Kill 'Em and Leave

Starred review from July 4, 2016
McBride embarks on a biographical journey to explore the life of the hardest-working man in show business, even though the National Book Award–winning author admits up front that Brown remains a figure so enigmatic that newly discovered facts make the established public history more—rather than less—difficult to understand. McBride views the “Godfather of Soul” as an icon who embodies all the complexities and contradictions of American life. Veteran stage and screen actor Hoffman doesn’t miss a beat in presenting the dialogue, such that Brown’s larger-than-life raspy voice comes through with those same complexities and contradictions. Hoffman seems determined to get it right and ditch affected parodies and caricatures as a narrator, in the same manner that McBride seeks clarity in his writing. Hoffman particularly excels in his display of Brown—for all of his failed relationships and emotional demons—as an avuncular wise elder in the grooming of close friend and advisor Rev. Al Sharpton and in Brown’s tender bond with the one grandson with whom he consistently remained close. Rendered in such skilled hands, the many Brown catchphrases—including the book’s title—take on a moving testament of survival rather than just remaining catchy aphorisms. A Random/Spiegel & Grau hardcover.

February 8, 2016
McBride, mainly known for his bestselling 1995 memoir, The Color of Water, returns to nonfiction with an investigation into the life, times, and death of James Brown, the “hardest-working man in show business.” Though the soul singer’s musical legacy is ingrained in the collective American unconscious, many details about Brown’s personal life and the lives he touched along the way remain obscure. McBride reveals them while seeking to correct misconceptions perpetuated by the recent film Get On Up. Most notable among McBride’s tales are those involving Al Sharpton, whom Brown unofficially adopted; the relationship shines a light on both men’s lives that is often overlooked. Chasing down Brown’s life story all over the South, McBride enters some shady situations and stumbles on a story even larger than the Godfather of Soul himself: the fate of Brown’s estate, which has been so preyed upon by various lawyers that the poverty-stricken children for which it was meant haven’t seen a dime. McBride’s storytelling is heavily impeded by clichés and trite metaphors, but the power of his subject matter nevertheless shines through in this solid work of journalism. Agent: Flip Brophy, Sterling Lord.