Up Your Banners

By Donald E. Westlake

1969

First Published

3.72

Average Rating

320

Number of Pages

9H46M

Audio Length

This is the story of a White Rabbit named Oliver who meets a Black Alice named Leona in the Blunderland of the New York City public school system, and of how even a rabbit who doesn't know what time it is can sometimes come in first. When Oliver Abbott (100 percent white) takes a teaching post at Schuyler Colfax High School (93 percent black) that the local community wanted filled by a black man, there just isn't going to be anything in front of our hero but trouble. The trouble starts normally enough with picket signs and a student strike, but it doesn't end there, not with well-meaning Oliver at the middle of the whirlpool. Oliver just can't get it through his non-woolly head that he's important enough to be the center of a controversy. He seeks explanations, and they are furnished by a beautiful black militant name Leona Roof. When the explanations begin to get more personal, Oliver compounds his interest in Leona, and troubles with the rest of the world. If you would like to know what really happens during a Black Caucus (not exactly the same as a Black Mass), if you'd like to meet a hero's mother who makes lemonade for the people picketing the house, then lift Up Your Banners and start to read a message novel whose message is: As Long As We're All This Foolish, There's Probably Still Hope.

Avg Rating

3.72

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

26%

4 STARS

35%

3 STARS

28%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Donald E. Westlake

Author · 73 books

Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950's, churning out novels for pulp houses—often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms such as Richard Stark—but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and Parker, a ruthless criminal. His writing earned him three Edgar Awards: the 1968 Best Novel award for God Save the Mark; the 1990 Best Short Story award for "Too Many Crooks"; and the 1991 Best Motion Picture Screenplay award for The Grifters. In addition, Westlake also earned a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993. Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic. Some of the pseudonyms he used include • Richard Stark • Timothy J. Culver • Tucker Coe • Curt Clark • J. Morgan Cunningham • Judson Jack Carmichael • D.E. Westlake • Donald I. Vestlejk • Don Westlake