The Man in My Basement: A Novel (edition 2005)

Well, I found this really rather fascinating. Creepy in a spooky sort of way, not knowing what was really going on. And very interesting dilemmas and ideas thrown up in the second half of the book.

Can't say I particularly liked Charles Blakey, he's not the sort of person I'd really want to spend time with. But I found his interaction with Anniston Bennet very interesting, both from him having his horizons widened (in a rather creepy way, I found Bennet's life icky in the extreme, although he himself came across as urbane and charming -- IF you were doing what he wanted you to do, of course...) and from Blakey learning to control the situation (or not, as occasion demanded). ( )

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Basically this is a character/philosophical study disguised as a novel . Anniston Bennet wants to atone for his perceived sins as well as his real sins. Charles Blakey is an aimless man looking for a philosophy that will allow him to continue his lifestyle without the nagging guilt of wasting his life. Anniston gives that to him during the incarceration he so longs for. He’s looking for permission in a sense and that’s why he adopts Anniston’s philosophy of life which is basically that bad things are going to happen anyway so what difference does it make that I am the cause. He also uses various authority figures to exculpate him and give him a scapegoat for blame. Because Charles doesn’t plan on hurting or killing anyone or assisting puppet régimes, he feels that he can continue his basically meaningless existence just fine since it doesn’t matter anyway.

But then he gets meaning. Before there was a man in his basement, there was the detritus of many Blakey generations. He cleaned it out with the help of a friend and that friend told him that the stuff is probably worth a lot of money and hooks him up with a woman who can appraise and sell the stuff. Turns out that he was right and the ‘junk’ is of historical significance. After toying with the idea of selling it all, the woman suggests they open a museum instead. Granted they wouldn’t see as much money, but he would be able to keep his ‘collection’ and still use it for good. He decides to do this, but without her help. Nice.

By this time he has collected the entire generous fee Anniston paid him to rent out the basement. The role of warden suited Charles in many ways; it allowed him to control another human being which considering he could barely control himself, was a new sensation, it allowed him to channel his cruel streak by punishing Anniston for infractions to rules they had in place that were designed to get Charles what he wanted without much harm to himself. But the question and answer sessions taught Charles a lot about himself as well as about his prisoner. In the end, Anniston killed himself and Charles buried the body in the family graveyard.

This money frees him from the need to sell his collection and the further bonus of another house in the Hamptons, gives him the financial freedom to continue his basically idle existence without the consequences that were plaguing him prior to that knock on his door. With his new philosophy and money he can drink, womanize and basically do nothing with impunity.

The narrative style was excellent; full of unusual and very fitting word choices. There was a lot of sex and I don’t know if that’s a Moseley thing or just Charles as a character.

Walter Mosley's book portrays a young, unemployed, alcoholic, irresponsible black man, Charles Blakely, who allows a white powerbroker, Anniston Bennet, to take up residence in a cage in his family home in exchange for a large sum of money. Charles's conversations with Bennet about good and evil and power cause Charles to evaluate his life. The women in Charles's life--the passionate Bethany, the antiquities dealer, Narciss, and the wealthy white girl, Extine, as well as an elderly neighbor, Irene--all invest Charles with qualities they imagine they see in him, but Charles hasn't figured out who he really is. He feels that even his best friends Clarence and Ricky really have no idea who he is. Charles develops a sense of responsibility toward the heritage his family has left him, but by the end of the book still hasn't figured out how to connect with the people in his life in a meaningful way.

This is a book that will keep your attention and provoke a lot of thought. The image of the African masks that are part of Charles's inheritance, Charles's conversations with Anniston Bennet, and Charles's thought about himself and his role in life bring real depth to this novel. It's defnitely worth a second read. ( )

A poor black man named Charles Blakey, who can't get a job and is about to lose his family's house, is one day approached a very rich white man named Anniston Bennett. Bennett is interested in living in Blakey's basement - not just as a tenant but as a prisoner. He'll give Charles enough money to comfortably live off of, and in return Charles feeds him and keeps him in confinement

But Bennett has a dark past that needs to be uncovered - and while he works on it, Charles has to work on his own past, and present. The Man in My Basement is an excellent and thought-provoking story about guilt and responsibility ( )