The Weight

More about the book

"Julian Strickland is seemingly the lone Black man in the hipster dreamland of Portland, Oregon. To his friends, he's the coolest member of the scene: the soulful drummer in an indie rock band that's just about to break through. But to himself, he's a sheltered Christian homeschool kid who used to write book reports on Leviticus. A virgin until the night of his marriage and divorced at twenty-four, he's still in disarray two years later. Then he meets Ida Blair, a Black painter at the start of a promising career. They begin a tentative romance, and Ida seems to offer Julian relief from his confusion. Until suddenly she stops responding to his texts. Things only get worse when Julian's best friend turns on him, his house burns down, and the band considers breaking up on the eve of their most important show. It seems the only thing Julian has left -- the only thing he's ever had, really -- is the weight he is carrying"--