There are a few living authors who are still writing whose work is so compelling that I seek out their new work, and in this case, am working on the books they wrote before I fell hard for them as a reader.
The first book I read was Sag Harbor, and while it didn't knock my socks off as a work of fiction per se, it was so unusual in terms of the setting and subject, an entry into a world that is likely well known to African Americans but was completely unknown to me. So when I saw this on a "Staff Picks" table at my local library, I picked it up, and I would encourage you to do so as well.
This book, his first, is set in a steampunky alternate mid-20th century, where elevators are the most important public conveyances in the world, and the people who inspect them basically run the city. There are two types of elevator inspectors: the first is the Empiricists (i.e. the traditionalists), who use close physical examinations to make their inspections, measuring and checking and confirming with evidence. The second type of inspectors are the Intuitionists, who inspect elevators (lifts) not by measuring anything, but by riding the elevators and feeling, sensing, knowing, what is happening to the machine in the parts they cannot see--there is some allegorical magic to be had here, as well as some manipulation for political gain.
The protagonist of the novel is Lila Mae Watson, the first black woman to be employed by the city as an elevator (lift) inspector. She is also an intuitionist. As a “representative” of three different types of progressivism within the city, she is constantly being watched. To be an intuitionist is to be in the minority, to be black and an intuitionist is to be in a tiny minority, but to be black, female and an intuitionist makes her a truly unique individual. The corrupt, conservative, boss of the inspectorate want to make an example of her failing, and likewise their rival factions are keen for her to succeed.
