Under the Cover: A slice of life in The Glint of Light

A note on the book from author Clarence Major:

The Glint of Light is a family saga, a coming-of-age story, and Mark’s, the protagonist’s, search for love.It’s also a story of the stages of grief (following the death of his mother) and how that death affects his relationship with his twin sister. As the story progressed, social issues such as “mixed-race” gay relationships, the environment, American and world violence, began to manifest themselves as part of the fabric.It’s a very personal story—not autobiographical, but personal. I drew on my experiences of living through a family crisis of grief when my mother died. I see the novel as not only an assessment of one young African-American’s life during the Obama years, but a record of the times in which he lived.

A note on the book from At Bay Press publisher Matt Joudrey:

Clarence Major’s book The Glint of Light is an essential piece of American literature. I hesitate to say “American literature” because it is a story that grapples with race, relationships, love, sexuality, and family – and those topics are important anywhere.Clarence is one of America’s most beloved and essential novelists. The impact of his work cannot be understated. This book is of the utmost critical importance. To overlook it would be a shame. Stories like The Glint of Light are culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant and should be read and preserved because of their enduring importance. 

About the book:

Mark Smith, is a sensitive thirty-seven-year-old environmental scientist of mixed race. He tries to come to terms with his mother’s painful death as he goes through the stages of grief. Mark is also reassessing his relationship with his gay twin sister, Maria, a lawyer. After several failed relationships with women in college, Mark, while at his mother’s funeral in Chicago, reconnects with his high school girlfriend, Christy, an artist who paints self-portraits. He now believes he has finally found true and lasting love, but the country’s civil unrest and political division plague the opportunity at a second chance. The Glint of Light is a powerful novel about the cumulative unease and random violence that grip American life and ask what we should do about it.

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Pick up a copy of The Glint of Light or from your fave indie bookstore as we head into the weekend.For more Under the Cover, click here.