Available Formats
Hardback
Published: 26th September 2017
Paperback
Published: 11th November 2025
Paperback
Published: 18th October 2018
Five-Carat Soul
By (Author) James McBride
Orion Publishing Co
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
11th November 2025
7th August 2025
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Short stories
813.6
Paperback
336
Width 129mm, Height 198mm
'McBride at his brave and joyous best'
New York Times Book Review 'A furious joy drives these glimpses of brave lives in perilous places' San Francisco Chronicle An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by a Civil War General now sits in the home of a black minister in Queens. Five strangers find themselves thrown together and face unexpected judgment. An American president draws inspiration from a conversation he overhears in a stable. And members of The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Band recount stories from their messy and hilarious lives. These stories spring from the place where identity, humanity, and history converge. A collection of surprising, perceptive and evocative short stories from internationally bestselling novelist James McBride, Five Carat Soul is a moving exploration of our human condition.Brash, daring and defiantly original . . . [these] stories are bound to stay with readers for a very long time * NPR *
A furious joy drives these glimpses of brave lives in perilous places * San Francisco Chronicle *
McBride is such an agile writer that each voice feels authentic and somehow familiar . . . These are stories of and from the soul * Minneapolis Star-Tribune *
McBride delivers pure gold... Five-Carat Soul shakes with laughter, grips with passion and oozes wisdom * Shelf Awareness (starred review) *
Funny, strange and touching . . . McBride proves once again that he is a master conjurer of African Americana * Seattle Times *
Unpredictable, exhilarating, and, often, hilarious . . . a wild and utterly delightful ride * BuzzFeed *
James McBride is the author of the New York Times-bestselling Oprah's Book Club selection Deacon King Kong, the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, the million-copy-bestselling memoir The Colour of Water, the novels Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna, the story collection Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal and an accomplished musician, McBride is also a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.