Leonid McGill, Walter Mosley’s ‘post-black’ hero, returns

And although he’s a man of the 21st century, Leonid is also something of a throwback to the hardboiled tradition of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, a private eye who keeps office hours and approaches the well-heeled lair of a rich client with the skepticism and class resentment of Philip Marlowe arriving at the Sternwood mansion on the first page of “The Big Sleep.” “Maybe Leonid is a throwback in literature, but I’m not sure he is in the culture,” Mosley says. “I’m not sure he doesn’t exist, which is a good thing, because maybe we’re in need of that kind of hero today.”

We’re also in need, from Mosley’s perspective, of more people with Leonid’s politics — which are as progressive as those of the author, known for his left-wing political essays and membership on the board of the Nation. In part because of their historical and sociological content, his books are popular with politicians — not just Democrats such as Clinton but also conservatives such as Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who once surprised Mosley by asking him to autograph an advance reader’s copy — known in the trade as an ARC — of one of the Easy Rawlins books.

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(courtesy of Riverhead/ COURTESY OF RIVERHEAD ) - ’The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ by Walter Mosley

“I was lobbying for the National Endowment for the Arts in D.C. and the senator had one of my ARCs,” Mosley recalls. “That was kind of shocking, because you would think that my politics and Mr. Hatch’s are on different sides of the universe. As it turns out, a wide range of politicians identify with Easy because he’s a solitary man, and his politics are expressed by how he lives his life, not who he votes for or what party he belongs to.”

Leonid’s politics manifest themselves primarily in his persistent suspicion of authority in all its forms, especially when it tries to foist itself on him. “I’ll have to ask you for your phone,” an officious executive tells him. “More than that,” he answers. “You’ll have to take it.” Later, a special investigator unwisely tries to strong-arm him with an attack on Zella as a “criminal” who “should be in prison.” It’s the wrong thing to say. “I knew corporate America had its own private police force,” Leonid shoots back, “but I didn’t realize that they now have commoditized the justice system too.”

There’s that chip again. Post-black or no, Leonid McGill lets it fall where it may.

Walter Mosley’s

complete works

Here’s the list of books from Walter Mosley’s prolific career.

The Easy Rawlins mysteries

“Blonde Faith” — 2007

“Cinnamon Kiss ” — 2005

“Little Scarlet” — 2004

“Six Easy Pieces” — 2003

“Bad Boy Brawly Brown” — 2002

“Gone Fishin’ ” — 1997

“A Little Yellow Dog” — 1996

“Black Betty” — 1994

“White Butterfly” — 1992

“A Red Death” — 1991

“Devil in a Blue Dress” — 1990

Other Fiction

“All I Did Was Shoot My Man” — 2012

“When the Thrill Is Gone” — 2011

“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” — 2010

“Known to Evil” — 2010

“The Long Fall” — 2009

“The Tempest Tales” — 2008

“Diablerie” — 2008

“The Right Mistake” — 2008

“Killing Johnny Fry” — 2007

“Fear of the Dark” — 2006

“Fortunate Son” — 2006

“The Wave” — 2006

“47” — 2005

“The Man in My Basement” — 2004

“Fear Itself” — 2003

“Futureland” — 2001

“Fearless Jones” — 2001

“Walkin’ the Dog” — 1999

Blue Light — 1998

“Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned” — 1998

“RL’s Dream” — 1995

Nonfiction

“Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation” — 2011

“This Year You Write Your Novel” — 2007

“Life Out of Context” — 2006

“What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace” — 2003

“Workin’ on the Chain Gang” — 2000

From www.waltermosley.com

Nance is a freelance writer.

Walter Mosley

will be doing a reading and booksigning at 7 p.m., Tuesday at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-364-1919. www.politics-prose.com.