In his timely debut novel, David S. Mitchell grants the reader unprecedented access to the provocative world of code-switching African-American Ivy Leaguers and the dark underbelly of Southern race politics as seen through the eyes of Al Carpenter. Al, an erudite and incorrigible law student, struggles to square the hopeful outcome of President Obama's 2008 election with the prospect that many Americans don't actually want the change they clamored for.
When he arrives in North Carolina to assume a senior position with a cash-strapped US Senate campaign, Al faces swift and unexpected resistance to African-American attorney Ron Johnson’s candidacy. By navigating the thorny maze of Tar Heel State politics and grappling with personal growing pains, Al finally learns to play the game. But can he change the game for the better, or will the game change him?
"In this smart, sharply written first novel, David S. Mitchell captures the idealism and frustration of trying to turn Obama's promise of hope and change from a moment into a movement. His ear for poltics, race, and how the two intersect in a Southern Senate campaign is pitch perfect. Although fiction, We Hold These Truths is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how poltical campaigns can give wings to hope or crush it, and sometimes both."
David Mitchell is one of those people you meet and know, without a doubt, he is going to conquer anything he wants to and aren’t we lucky that he wants to take on the literary world. His debut novel, We Hold These Truths, features a motivated, focused recent law graduate, who is black, who joins a long-shot senate campaign in North Carolina shortly after Barack Obama’s 2008 victory and experiences the painful mutations of supposedly “post-racial” politics. This engaging, thoughtful work highlights the promise of Mitchell’s talent and hopefully we won’t have to wait long, as he’s at work on his second novel.
"In his astute tale, Mitchell knowledgeably captures not only the internecine conflict that occurs within a party, but also the volatile mix of excitement and skepticism that followed Obama's election victory . . . An intelligent and bracingly honest look at the possibility of a post-racial America."
"There are some great political novels that have been written in this country, but not many . . . there are just a handful that I think are really great and cut to the heart of a moment and maybe a nation . . . I think this is one of those novels." - Timothy B. Tyson, The Blood of Emmett Till
This year, David S. Mitchell—along with four super-talented writers—will be recognized amongst the brightest up-and-coming novelists in the game at the 2017 Brooklyn Book Festival on September 17, 2017.
Washington, D.C. online arts and style magazine DCWKLY.com profiles D.C. author and native son David S. Mitchell—and his debut novel, We Hold These Truths.
In its annual Summer 2017 issue, Washington Life Magazine, the foremost authority on power, philanthropy and society in the nation's capital, recognized author David S. Mitchell's debut political novel "We Hold These Truths" in its short list of "Summer Selects."
David S. Mitchell's debut novel, We Hold These Truths, was released today, November 4, 2016.
