book which not only gets to the heart of the"workshop" debate but also provides meaningful insights onwhat makes fiction work. On my shelf, this book has replaced Gardner's Art of Fiction as my bible for guidance in fiction writing.

One of the country's best young authors provides an excellent textbook treatment of architectural matters lying at the heart of a writer's most basic concerns. Mr. Bell examines the invisible structures that underlie fiction.

While emphasizing that "form is of first and final importance to any work ..." he also pays pleasurable attention to the writer's need for spontaneity, attending to the peculiar struggle battling in the mind of a writer that requires constant shifting between the right and left hemisphere's of the head.

Happily, from the very beginning of the book, Mr. Bell makes plain his distaste for absolute, undying allegiance to form, and in a provocative essay, allows himself the pleasure of ruminating about self-hypnosis and rock 'n' roll in ways that stretch the reader's imagination as a warm-up before undertaking the very serious, quite detailed analytical dissections of a series of short stories that follow.

The most significant aspect of Mr. Bell's analysis is that he points to two general methods of building narrative structures: one, he calls "linear design," which develops along the time continuum, the chronological flow of events with which we are all so familiar; and the second, which he calls "modular design" - a great form for non-fiction writers, I believe - which relies more on an arrangement of ideas, images, motifs or abstractions.

In linear design, a writer would think of his or her material as a sculptor might, regarding one block of wood or granite by imagining the seemless, smooth shape that could be carved or chiseled out. The overall work - the long form with its distinct beginning, middle and end - is considered the most important single aspect of the piece.

In modular design, however, the writer's effort is not aimed at whittling away at the block until the form beneath is clear, but at assembling bits and pieces, as one would a mosaic. Looking at the work from a distance, the writer would thoughtfully place these bits and pieces in a meaningful, aesthetically pleasing way, letting the natural contrast between pieces, speak to the whole. If linear design is essentially subtractive, Mr. Bell says, modular design is additive. In non-fiction, there are lots of great examples of this, such as Tracy Kidder's chapters on the lumber industry in his book "House." John McPhee has used this form, to a large extent, and to great success. Many essayists rely on modular design.

The book is particularly enjoyable because of the form Mr. Bell has chosen. He relies on a wide range of stories, analyzed in detail, peppered with footnotes, to examine the structural choices of professional and student writers. Best of all, Mr. Bell writes wonderfully and playfully. His observation of writing structure as analogous to the underlying chords for jazz or rock 'n' roll improvisation is an example of his own ability to riff on a theme, compelling writers to have fun, to think seriously about the value of form, but to find ways of using structure that leave the imagination lively and flexible.

I'm a fan of his, in part, because he brightens the literary landscape of my town, Baltimore, as a writing teacher at Goucher College, and he also happens to be a brilliant novelist, selected by Granta as one of the Best Young American Novelists in 1996 and a finalist for the National Book Award for fiction ("All Soul's Rising").

I am a non-fiction writer, so Mr. Bell's work interests me in ways in which his lessons can be applied to literary journalism. Although he does not discuss non-fiction, a genre that offers its own peculiar problems, the book can be useful for those who do not write fiction, but do rely on the techniques of fiction to strengthen the field of vision in creative non-fiction. He has noodled out many dilemmas of the craft, producing an excellent workshop book that any writer could take to the woodshed.

Like other estimable teaching books, such as John Gardner's "The Art of Fiction," Mr. Bell's "Narrative Design" is a gift for those who care to think seriously and deeply about applying architectural-like standards to narrative structure in the creation of their own literary arts.

Laidlaw and Redmon were raised together in the Tennessee hills on the horse farm owned by Laidlaw's father; the black Redmon family living in one of the out-buildings and Redmon, Sr. working for Laidlaw, Sr. The boys are friends, a friendship complicated less by their different races than by young Redmon's perception that his father prefers Laidlaw to him. The boys, as boys will, grow to manhood, enter the army and are shipped to fight in Vietnam, where terrible things happen. They return, independent of each other, and spend much time alone-Laidlaw living in the Redmon's old home (Laidlaw's father died when the main house burned down) and Redmon in prison as the fall-guy in a real estate scam. Laidlaw had used his solitary year, surrounded by nothing more than a motley of farm animals, a stray dog, and a runaway peacock, to become proficient enough with a banjo that he can attract a following playing with a blue-grass band. Redmon seeks him out at a performance and the friendship is renewed.

In "Soldier's Joy", Madison Smartt Bell has much to say about tragedy, loss, solitude, betrayal, fathers and sons and the psychological devastation that can be wrought upon young men who have spent a year up to their elbows in gore. This is a book rich in both description and nuance. The Tennessee countryside is vivid and the musical imagery-and there is a lot of it-doesn't come across as forced or cloying but instead reads like a soundtrack. The writing is so fine, so "writerly" that it is easy to overlook the fact that the plot is almost an afterthought and is full of holes. This is not to say that Mr. Bell can't tell a story-he can. There are several scenes of firefights that are gripping and exciting and rank with the best of the breed. However, the basic plot (introduced well into the novel) about the Klan being somehow offended by the interracial friendship of Laidlaw and Redmon and by the interracial following of a local evangelist and trying to end both by violence, is thin. There are also two characters-Laidlaw's musician girlfriend and the ex-Green Beret leader of the Klan-who deserved better development. These are quibbles. "Soldier's Joy" is post-Vietnam fiction that is well worth reading.

This is a wonderful book, the kind that you start to read slower when you get close to the end because you don't want to say goodbye to the characters.

the story itself is engaging and interesting, but the subtly crafted dialog, revealing so much about the characters so naturally is what astonished me.

This is a book that celebrates the extraordinary in ordinary people, and made me feel better about humanity (be warned, I don't think you'd call it a 'feel good' book though!).

I loved this book, and will be seeking out more by the author.

MR. EVERETT DID A GOOD JOB OF SHOWING A DIFFERENT SIDE TO THE OLD WEST IN THIS TRULY HILARIOUS TALE OF TWO TOTALLY OPPOSITE MEN. CURT, A SIMPLE MAN WITH LITTLE COMMON SENSE AND BUBBA, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN TRACKER, TRAVELING TOGETHER IN SEARCH OF CURT'S WIFE AFTER SHE WAS ABDUCTED BY A TRAVELING GROUP OF THEIVES. THE MISADVENTURES ARE SURE TO LEAVE YOU TICKLED. MY FAVORITE SCENE IS WHEN CURT IS BURIED STANDING UP TO HIS NECK IN THE GROUND WITH HIS HORSE ALSO BURIED THE SAME WAY NEXT TO HIM IN THE DESERT OF THE WEST. IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE YOU'LL FORGET THESE CHARACTERS. HAPPY READING

Some of Mr. Lytle's prose can be almost too thick--The Velvet Horn. But his short stories in Alchemy are very good, well crafted but still juicy. The bio on Forrest is good also, its beginning as artistic a rendering of a portrait as I have ever read, quite unique. But in A Wake for the Living, he shows--I think to some extent like Hemingway in A Movable Feast--that he writes extremely well about nonfiction that is intimate. I would recommend his short stories in Alchemey and also this book as good first ones of Lytle to start-out with.

Madison Smart Bell has a way with violence--in his novels it always seems to happen to the people you care about. "The Washington Square Ensemble" is the perfect book for those who like their characters seedy (these are a group of Washington Square Park drug dealers), their perspective close (told from a multitude of first persons), and their prose poetic. Perhaps it helps that a pair of num chucks make an apearance before it's over--a sort of deus ex machina for fans of "Ninja Magazine". Who knows. The real pleasure is the insight into these drug denizens' lives. From an alterboy-turned Attica ex-con with a habbit to the NBA size Muzlim who used to eat and wear rats (?), Bell reveals his characters like a flashlight on your kitchen cockroaches--you see a hidden world, then it's gone in a flash. Read the first page in a bookstore or library. If you aren't compelled to take the book home with you, I suppose you just wouldn't get it.

In Save Me, Joe Louis, Madison Smartt Bell has a way with putting his reader right in the middle of things. Whether the protagonist Macrae is sitting in seedy NYC bar or on a creaky porch down South, he gives you such wonderful, rich detail that you never for a moment doubt what's going on and, truly, can see it all as if you were there, too. It is emotional without being too sentimental (or sappy). It doesn't have a neat and tidy ending, yet you close the book feeling satisfied. I highly recommend this--I was impressed. I plan to read more of his work ASAP.

This is the saga of Charlie and Macrae, two fringe dwellers thrown together by chance. As their story unfolds, their forays into petty crime escalate into horrific violence and madness. Bell is one of the best writers around. Pick up "Save Me, Joe Louis" and get hooked

Madison Smartt Bell's second volume of his projected trilogy about the Haitian uprising of 1793-1804 is alternately gripping and ponderous. After having been enthralled by "All Souls' Rising" I have to say I was disappointed with this follow-up.

The same characters are all there as are Bell's masterful historical descriptions but something was missing. I too often grew bored and had to put the book down. I can't quite put my finger on what it is that dissuades me from giving this book a stellar review. I suppose at the end of the day I didn't feel as though I really learned much about any of these characters, and subsequently, I didn't care about them. Toussaint L'Ouverture remains somewhat of an enigma despite Bell's painstakingly detailed account. Perhaps this is intentional. Perhaps the point here is that Toussaint is - was - unknowable. This may well be true, but it doesn't make for satisfying reading.

Again, there are impressive set pieces galore. Bell's mastery of historical detail is staggering and genuine moments of suspense sporadically leap off the page. But in the end, none of this was enough to keep me compelled.

I'd second what the other reviewers noted but would like to add that this is a follow-up to Bell's highly-praised All Souls Rising, also a masterful book about Haiti and one which first introduced many of these characters. The legacy of Toussaint is important for Haiti today, and this book gives valuable insights into today's world. The book can be a tough read--many of the descriptions of the atrocities are brutal--but is well worth the effort. Take time to read the timeline in the appendix and find out what happened after Toussaint's arrest.

Note: This review was published November 12, 2000, in the Seattle Times ...

The American Revolution helped inspire the French Revolution, which in turn sparked the Haitian Revolution -- an uprising of Africans against the sugar plantation owners who wrung their fabulous wealth from slave labor. Madison Smartt Bell's projected trilogy of historical novels tells the least well known of these momentous late-18th-century stories.

Volume 1, "All Souls Rising," traced the gruesome first stages of the rebellion in the French colony then called Saint Domingue, from 1791 to 1794. One who hasn't read that harrowing masterpiece can still enjoy Volume 2, "Master of the Crossroads," based on events of the next five years. In this novel the revolution is well under way, but the outcome is still uncertain.

It's a tumultuous, confusing time. The Spanish, who own the eastern half of Saint Domingue, and the British, who are at war with France, separately hope to oust the French, subdue the blacks, and possess the island known worldwide as the Jewel of the Antilles. Among the islanders, the French blancs, or white colonials, have split into factions: the royalists who want to enslave the Africans again, and the revolutionaries who believe that liberty is a universal human right. Old disputes flare between native-born Haitians and immigrants, between mulatto plantation owners and poorer mulattos, between rivals among the island's 500,000 rebellious Africans and, more broadly, between members of the resident races - 64 in all, according to France's official classification of blends ranging from Blanc to Négre.

Toussaint Louverture, whose amazing career Jacob Lawrence memorialized in a series of paintings, is at the center of the storm. Small and tough, formerly a slave, he possesses such extraordinary charisma and talent for leadership that he can force, frighten, mystify, or cajole various factions into agreeing to work for peace. Toussaint unites the armed, roving bands of blacks who seized their liberty and transforms them into a well-disciplined army. A brilliant military tactician, he regularly defeats the English and Spanish forces. His political gifts make him a formidable negotiator with the French and a master at switching alliances at strategic moments. He alone seems committed to protecting, regardless of the race or ideology of their owners, the lives and property that survived the time of bloodbath and burning.

Toussaint's motives are endlessly debated in the book. People close to him believe that he is unselfishly devoted to securing liberty and peace for everyone. But rumors that he secretly plans to crown himself King and reinstate slavery multiply. We view him from the perspectives of many different characters, yet he remains a mystery: a presence with a godlike power in crisis, an inscrutable Master of the Crossroads like the voudou deity of crossings and change, Legba.

Readers who can tolerate a little disorientation from chaotic historical events swirling around an enigmatic hero will have a wonderful time with this novel. Many of the episodes are works of literary art, the Haitian landscape is superbly rendered, and the characters are fully realized and memorable. We come to care deeply about them: Doctor Hébert; his beloved mistress Nanon; his sister Elise and her smuggler husband Tocquet; Hébert's friends the French captain Maillart and the African captain Riau; the African soldier Guiaou who is Riau's rival in love; plucky, wanton Isabelle; the dreamy boy-priest Moustique; the elusive, fascinating Toussaint.

Since Bell can't string their stories on a clear historical plot-line (this history is a tangle) he braids the everyday incidents and subtleties of their private lives into a central strand to which scattered public events can be tied. The characters, absorbed in ordinary pursuits, are regularly pulled into battles and intrigues, then released again into personal concerns. The point of view shifts from chapter to chapter, and we open each new one with the pleasure of greeting an old friend.

Nobody achieves an overall view of events -- which is partly the point. Yet even patient readers will wish for an index of characters keyed to page numbers. It's hard to keep people named Dessources, Dessalines, Desrouleaux, and Desfourneaux straight in a complicated narrative (sometimes set in Descahaux) with a cast of hundreds that also includes Delahaye and Dieudonné. The author's memory itself falters - the girl Paulette is called Pauline for a while -- but the Glossary and Chronology help.

Without them "Master of the Crossroads" would still be a stunning achievement: marvelously crafted, meticulous in its historical detail, magnificent in its sweep.

Great plot, really liked it (according to my notes from 1996). Not as good as "ten indians" or "year of silence" but still, quite spellbinding.