[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Createspace
Formats: Paperback, eBook, Kindle, Audible
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | iBooks[/alert]
Thurgood Marshall Jefferson, nicknamed Thump, is an intelligent, young Black man driven to succeed in the corporate environment of a high-power, up-scale investment firm. In his desire to get ahead and stay ahead, Thump’s actions and demeanor are upbeat, cordial and direct. Co-workers like him and he regularly buys a McDonalds breakfast sandwich and coffee for a homeless man who stays on a corner close to his office building.
However, not all of his actions are stellar. One of his more questionable behaviors is his on-going, clandestine sexual relationship with one of the company partners, specifically the one who recommended hiring him, and a range of older women clients cultivated by that same partner. When Thump gets promoted to Vice President purportedly because of his outstanding work, he proposes to his girlfriend Tiffany, a nurse who works with his mother at the hospital. As part of their engagement, he promises to be true to his fiancée alone. His refusal to continue his previous pattern with his boss and her bevy of clients results in getting him fired. That’s where the intricacies of the story really begin.
“Indeed,” she said, “this is a trial, but it’s not just any trial. It’s a trial dealing with a very specific set of circumstances that starts and ends with my client’s sexuality or, more accurately, with the five years of sexual humiliation and servitude my client suffered at KKG. …”
In Thump, Avraham Azrieli tackles a range of social issues, from racism to sexual harassment in the workplace to personal responsibility. The characters express consistent, clear ideas and roles within the structure of a well-developed story. It is a striking social commentary that will draw readers in with a carefully modulated pace. With a diverse, timely and thoughtful presentation of social issues, Azrieli offers readers a mirror in which to reflect their own personal points of view on these topics.
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