The Between

Thirty years after his grandmother sacrifices her life to save him, Hilton becomes alarmed when his prosecuter wife begins receiving racist hate mail and Hilton starts experiencing troublesome nightmares. A first novel. 40,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo. Tour.

From Publishers Weekly

Although set largely in the black and Hispanic communities of Florida's Dade County, Due's first novel, a skillful blend of horror and the supernatural, poses questions about life and identity that transcend racial boundaries. Thirty years after he was saved from drowning by the beloved grandmother who died in his place, Hilton James has built a secure middle-class life for his African American family and saved a few lives himself through his social work in Miami's inner city. His comfortable existence is shattered when his wife, a judge, begins receiving racist death threats and he starts having nightmares of alternate life experiences so authentic that they begin to loosen his grip on reality. Is Hilton a latent schizophrenic, as his therapist thinks? Or are the dreams and death threats both signs of a cosmic scheme in which Hilton is meant to accept the death that he eluded before? The mystical explanation Due posits for Hilton's predicament, involving "travelers," or persons who unconsciously use dreams as "doorways" to elude fate and live in "the between" world, is not nearly as disturbing as her depiction of Hilton's gradual decline from caring husband and father to a man who lashes out in frustration against those he loves. Her sympathetic and credible portrait of Hilton as a man discomposed by his encounter with the unknown compensates for the novel's underdeveloped supporting cast. Due also subtly suggests the horrifying thought that pervades the story but is left tactfully unspoken: if each of us creates our own reality, then ultimately we are all alone in the world. $25,000 ad/ promo; author tour. U.K. and translation rights, HarperCollins; other rights, Marie Brown Associates. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA?It's 1963. Seven-year-old Hilton James, raised by his grandmother, finds her dead in their house, her skin cold. Yet when he returns with help, she's up and cooking, denying that anything's wrong. Months later, she saves him from drowning in the ocean, only to die herself. Flash forward 32 years. Hilton is the director of an addiction-recovery center, married to a newly elected judge, with two bright children?the epitome of a successful black family. But then his wife receives threatening letters from a white racist psycho, and the family begins to fall to pieces as Hilton becomes obsessed with protecting it. Due tosses in an eerie twist that builds throughout: Hilton dreads sleeping, because each time he falls asleep, something changes. Sometimes it's trivial, but other times it's critical. It all gets back to the fact that Hilton should have died when he was seven, and is literally living on borrowed time, able to travel unknowingly through doorways of alternative realities. Flaky as it sounds, it works: this novel is believable, powerful, and chilling. The portrayal of a realistic family with typical problems is refreshing, and even enhanced by the contrast with Hilton's bizarre struggle. Solid characterization seasoned with a perfectly judged pinch of spookiness.?Chip Barnett, Rockbridge Regional Library, Lexington, VACopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

As Hilton James' fortieth birthday draws near, his dreams put a damper on his celebration. Thirty years ago, his grandmother sacrificed her life to save him from drowning. And now Hilton is experiencing nightmares that cause him to question his mortality: Should he be dead? Hilton is a dedicated social worker, his wife is the first African American judge in Miami, and their two children are healthy and bright. The Jameses are an enviable black, middle-class family. Ironically, the very success they sought has turned into their worst nightmare. After his wife prosecutes a criminal, he sends her racist hate mail, and around this time, Hilton's dreams become frightening. Hilton's reality becomes more surreal as the mail becomes more personal, suggesting harm will come to his children. In order to protect his family, his marriage, and his sanity, he seeks therapy and discovers the cause for his nightmares. Refreshingly, this novel of horror and the supernatural has an intriguing and suspenseful plot. Due may very well develop a loyal following with her first novel. Lillian Lewis

From the Publisher

A brilliant first novel of horror and the supernatural in which a middle-class African-American family's very existence is threatened by inner and outer demons.

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