A beautiful collection of short stories that explores blacks and whites today, Elbow Room is alive with warmth and humor. Bold and very real, these twelve stories examine a world we all know but find difficult to define.

Whether a story dashes the bravado of young street toughs or pierces through the self-deception of a failed preacher, challenges the audacity of a killer or explodes the jealousy of two lovers, James Alan McPherson has created an array of haunting images and memorable characters in an unsurpassed collection of honest, masterful fiction. "Twelve deeply felt stories about an extraordinarily various group of black Americans. Mr. McPherson is one of those rare writers who can tell a story describe shadings of character, and make sociological observations with equal subtlety."

The New Yorker