Zigzag

A picaresque first novel about a strange and lovable fifteen-year-old African-American boy whose innocence triumphs over all adversity.

To read this novel is to enter into the mind and life of one of the most unusual characters to appear in recent fiction. ZigZag is a fifteen-year-old boy who may be mentally handicapped, but his uncanny ability with numbers and sort of sixth sense about people's motives more than make up for any shortcomings. He has recently escaped from the clutches of his abusive and neglectful father and sps most of his time with a big-hearted social worker named Singer, who at age twenty-six is battling cancer, even as he attempts to mentor ZigZag in the basic survival skills. Events take an ominous turn when ZigZag uses his special "powers" to unlock the safe at the restaurant where he works as a dishwasher and naively removes some money. At Singer's insistence ZigZag plots how to discreetly return the money, a complicated task that turns into a comedy of errors when he strikes up a friendship with a sympathetic hooker who recognizes his innocence. Their unlikely friendship and rollicking escapades will put a smile on the face of even the most jaded reader. Full of charm and youthful exuberance, ZigZag marks the auspicious debut of an engaging new writer.