Rating: 
Summary: LETS HAVE MORE LIKE THIS!
Review: A most interesting read. Mr Mosley is a wonderful story teller. This is a smooth, short read and I was amazed that the author could get so much into so few pages. Like any good work, this one can be read on several levels, you pick your own. I very much enjoyed this book and do highly recommend it. Thank you Mr. Mosley!
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST MOSLEY BOOK EVER!
Review: Buy this book, period! I was skeptical on buying this book because of past experiences with the author (Blue Light, which had the worst story ending ever!). This book makes up for all previous transgressions. The relationship between Charles Dodd Blakely and Anniston Bennet is an unusual one, but the true story is Blakely's interation with the world around him. Do not let the size of this book scare you off (I almost was), it is worth every dime! You can finish the book in one sitting, and you just might want to do that! I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: not a mysteyr, but still great
Review: Charles Blakey can claim American descendents back to the seventeenth century that would make many DAR members envious except that his ancestors were free blacks. He lives in the same house as seven generations of Blakeys have in Sag Harbor, New York, but feels more like an aimless wastrel when he looks back at his ancestor's accomplishments. Currently, he needs money or soon he will be displaced from his family home.Wealthy white male Anniston Bennet offers Charles 50,000 dollars for two months if he stays locked in the basement of the Blakey home. Reluctantly, Blakely accepts though he cannot understand his renter's motive. As he cleans out his basement, Charles learns from dealer Narciss Gully that he can make more money selling valuable family antiques. Still he proceeds with the deal somewhat fascinated by his cellar dweller's apparent need for redemption through punishment for a transgression involving his deceased uncle. However these sixty days lead the two men to strangely bond as both try to flee from their respective pasts, but are learning you cannot truly rewrite history only reinterpret haunting events. THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT is a different type of tale than the Easy Rawlins or Fearless Jones mysteries. Walter Mosley provides a deep parable that makes the reader consider abstract concepts: responsibility and accountability of the individual to society, family and self; personal guilt over one's actions and how to attain salvation in a winking society that typically spins wallpaper of wealthy indiscretion. The lead couple is a fascinating duo whose relationship constantly changes, but foremost this terrific tale is a philosopher's stone of ideas coaxing the reader to introspective pondering. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Bizarre But Brilliant!
Review: Charles Blakey is so far down he is about to hit bottom. A smart man who reads science fiction, he is not able to get a job, drinks all day, and is down to his last dollar. Then the mysterious small white man appears, Anniston Bennet, with a bizarre proposition. Bennet will pay an enormous sum of money just to stay in Blakey's basement for two months. Actually, it gets stranger, for what Bennet really wants is to be imprisoned in that basement in a specially constructed steel cage. He has--let's say--issues he needs to work out. Not much happens after that except the increasingly stormy relationship between these two very different men, their dialogue, and Blakey's desperate attempts to maintain his sanity. The experience will shake Charles Blakey's world to its foundations, and it may change yours as well. This is a bizarre story, but a powerful one, beautifully written. Author Mosley is a master writer. His characterizations are brilliant. His portrayal of Charles Blakey's downfall, confusion, struggles and redemption is a work of genius. Even the sex scenes are worth reading--earthy and unsettling. If you don't read anything else this year, read The Man In My Basement. In other words, I recommend it highly! Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rating:
Summary: A Deep Story That Extends Beyond Race
Review: Charles Blakey's life is falling apart. He can't find a job, he's broke and he's on the verge of losing the house that has been in his family for generations. Then a stranger by the name of Anniston Bennet shows up at his front door with a proposition that could turn things around for him. While contemplating Anniston's offer, Charles discovers some of his family's priceless treasures and commissions a broker (who immediately becomes a love interest) to sell most of them for him. Unknowingly to Charles, giving up the items throws him into an emotional daze. In a desperate effort to save the house, he reluctantly agrees to Anniston's terms. In the beginning, Charles and Anniston appear to be exact opposites. Charles is a poor, jobless black man who has lost the respect of his community. Anniston is a white, wealthy businessman who seems well known and respected in his community. The two talk intimately and to the amazement of Charles, there is very little that Anniston does not already know about him. Feeling threatened and powerless, Charles starts to reflect on his own life, eventually imprisoning himself. As the summer ends, Charles experiences an empowerment that causes a change in his environment. Suddenly he has a romantic life, his personal relationships improve and some of his past hurts that have always haunted him start to heal. When the summer is finally over, both men have undergone a painstaking self exploration and the apparent gap between them seems obscure. Like many of Walter Mosley's novels, The Man in My Basement is earthy, colorful and mysterious. However, that is where the similarities stop. This time around, the skilled writer creates a memorable story that you will want to reread and study.
Rating: 
Summary: Wasn't enough for me
Review: Don't get me wrong, I liked the book but just felt that it did not have much climax. The book was written very well, my first by Mosley. It was really weird but still interesting. Great reviews but just not my type of book. Read it, check it out for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun read...
Review: Easy to understand why someone behind on the mortgage and in desperate need of money would agree to a roomate. In this departure from Mosley usual style this story weaves a stream of questions until the very end. Instead of gaining a roomate you become a warden and caretaker. This is an easy to read, fun weekend reader perfect for the patio lounger. -VRS
Rating:
Summary: Retribution
Review: Even-paced and representative of not only society, but also individual goals, actions, and motivations, THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT is my favorite Walter Mosley book to date. I would go so far as to say it's brilliant. Touching on the areas of love, power, jealousy, guilt, and retribution we witness a multitude of thought-provoking observations that will lead to heated and multi-angled conversations amongst readers. It further justifies the notion that for every action, there is a reaction and/or consequence.
Charles Blakey is basically an underachiever accustomed to getting by doing as little as possible. When he's fired from his job at the bank for embezzlement, he becomes concerned with keeping his house in Sag Harbor that has been in his family for generations. Unable to get a job around the small town and somewhat content in sitting around doing nothing, he receives an unexpected visitor who can possibly assist him in his troubles.
Anniston Bennet is white, wealthy, and normally gets what he wants from people. When he requests to live in Blakey's basement for the summer at a whopping offer of $50,000, Blakey doesn't quite know what to expect. He immediately tells him no, but after the man leaves, promising to return later, Blakey reluctantly comes to the conclusion that he'll be able to pay his mortgage with the money. This begins a journey as he later accepts the proposition and spends the most bizarre summer of his life, learning not only about the man he's rented his basement out to (and who's living in a cage), but also learning more about the world.
While it isn't clear what time period Mosley is writing about, it's crystal clear that the purpose of this book is to transcend time, to make the reader think and question life, reflecting back on ones own experiences in life, good and bad. Bennet represents the world, its problems and the things that concern us, while Blakey probably represents an individual's role in society. I'm not quite sure, but I do know that at the end of the book, you find yourself asking...was Charles really in charge and exactly what impact does guilt have in our lives? Bennet seemed to be remorseful and seeking retribution for his actions, but was he really?
Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Rating:
Summary: Promising premise that misses the mark
Review: I agree with the other reviews in the sense that this story was well written with complex characters. It certainly did provoke many questions. However, this book never goes anywhere. I need some sort of climax. I kept reading as I thought, for sure, something interesting would happen with the guy in the basement but it never did. Why create such an interesting premise to leave it in the dust?
Rating:
Summary: Odd but interesting
Review: I fell in love with reading WM when he brought me Fearless Jones a real manly man. However, dude in this story was kinda of weak, but the story it self was outstanding. thanks Walter for another great read.
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