| Summary: | Like a ray of sun that can warm your skin for a moment but can't be captured, John the Baptist Wright has touched the lives of many women-- heart, body, and soul. Now, in this brilliant new novel by Sandra Jackson-Opoku, award-winning author of The River Where Blood Is Born, we hear from the women who gave Hot Johnny his heat. Through the discerning eyes of those who have known and loved him, we watch Hot Johnny take a journey into the past, where a deeply guarded family secret lies hidden, waiting to be revealed. Along the way, pivotal moments of Hot Johnny's life begin to surface: his childhood struggles in the ghettos of Chicago, his rites of passage as a young gang member, his tragically short athletic career, his fantasies and obsessions, cruelties and compassion. Each woman has a distinct voice and her own point of view. Among them is Destiny, the damaged young woman he married, but cannot save; Lola Belle, the white lesbian with something to prove and nothing to lose; Tree, the college soulmate, whose first taste of tenderness came from Hot Johnny's touch; Cinnamon, the thrill seeker who only Johnny can satisfy; Peaches, the prostitute who gave the boy his name and sealed his reputation; Jonavis, the daughter he never knew he had; and Gracita Reina (Queen of Grace), his great-grandmother, who holds the key to Johnny's salvation. Each woman provides a piece of the puzzle that is Hot Johnny--until at last he is brought into dazzling focus. This deeply felt and emotionally involving tale offers a captivating portrait of a complex man who is both saint and sinner, hero and villain, and all the shadings in between. Sandra Jackson-Opoku has done nothing less than illuminate the shadowy places of a man's soul--and created a powerful novel of destiny and redemption.
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