Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Thank you for my eARC of this book. This is a hard hitting and poignant thriller. There are shocking scenes which are upsetting and we’re difficult to read but it’s very well written.

The content of this book was far more graphic than I was anticipating and so I had to put it down as it was really unsettling me. I recognise that many people want this in fiction, but it was just really affecting my mental health. Best wishes to the author and thanks to the publisher for sending this my way. I've left my review at 3 stars, although I usually leave a 1 star review if I DNF - I just feel like it's like an "it's me, not you" situation.

This book has actually been on my radar for a while now and I’m so glad it more than lived up to my high expectations. The story follows Bobby, a young man living in Pittsburgh who has concealed the truth of his parentage and consequently his biracial identity from everyone, including his best friend, Aaron, who has just gotten out of prison a drastically changed man. Bobby is then witness to a horrific attack by Aaron on a young Black man and the story propels in a high-intensity manner from there.

This is not an easy book to read, that does have to be said. It is brutal, unflinching and makes you want to look away at times. However this is precisely why Three-Fifths is such a necessary and incredibly powerful read. It is set in 1995 and I wish I could say it was a changed world and that some of the issues in this book are no longer prevalent, however that is sadly very much not the case and there is a heart-wrenching relevance to this story. The events of the book take place over just a few days and it is easily a possible ‘read in one sitting’ book because it totally grabs you in it’s clutches and holds on until the genuinely soul-shattering finale. I don’t want to give much away plot-wise because it is best to experience it as it unfolds. There is an impressive immediacy to it that makes this a completely gripping read from start to finish.

There is a lot of hate and violence in this book but what makes it so brilliant is that it is not quite as simple as that. There are no easy answers in Three-Fifths and Vercher brings so much emotion and an almost uncomfortable honesty which absolutely floored me. This book touches on so many areas like family, self-identity, friendship, race and the danger of stereotypes and pride. Something else I think it does phenomenally well is it’s examination of masculinity and especially masculinity within male friendship. I thought this would be an impressive book due to the praise it has garnered but it surpassed my high expectations and completely blew me away. An easy five stars from me. I can’t wait to read whatever this talented author writes next.

Where do I begin...
We dive straight into the story with Aaron having just been released from prison and waiting outside Bobby's place of work the night he is released. The first 3rd of the book is fairly slow and I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but once you began to learn a little more I fell in love with Bobby (and Aaron too if I’m honest...)
After the initial few chapters I started to really warm to all the characters and let me tell you this book made me feel very uncomfortable in The best way. It made me question my initial judgements and the way people are rarely what they seem to be. Nature versus nurture is definitely a huge discussion this book brings to your attention. If your family and friends feel a certain way and constantly push those ideas on you then the chances are those will likely become your ideas also. This was seen throughout three-fifths.
Aaron leaves prison a white suprematist and Bobby is the “white passing” son of a white mother and a black father, however this is not known by anybody other than Bobby and his mum. Definitely not Aaron.
I loved this book. It was shocking, sickening and absolutely heartbreaking.

Although not published in the UK until October, I wanted to draw your collective attention to Three Fifths as soon as possible. This seemingly simple synopsis disguises a work of such intensity and emotion that it will rattle around your mind, and intrude on your thoughts for days after reading it. Despite a relatively slim page count, this book embraces such big powerful themes, that it’s pared down style intensifies to the absolute max. The reader is taken on a poignant and disturbing ride through the ills of urban America and the racial tension that has always blighted America and led to continuing division and disparity.

As two young men try to recover their close ties of friendship, after separation, Vercher depicts their individual frustrations and growing antipathy with a clear and unflinching honesty, that will move and shock in equal measure. There are stark revelations for both, with Bobby trying to keep a solid home for himself and his alcoholic mother, and then being confronted by a blast from the past which turns his world upside down. The shocking details of Aaron’s incarceration, his indoctrination in white supremacy and the simmering violence within him that spills over on his release, is so deftly portrayed that the reader is torn between distaste, and yet an innate sympathy for him. I was genuinely breathless and deeply moved at the end of this one with its bleak denouement, but an utterly necessary one. Few books move me to tears, but there was a definite’ oh there’s something in my eye’ moment at the close of this. Three Fifths is astonishing, important, hugely poignant and very highly recommended.

I have to admit that I struggled with this one: there's a good idea underpinning it but the execution is overly soapy and simple, and the writing doesn't maintain its noir edge. Lots of bad decisions and the characterization isn't deep enough for it to make sense other than through pop-psychology. Not for me - sorry :)

I was blown away by Three-Fifths. It’s an incredible book and a superb debut.

Adeptly weaving together tales of family, racial stereotyping and divide, friendship and peril it is one of the most intense yet hypnotic books I have read. The characters pull you into their lives and their back stories with such compulsion, it’s hard to put it down. I read it in two sittings but had to stop to catch my breath more than once.

With thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Vertigo for an advanced copy in consideration of an honest review. Thanks also to Bookriot’s Read or Dead podcast who led me to Three-Fifths with their enthusiasm and recommendation.

Set in the mid-90's, Bobby is 22-year-old biracial man, who is white-passing. Aaron is his best friend. Bobby has hidden this truth from his best friend. Aaron has just come out of jail and is now a white supremacist. One night, Aaron assaults a young black man with a brick but is unaware his best friend is black. Bobby witnessing this, now must hide his involvement in the crime whilst fighting with his identity. This story is timely as there is a running theme of racism, identity and secrets.

A brutal but very cutting story. Bobby is 22, trying to navigate the world whilst working hard to look after his alcoholic mother, Isabelle. Whilst Robert, a medical doctor battles with his own relationship with his wife, Tamera.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a rollercoaster. Seeing how Bobby works to survive whilst fighting those inner demons alone is a tough one that leaves you rooting for him. Identity is a huge theme in this book. Bobby is mixed but looks white. Does that make him black? Why didn't he feel 'black'? Why did he feel the need to hide his black side from the world? Vercher does a great job of taking us into the minds of these characters, who are all grappling with their own personal demons.
A great read, highly recommend.

4/5

Three-Fifths is an engaging thriller with sophisticated characters, well blended with general fiction, crime, and present time issues. It explores identity, racism, and class stereotypes. It’ll make one ponder on the effect of racism on families, and the appearance of identities.
Bobby, a twenty-two-year-old biracial man, is hiding his identity since his childhood, for the fear of being differently treated or facing hatred for who he is. Bobby’s hesitation says a lot about society, and its behavior towards people with unique backgrounds, towards race, towards acceptance, and cultural conventions.
The narration switches back and forth from Bobby to Robert. Robert is a black doctor who was Bobby’s father. And there is Isabel, Bobby’s single white mother, wishing a better life for her son meantime holding on to her past.
The initial chapters pulled me right away into the book, and then I started turning pages rapidly, only to reach a heartbreaking end that I didn’t see was coming. It hooked me into the story from the start. It’s a quick thriller read, very much engaging, and enjoyable.

Although the book is set in the year 1995, it seems very fit for what we see happening around us even today. Race, racial prejudice, identity, radicalization and the violence it leads to, all are here in the novel.

Bobby is bi-racial who has been able to pass as white. He hasn't told his best friend Aaron either of his racial identity. But when Aaron is sent to prison, things change. Becaue prison will change Aaron.

Told through multiple perspectives, this is one of those books that will make you think hard as you read it. The multiple narrative voices add layers to the text and enrich it. A hard hitting novel of our times, Three Fifths is a must read. Thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Vertigo for the copy.

Three - Fifths has already been added to the five star group aka the best reads of this year list - an utterly sobering, shockingly captivating and brutally relevant read that will drum home the reality of aspects found in society, as well as a telling with personal nods back to John's own college story. Within the pages of this novel, you will find stereotypical beliefs, racism and prison radicalisation, as well as one man's struggle to embrace his identity publicly due to the fear that he will be seen, treated and stereotyped differently. Three - Fifths is a novel written during a backdrop of the OJ Simpson trial, when a rich African American was on trial for the violent murder of his Caucasian wife Nicole Brown. Across America this case has split communities into believers of OJ's innocence and believers of his guilt - coupled with the LA riots, it set for an increased tension between multi-ethnic communities that lead to demographic shifts, possibly increased radicalism.

So the stage of this story is set, we are taken to Pittsburg where three-fifths is told through various view points, a mother, a doctor and of course our main protagonist Bobby, who is biracial. Bobby's best friend, Aaron emerges from prison radicalized by the Brotherhood. The atmosphere between these two characters is taut, especially as Bobby begins to learn that his best friend isn't the comic-book geek who was originally sent to prison. As events take a drastic turn, both parties are binded together by a secret, with only one showing guilt and remorse, you know that it's going to come to a bubbling release. I was completely intoxicated by the atmosphere, setting, the period of time that Three - Fifths takes place, the way that the multiple view points become intagled within the same story is mesmerising, with the taste of danger just on the horizon. The diversity of the characters voices, their personal experiences in the world of racism whether felt in personal, familial or professional settings, they will shock you and create further depth of characterization, with further layers of the story.

John has created a hard-hitting debut that looks at both sides of racial radicalism, including the motives and brainwashing of the radical themselves. Three - Fifths is a book that should be read, there's a quote about whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light. I think Three-Fifths is a deeply personal and raw book that will soberly highlight issues, one that I think could be a book that helps people to understand perspectives and experiences - a book that could help open the door and allow in more light. A must read! An absolute read! Order it now!

Brilliantly written fast moving thriller that takes you on a rollocoster ride all an all a fantastic ride