Benjamin Taylor was nominated for author of the year for 2008 for his book The Book of Getting Even. It is an original work and powerful. The protagonist Gabriel faces challenges in the family and culture that he tries to get away from.  Jazz is referred to in this book so I have to recommend it.

Personally I thought that there is no way that this book could be a novel because it is so short. It does have a good plot and the characters are easily identified. Taylor uses faith and knowledge that are not rarley seen in first books. He has a book of letters coming out in the fall of 2009 Letters to Saul Bellow. In addition, he was an autobiography coming out in 2010.

This is an author to watch, he definitely got cheated by only getting the nomination for writer of the year.

Read The Book of Getting Even if you need something to do in a short setting. It will not let you done.