Title: Strong Boy, Weak Man
Author: Earl Robert Key
Publisher: Readers Magnet
ISBN: 978-1606727164
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 314
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent

Read Book Review

Strong Boy, Weak Man is an inspiring novel from Earl Robert Key. The text is a sweeping look at a young man’s journey into adulthood. This book tells the story of Michael DeAngelo Nicholas, an African-American man growing up in Mississippi in the 1960’s. He is studied by Dr. Melvin Gray, a psychologist, as part of a research paper. However, Gray becomes a mentor to Mike and encourages him to achieve his goals. While Mike tries to go to school, he has to contend with his father having an extramarital affair with his girlfriend’s mother. In response to the turmoil in his family, Mike moves to Memphis to try to find purpose in his life. While he’s in Memphis, he encounters situations in his life that test his manhood.

Strong Boy, Weak Man is a novel that shows the heart of a young man trying to find his way in a volatile world. Mike is a man who encounters many obstacles in his personal life of having many girlfriends. He also has stress in his professional life while working numerous jobs to survive. He is a sympathetic character that readers will relate while reading the novel. Key has written Mike a fully realized African-American male protagonist, a rarity in many novels. Mike has to encounter racism in the Jim Crow South, but still fights for his dignity and independence. The novel also shows how complicated masculinity can be for a man that’s physically strong and emotionally sensitive like Mike.

Key’s writing about the South is so vivid in Strong Boy, Weak Man. Readers can easily imagine themselves on the dirt roads of Mississippi farms or the juke joints of Memphis while reading the book. The book also evokes the touchtones of the Civil Rights Movement with Mike’s devastation at the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. The novel also showcases the cultural parts of the decade as well with Mike attending James Brown and Temptations concerts that lift his spirits.

Strong Boy, Weak Man would be ideal for readers who want to read novels about the African-American male experience from authors like James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison. The novel would also be ideal for any reader that wants to read about life during the 1960’s. The book could be given to young adult readers that want to read about a young person’s struggle with adulthood. Strong Boy, Weak Man is a novel that will entertain and enlighten readers about a boy’s journey to manhood.