A Conversation with the Mann

If the School of Hard Knocks has an arts program, Jackie Mann, the talented but unoriginal black comic at the center of John Ridley's fourth novel, A Conversation with the Mann, would have earned nothing but A's. A child of Harlem in the 1950s, whose loving mother died young and whose father was harsh and drug-addicted, Jackie's one ambition is to become famous--the only route, as he sees it, out of poverty and helplessness. He gets his break in after-hours performances at a run-down burlesque house in the Village, and, with the help of an equally run-down agent, eventually makes his way to the top of the marquee at the sparkling Copacabana Club. But no one, let alone a black man in 1950s America, rises that far without making enemies or dangerous friends. And Jackie eventually finds that what he has left behind may be more valuable than the fame he is so desperately seeking. As a former stand-up comedian, the author is able to add realistic details to this smooth and well-researched show-biz novel. --Regina Marler