Divine Days

By Leon Forrest,

Book cover of Divine Days

Book description

A virtuosic epic applauded by Stanley Crouch as "an adventurous masterwork that provides our literature with a signal moment," back in print in a definitive new edition

"I have an awful memory for faces, but an excellent one for voices," muses Joubert Jones, the aspiring playwright at the center of…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Divine Days as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I was overwhelmed and carried away by this epic novel. 

Everything about it is too much—an incredible richness of characters and stories and themes, and prose that matches Faulkner and Joyce with the best Black jazz. The heart of the book beats with the rhythms of Chicago streets and the Civil Rights movement and the life of a writer. But page after page invites me to laugh or cry.

Want books like Divine Days?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Divine Days.

Browse books like Divine Days

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in African Americans, jazz, and Chicago?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about African Americans, jazz, and Chicago.

African Americans Explore 728 books about African Americans
Jazz Explore 128 books about jazz
Chicago Explore 367 books about Chicago