Bedrock Faith

A Novel

By: Eric Charles May

Narrated by: Kenneth Toles

An ex-convict returns to his Chicago community a changed man—but maybe not for the better—in this “vivid, suspenseful, funny, and compassionate novel” (Booklist).

One of Booklist’s Top 10 First Novels of the Year
One of Roxane Gay’s Top 10 Books of the Year

After fourteen years in prison, Gerald “Stew Pot” Reeves, age thirty-one, returns home to live with his mom in Parkland, a black middle-class neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. The residents are in a tailspin, dreading the arrival of the man they remember as a frightening delinquent. The anxiety only grows when Stew Pot announces that he experienced a religious awakening in prison. Most folks are skeptical, with one notable exception: Mrs. Motley, a widowed retired librarian and the Reeves’ next-door neighbor, who loans Stew Pot a Bible, which is seen by him and many in the community as a friendly gesture. With uncompromising fervor (and with a new pit bull named John the Baptist), Stew Pot soon appoints himself the moral judge of Parkland - and starts wreaking havoc on people’s lives. Before long, tension and suspicion reign, and this close-knit community must reckon with questions of faith, fear, and forgiveness...

“[A] novel of epiphanies, tragedies, and transformations . . . perfect for book clubs.” —Booklist, starred review

“May slowly builds suspense as he persuasively unfolds the narrative in this work that reads like an Agatha Christie mystery.” —Library Journal

“A wonderful urban novel full of vitality and pathos and grit.” —Dennis Lehane

©2022 Eric Charles May (P)2022 Spotify Audiobooks

Totally captivating

I really enjoyed this book. I did not want to stop listening and I had already read it in hardcover! The story is good and holds your attention throughout the book. I would love to see a sequel or spin-off. The narration was good with just a few mispronounced words.

The realness of each of the characters stood out the most.

i enjoyed the writing style. it was descriptive enough that I had a complete picture without being overly descriptive.

I didn’t really care for it

I gave this book 3 stars because the story and or many stories did have good narration and the title fits. I thought the story was poorly structured and I was annoyed continuously hearing several different books. I must admit, this is my first time listening to a book about a villain from the neighbor’s point of view. The story is heavily Christian-based, but not in a positive way, which explains the title. I managed to grasp the main plot, and the author’s writing is quite good. However, I found the structure and the repetitive banter about the same topic split up into different books to be quite annoying. The twist at the end was dull and unimpressive.