Ravi Howard

A novel based on true accounts of the murder of Michael Donald, age 19, in Mobile, Alabama. Michael Donald was murdered and hung in a tree by three white men, who were angered by the mistrial of a black man who had killed a white police officer. This story is most subtly about Paul, the friend who had found Michael the morning of March 21, 1981, through the narration of Paul’s younger brother. In 1981 such atrocities still occurred. Because of the incredulousness, perhaps, is why Michael’s death affected the people of Mobile so significantly, unable to ever forget.… (plus d'informations)

Weary is brave, kind, pragmatic, and humanly imperfect. As his journalist friend states “people I admire all have a little dirt on their shoes” (pg. 313). He offers a unique perspective on threads of racism after WWII. He lives racism against African American servicemen. He sees the intricate planning and the risks of putting on the bus boycott. He witnesses the dangers and unfair limitations of being an African American celebrity. Nat King Cole shines as a brave, kind, and loyal person through Weary’s eyes. Driving the King offers historical fiction that is set after WWII, provides a perspective of African American experiences during that time, gives an insider’s view of Nat King Cole, and offers food for thought.… (plus d'informations)

We are taken back to 1950's, pre-Civil Rights era, United States. Nat Weary has the ring ready to propose to his girl during a Nat King Cole concert. White men storm the stage and begin to beat Cole and his band members. Weary vaults onto the stage from the balcony and saves Cole's life. In Alabama, this draws him a 10 year sentence in prison. When he get released, Cole hires him as his driver. Weary is then poised as witness to the discrimination of black in L.A. as contrasted to the South. This is a terrific portrayal of a snippet of history told from the eyes of a poor, southern, black man. My thanks to the author and Goodreads for a complimentary copy.… (plus d'informations)

Usually after reading a novel, I wait a few days afterward to let the characters marinate in my head and reflect on the scenes that the story created for me to see. However, this story didn’t stay with me. It was a good story as I listened (Audio), but the characters went away quickly. Leaving me with the feeling that his writing and storytelling wasn’t at it’s very best.

“Driving the King” is a novel that should be classified as more of a piece of literary fiction than a historical account of the Jim Crow south during the civil rights movement era. It is really the story of a fictional character, Nat Weary, the protagonist whom is sent to prison for 10 years of hard labor after saving Nat King Cole from a racist attacker who rushed the stage during a concert in Montgomery and then serves as the singer’s personal driver for a number of years. The author does what should have been done by not focusing on the life of the attacker within his novel. Nat King Cole is more or less a minor character in this novel.

Readers should be aware it is fiction inspired by fact and not an accurate chronology of Nat King Cole's life. He brings together fact and fiction and changes the particulars of the latter to suit his timeline and the creation of the fictional character of Nathaniel Weary. I can accept that Howard took liberties to exaggerate the historical account of Nat King Cole and other historical characters.

Howard touches on the bus boycott of Alabama. He lightly mentions Claudette Colbert (a fifteen-year-old, was the first person arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama), in which if you don’t know the history behind this crusader, she was not the chosen one to spear the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, because she was a young unwed mother. They chose Rosa Parks 9 months later. Howard also strategically inserts other historical characters important to the civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Almena Lomax, African American journalist and civil rights activist. Rosa Parks. Boxer Dynamite Jackson fought out of Santa Monica, California. He won the Heavyweight Championship of California during his career. It is also reported that he owned a Jazz Club in Los Angeles in the 1940s on Central Avenue called “Dynamite Jackson’s”.

Howard penned about Nat King Cole becoming the first African-American performer to host a variety TV series in 1956. The show originally aired without a sponsor, but NBC agreed to pay for initial production costs; it was assumed that once the show actually aired and advertisers were able to see its sophistication, a national sponsor would emerge. None did; many national companies did not want to upset their customers in the South, who did not want to see a black man on TV shown in anything other than a subservient position. Although NBC agreed to continue footing the bill for the show until a sponsor could be found, star Nat 'King' Cole pulled the plug on it himself in its second season. In the 1956 season, the show had a 15-minute running time. It was expanded to a 30-minute segment in 1957. (IMDB)

Howard’s story was an entertaining novel but not a great one. it suffered from the lack of an intriguing storyline in my view. “Driving the King” didn’t quite live up to its expectations of Nat King Cole and his music or his Jim Crow experiences in real life. However, Howard has a creative narrative, and I look forward to his next book.… (plus d'informations)