''Brothers and Keepers'' is a memoir written by

John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman (born June 14, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus o ...

. It was published by

Holt, Rinehart and Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...

in 1984.

Plot summary

Two brothers, Afro-Americans, John and Robert, grow up together in the same neighborhood in Homewood. But they live very different lives. On November 15, 1975, the author's younger brother, Robert, was involved in a botched robbery that left a man dead. Being unemployed and in need of money to buy heroin he and his friends tried to steal a truck load of stolen TV sets, but one of his accomplices shot the

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

who was trying to run away. Wanted for armed robbery and murder, Robert and his accomplices ran for three months. Suddenly Robert turns up at John's house in Laramie, and stays overnight, before he was arrested by the police the next day. John was a writer and taught literature and creative writing at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

at that time. As John got involved with them he himself became a suspect for the police. Robert, a junkie, drug dealer, and thief, eventually was sentenced to life in a Pittsburgh prison with no chance of parole, even though it wasn't he who shot the man. During his time in prison Robert is frequently visited by his brother John. Robert writes and talks to him about his experiences in the prison, and also earned a college degree whilst in prison. According to Lionel Mandy there are "at least two books within these covers", the first being a "biographical family portrait of the Widemans and their forebears", while the "second book concerns the prison, and the larger society within which it exists."

Style

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' says that "by combining his he author'sown literary skill with the candor and vitality of his brother's street style, Mr. Wideman gives added power and dimension to this book about the contrary values and goals of two brothers. It is a rare triumph in its use of diverse linguistic styles" and he "uses an impressive array of literary skills" and "convincingly mimes the rhythms and style of the Depression writings of

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

and

Margaret Walker Margaret Walker (Margaret Abigail Walker Alexander by marriage; July 7, 1915 – November 30, 1998) was an American poet and writer. She was part of the African-American literary movement in Chicago, known as the Chicago Black Renaissance. H ...

Reception

The book was a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' describes the book as a "gripping account of the events, social pressures and individual psychological responses that led his brother Robert to prison for murder and him he authorto a middle-class life as a professor of English" and also as "a sensitive and intimate portrayal of the lives and divergent paths taken by two brothers". It furthermore is described as a "source of some powerfully written scenes in which he conveys his impressions of American prisons" especially the experiences with the guards, "the Keepers", who degrade the prisoners as well as their guests. He has "succeeded brilliantly in both understanding his brother's life and coming to terms with his own." '' Kirkus Reviews'' describes the book as having a "powerful initial grab .. but only sporadic flickers of drama and insight amid the narrative convolutions." Published in 1985 in the UK by

Allison and Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

, the book was described by Edward Blishen in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as a "brilliant and most moving attempt by John Edgar Wideman, black American novelist and academic, to write his brother out of a merciless prison sentence.""Guardian Books", ''The Guardian'', December 12, 1985, p. 21. ''Brothers and Keepers'' was frequently quoted in Didier Eribon's 2018 book '' Returning to Reims''.

References

{{Authority control 1984 non-fiction books Holt, Rinehart and Winston books Allison and Busby books