Isaac’s Song
Daniel Black
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 320 Pages (Hardcover)
Audiobook: 8 Hours, 27 Minutes
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Get More Info: Goodreads | Storygraph
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Publisher’s Description
The beloved author of Don’t Cry for Me and Perfect Peace returns with a poignant, emotionally exuberant novel about a young queer Black man finding his voice in 1980s Chicago—Isaac’s Song by Daniel Black is a novel of family, forgiveness and perseverance, for fans of The Great Believers and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Isaac is at a crossroads in his young life. Growing up in Missouri, the son of a caustic, hard-driving father, he was conditioned to suppress his artistic pursuits and physical desires, notions that didn’t align with a traditional view of masculinity. But now, in late ’80s Chicago, Isaac has finally carved out a life of his own. He is sensitive and tenderhearted and has built up the courage to seek out a community. Yet just as he begins to embrace who he is, two social catalysts—the AIDS crisis and Rodney King’s attack—collectively extinguish his hard-earned joy.
At a therapist’s encouragement, Isaac begins to write down his story. In the process, he taps into a creative energy that will send him on a journey back to his family, his ancestral home in Arkansas and the inherited trauma of the nation’s dark past. But a surprise discovery will either unlock the truths he’s seeking or threaten to derail the life he’s fought so hard to claim.
Poignant, sweeping and luminously told, Isaac’s Song is a return to the beloved characters of Don’t Cry for Me and a high-water mark in the career of an award-winning author.
Isaac’s Song by Daniel Black is published by Hanover Square Press (HarperCollins Publishers).
Content Advisory
This book contains scenes depicting sexual assault and mentions of child abuse and domestic abuse.
About Daniel Black
Daniel Black is a native of Kansas City, Kansas, yet spent the majority of his childhood years in Blackwell, Arkansas. He is an associate professor at his alma mater, Clark Atlanta University, where he now aims to provide an example to young Americans of the importance of self-knowledge and communal commitment. He is the author of “They Tell Me of a Home” and “The Sacred Place” (Goodreads, 2025).
Read more about Daniel Black here.
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