But 47 also deals with adult themes and images that give it a real 'kick' - fast, easy reading that weaves its storytelling magic with deceptive grace. Categorized as a novel for young adults, it offers an uncommon and undeniably original coming-of-age story. But just as we reach the limits of our endurance, another flight of fantasy allows us to relax and remember that this is all merely make-believe.Ĥ7 is simply told. Surely, we think, real human beings would not treat each other in such a horrific fashion.

Mosley's brilliance lies in placing historical realities in a fantastic setting. It also opens a chapter of America's past that most of us would rather forget. That opening gambit triggers a whirlwind tale of time travel, shape-shifting, and intergalactic intrigue. By delicious coincidence, 47's cruel slave master and overseer are both Calash in disguise, and must be defeated to save all civilized creation. Claiming to have crossed centuries and light-years in his travels, he says that he and his kind have been embroiled in a battle against evil aliens known as the Calash. Tall John, you see, is a visitor from another planet in a galaxy far, far away. The tale becomes both fantastic and allegorical when a mysterious, omniscient runaway shows up at the plantation: Tall John, who carries a yellow carpet bag of healing potions, impossible devices and something even more revolutionary: the belief that there are no masters and no slaves. Mosley, the creator of the best-selling Easy Rawlings mysteries, has accomplished something remarkable here: He used the struggles of one frightened boy to represent the yearning for meaning and freedom of expression common to all human beings.Ĥ7, named after the eponymous slave at the center of the story, is gripping from the opening scene, a first-person narrative of loss, hope, shattered dreams and small victories. It's not the typical subject matter for a summer read, but 47 is taut, hypnotic, fascinating and deeply moving. Walter Mosley's 47 tells the tale of a 14-year-old slave in the antebellum South. And the series continues all summer long on NPR.org.

This week, All Things Considered is talking with authors about their favorite buttonhole books. All readers have them - and so do writers. Call them buttonhole books, the ones you urge passionately on friends, colleagues and passersby.

47 by Walter Mosley