A black defense attorney struggles with his obsession with the laziest whore in Harlem From his penthouse in posh Sugar Hill, Edward Parkchester rules over Manhattan. A silver-tongued defense attorney with a flourishing criminal sideline, he has fame, fortune, and the respect of uptown and downtown alike. But for the right working girl he will throw it all away. He meets her at the Brig-a high-class cathouse that caters to the upper crust of Harlem society. Her name is Carla, and she does not bother to seduce him. She just lies there, munching on chocolate and working her way through the great books of Western literature. She is hypnotically indifferent, and he can't get enough. His empire is crumbling beneath him, but Parky doesn't notice. He's too entranced by a prostitute who doesn't give a damn.
"Charyn has trained his prose and makes it perform tricks. It's a New York prose, street smart, sly and full of lurches, like a series of subway stops on the way to hell."
The New York Times
"Jerome Charyn is one of the most important writers in American literature."
