Whoreson
Whoreson by Donald Goines is a reprint edition published by Kensington Books on March 1, 2012, featuring 320 pages in English. This novel presents a raw and unfiltered narrative that explores the life of Whoreson Jones, the son of a black prostitute and an unknown white man. As he navigates his challenging upbringing, the story delves into the harsh realities of street life and the complexities of identity, shaped by his mother’s profession and the influences of his environment.
Readers will find a vivid portrayal of urban life and the struggles faced by those in marginalized communities. The narrative follows Whoreson as he transitions from childhood to adulthood, learning the ways of the streets and ultimately becoming a pimp. The book touches on themes of survival, masculinity, and the impact of one’s upbringing, reflecting the gritty essence of urban and street literature. With its focus on crime and the African American experience, Whoreson stands as a significant work that resonates with the cultural landscape it depicts.
Official synopsis Publisher
From one of the most revolutionary writers of the 20th century, the uncensored and gritty novel that inspired today’s street lit and hip hop culture.
Whoreson
“After my ninth birthday I began to really understand the meaning of my name. I began to understand just what my mother was doing for a living. There was nothing I could do about it, but even had I been able to, I wouldn’t have changed it.”
Whoreson Jones is the son of a beautiful black prostitute and an unknown white john. As a child, he’s looked after by his neighborhood’s imposing matriarch, Big Mama, while his mother works. At age twelve, his street education begins when a man named Fast Black, schools him in trickology. By thirteen, Whoreson’s a cardsharp. By sixteen, his childhood abruptly ends, and he is a full-fledged pimp, cold-blooded and ruthless, battling to understand and live up to his mother’s words, “First be a man, then be a pimp.”
“All those [other black] writers, no matter how well they dealt with black experience, appealed largely to an educated, middle-class, largely white readership. They brought news of one place to the residents of another. Goines’ novels, on the other hand, are written from ground zero. They are almost unbearable. It is not the educated voice of a writer who has, so to speak, risen above his background. It is the voice of the ghetto itself.”
—Michael Covino, The Village Voice
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