Rating: 
Summary: Walter took a risk with this one
Review: I found this to be an interesting story. This novel was a departure from the author's usual fare, but I applaud him for taking this risk. I liked the premise for this story, but I felt as if it did not quite reach its potential.The main character, Charles Blakey, was not likeable. I found him to be uninspired and unmotivated and at times just stupid for no reason at all. But that's not my problem with this book. I've read several books where the protagonists were unlikeable, even dispicable. But, they held my interest and I wanted to know what would happen to them next. That was not the case here. I did not care about Mr. Blakey at all. He simply bored me. He remained one-dimensional. Even in the end, when he did mangage to grow a little, he did not really evolve enough for me. I did find Mr. Bennet, and his exploits, to be interesting. The author gives you just enough information about him to let you know the damage he has done and what he was capable of. Mr. Bennet provoked alot of discussion in my book club regarding conspiracy theories, who really "runs the world", and how decisions that are made at high levels, unbeknownst to us, can affect our daily lives. Overall, the book is a quick and easy read. Although I did not particulary like the writing style, it is well-written. As mentioned earlier, I like that the author took a risk with this book. Writing about a white man being held prisoner in a black man's basement opens up all kinds of possibilities for a story. However, I don't feel that this story did enough with them. I think there was room for more exploration. It was as if the book got all dressed up for the prom but never made it there because it got stood up by its date.
Rating:
Summary: Feeling caged
Review: I must admit that this was my first read of Mr. Moseley's work and since he is infamous for his works in mystery writing I was a little hesitant to pick up "The Man in MY Basement", but it was in the new section at the local library and I decided to give it a try. The book was real entertaining but I also found it boring in spots and lacked a solid conclusion. The characters were flowed yet redemptive but by the end of the book you didn't really care. The supporting characters seem to have more interest than the main. I am a veteran reader but I never did quite get Mr. Anniston and the "real" reason he wanted Charles to imprison him. There was no one else there to witness his transformation except Charles. Where was the true humility here?? Maybe I just didn't get it and someone else can post to help me out. I have not recommended it to anyone and I don't think I will. I will continue to read some of my old material until something more interesting comes out. ie E.Lynn Harris's novels.
Rating: 
Summary: BASEMENT TENANT LEAVES READERS ON THE EDGE OF OUR SEATS
Review: I received Mr. Mosley's recent novel (Man in My Basement) to do a review for Booking Matters Magazine. I was actually standing in the post office Christmas holiday lines when I received the novel and I immediately started reading it, initially to pass the time while waiting in a very long line. The storyline grabbed me from page one and didn't let me go until the very last page. The book itself is small in size...but has left me thirsty for more by Mr. Mosley. There are many authors out there now who can really write...I'd like to add that Mr. Mosley can not only write..but can tell a story that leaves any reader in deep thought. The Man in my Basement (while fiction) will challenge the reader to look at the issue of "guilt" and how powerful it can be in a person's life. The main characters were some I will NEVER forget and I actually even read parts of the story to my husband and we've discussed the book (and I am the one who really read it). Mr. Mosley, I do hope you check on line reviews because I want you to know that you have fans out here who absolutely adore your work. You really have set another standard for authors. The Man in My Basement is a very powerful, thought provoking, thought challenging novel that is highly recommended to ALL. This story will stay with me for a very long time. And as stated in my title of this review...this novel leaves you...ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT! Buy it and read it today!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, riveting, disturbing
Review: I'm a fan of Moseley's non-Easy Rawlins' works. I read Futureland earlier this year and when I saw that his latest novel, THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT, was not part of his mystery series I grabbed it from my local library. This novel is mesmerizing---I read it very nearly straight through. The main character Charles is despicable in many ways---lazy, selfish, corrupt, a thief, a womanizer---and yet Moseley makes us like him---mostly because Charles is very, very funny.
Mr. Bennet, who Charles agrees to allow to stay in his basement in a makeshift prison cell in exchange for a pile of cash, on the other hand, is pure evil. Compared to Bennet, Charles is a saint, and as Charles gets to know just how evil Bennet is, it helps bring about his own redemption. The kinds of evil Bennet is involved in gives me chills even several weeks after reading the book. An excellent study in the real definition of evil and responsibility.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly interesting ideas, ill-served by their execution
Review: Insofar as it's an ambitious novel of ideas, The Man In My Basement should be lauded. But that's what makes the squandered opportunity it represents doubly frustrating. Mosley brings up the issue of race in America (and, to a lesser degree, elsewhere), the dynamics of power, the dueling impulses of honesty and self-protection in relationships, the encumbrances and opportunities of family and of community...it's a lot to talk about, and in this slim volume, he never really gets beyond introducing these themes before ending the book. The interactions between the protagonist and the man he locks in his basement--indeed, between the protagonist and all his characters--seem like snippets from a larger, richer piece. Mosley's prose doesn't help. There's a certain laziness which makes the scenes hazy, and seems to infect the characters. The man who asks to be locked in the basement speaks in cheap aphorisms, and so his quest for absolution never really takes on any spiritual urgency, any more than might that of the quasi-philosophical Bond supervillain on which he sometimes seems to be modeled. Mosley's obsessively flat style becomes leaden when his "hero" reaches for eloquence, but rather than sounding in these moment like a character reaching for the humble expression of unpoetic truths, he ends up sounding like the uncertain author leaving things vague and so less assailable. The novel presents the perilous ambiguities of, say Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, but without Melville's rigor, so it just comes across as half-considered mush.
Rating:
Summary: I recommend it
Review: Obviously, that is what 'three stars' mean; I recommend it, but it's not great. There's nothing wrong with a three-star book! I frequently stop by a local independent bookshop to check out the 'Staff Picks'(I am never disapointed with Renita's picks) This time it was MAN IN MY BASEMENT. The editor's reviews above do a good job of describing the plot. As an objective reader, I will tell you that this is a solid book with clear dialogue among interesting characters. It will probably pass your 'first ten pages' test.
Rating:
Summary: The Man in My Basement
Review: Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. In my opinion, Charles Blakey, the main character, is another marvelous Mosley anti-hero similiar to Eazy of the Easy Rawlings mystery series. The Man in My Basement is a great introduction to Blakey, his background, his intellect, his friends, associates, family and ambitions. The plot in The Man in My Basement became contrived at times. Anniston Bennet's methods and explanation as to why he decided to be in Blakey's basement were improbable. While Mosely attempted to provide detailed explanations, the readers are still left to wonder "why". It is incredible that two men would engage in the relationship portrayed in this story. There are also some characters who crowd the story and add nothing to the development of the story. To eliminate Geraldo, Extine, and the Littleneck sisters would not hurt the storyline as they added nothing. Despite the minor inconveniences, this book was quick enjoyable, read. It just adds to the fine collection of Mosley books and characters. I look forward to reading more about Blakey's relationships and his situations.
Rating:
Summary: Good Writing
Review: Simply told with a great story line, this book gets five stars. The characters truly came alive and the plot was complex enough to hold my interest and intrigue me. I hated to see it end.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful Metaphors Provide Much Food for Thought
Review: The Man in My Basement is a sharp departure from the other novels I have read by Walter Mosley, so don't expect a murder mystery or Easy Rawlins. If you want easy ready about likeable characters, look elsewhere. Ugliness is right out there in plain sight . . . where it has to be dealt with. It's hard to set up the story without getting into spoilers. Basically, Charles Blakey is a man who is about to hit bottom as the book opens. He's unemployed, no one will hire him, his life is a mess, and he's two weeks behind on his mortgage. Blakey has brought these problems on himself and doesn't feel inclined to deal with his messes. If one had to predict, he looks like a good candidate for becoming homeless. Out of nowhere, a man comes to his home and offers to rent his basement for the summer. No one in their right mind would want to do that because the basement is a mess and full of old junk. There's not even a bathroom there. Astonished, Blakey turns him down. But eventually he relents . . . and opens himself to an astonishing experience. As the story develops, we vividly see the ways that our self-image and reality are formed by the reactions of others to us and our situation. By our own actions (or inactions), we create moral consequences for ourselves and others. What line should we take in responding to those reactions in choosing actions and inactions? Mr. Mosley moves beyond conventional morality, religion and legal perspectives to suggest that we create a balance that is good for us and others. To achieve this balance, we need to challenge ourselves to play roles that are unaccustomed . . . and to see how well they fit our character and our preferences. Anyone who reads this book will probably wonder what she or he would have done in the place of the major two characters in the book. It's that lingering question of "Whither Goest Thou?" that makes this book the second great novel I have read that was written in the twenty-first century. The other was Crabwalk by Gunter Grass. I heartily recommend this book to those who enjoy novels that explore moral questions in challenging ways. I also recommend it to novelists who want to see what powerful metaphors can do to make a work of fiction strong and memorable.
Rating:
Summary: Who's The Man?
Review: The title of Walter Mosley's latest novel is *The Man In My Basement* and, like the book itself, can be interpreted in many different ways. Is it simply, literally, about a man who wants to rent out a stranger's basement for two months? Is it a tale of racial conflict? The renter is white; the homeowner is black. Should we hear quotation marks around "The Man," as in the stereotypical white oppressor? Or is it one person's journey from perpetual adolescence into a grudging and painful childhood? Mosley's protagonist goes into that basement a child and finally emerges a man. The owner of the basement is Charles Blakey. He is, by most ways of looking at things, a loser. He is unemployed, an inveterate liar, an unhealthy drinker and a college dropout with little or no future. His only asset is his old and sturdy house -- a home that has been in his family for seven generations. Enter Anniston Bennet, a wealthy white suburbanite who makes Blakey a tempting offer: In exchange for allowing him to live in Blakey's cellar during July and August, Bennet will pay him nearly fifty thousand dollars cash. Charles, who has mortgaged his family's legacy and is behind on the payments, eventually decides to accept. And with that choice, both Blakey and the reader are drawn into a fascinating character study, a psychological conflict between two apparent opposites. I say "apparent" because Mosley chooses to be ambiguous even when the lines seem clearly drawn. Is it a question of Good versus Evil? Rich against Poor? Black against White? There really is no way to be sure. The ambiguity also extends to the novel's blurred sense of time. It wasn't until more than halfway through the book that I could be reasonably certain of what decade in which the story is set. It is perhaps appropriate; Mosley first gained attention with a series of mystery novels, such as *Devil In A Blue Dress*. *Basement* may be considered a kind of mystery as well but one without "suspects" or "clues." It is fiction of a most modern kind, defying convention and categorization with every page. The journey this novel takes is a difficult one, although its conclusion is as satisfying as it is unexpected. I recommend *The Man In My Basement* as an important reading experience.
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