THE RESIDUE YEARS

THE RESIDUE YEARS takes its title from one characters comment, “most of us get a few moments of the high life, but everything else is the residue years.” Jackson reports on the consequences of the drug life in a way that could be likened to Sister Souljah’s novel The Coldest Winter Ever. Also, similar to Junot Diaz’s collection Drown, the novel explores the impediments involved in maintaining the cohesion of a non nuclear family (or new nuclear) as well as the strength of a devout mother/son relationship.

The Residue Years gives voice to Rhonda, a forty-something mother of three, just out of prison, and her eldest son, Champ, who is juggling street economics and creative ambitions. The two share a reluctant, tense reunion, one that nevertheless forces each of them to look hard and clear at their individual choices ahead.

Portland, OR is the backdrop, and the emotional landscape is equally grey, but Mitchell Jackson evokes his characters with a hand that is infectiously energetic and necessarily tender.

The sad reality is that the circumstances of this novel—drug use, drug dealing, parole, rehab, low income everything, broken homes beyond repair—are all too commonplace, and Mitchell doesn’t pretend otherwise, nor does he simplistically insert some token measure of hope into this novel. Rather, he focuses on smaller, hard-won victories and the constant tenacity required to push through setbacks; readers will root for Rhonda and Champ at every fragile turn.

This novel is affecting, nuanced, and impressively written.

Jackson has a M.F.A from New York University and has received the Hurston Wright Award for college fiction writing, a grant from the Urban Artist Initiative, and a fellowship from the Center for Fiction in New York. His creative work has appeared in journals and anthologies, as well as an exhibit at The New Museum in New York City. He has penned feature stories on a list of notables, including 50 Cent, T.I. Big Boi (Outkast), Joe Frazier, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Reggie Bush, Ja Rule, Shane Mosley, and Jalen Rose. He also teaches writing at NYU.