Cover Image: Jake Lamar signing a copy of Viper's Dream
© Entrée to Black Paris

Four years ago, Jake Lamar granted Entrée to Black Paris an exclusive interview about his 10-episode radio drama entitled Viper's Dream.  At the time, Lamar indicated that his novel of the same name would be published in French by Rivages Noir in 2020.  Publication was delayed until 2021, and the novel was well received.

Viper's Dream has now been published in English.  No Exit Press, an imprint of Bedford Square Publishers Ltd. in London, released the book last month. They are the first English-language house to publish Lamar's work since his novel Ghosts of Saint Michel was released by St. Martin's Minotaur in New York in 2006.

Lamar has been featured at two book signings in Paris since No Exit Press released Viper's Dream - one at The Red Wheelbarrow bookstore and one at the American Library in Paris.

I got to see him at the latter event, which took place on May 3, 2023.

Signage at the American Library
© Entrée to Black Paris

Lamar was interviewed by Marcus Bruce, Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies in the Religious Studies Department at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. 

Marcus Bruce (left) and Jake Lamar (right) being introduced to the audience
© Entrée to Black Paris

Watching the two men banter was heartwarming, and their exchange made the book come alive for those seated in the audience at the library as well as those who tuned in through Zoom.

Enraptured audience at the American Library
© Entrée to Black Paris

Bruce obviously loved Viper's Dream's protagonist, Clyde Morton - The Viper, citing times during his reading of the book when he was inspired to reflect on his own life as Morton struggled to write three wishes to be instantly granted, or when he willed Morton "not to go there" when he saw that Morton was falling hard for Yo-Yo, the young femme fatale of the novel.

Marcus Bruce holding a copy of Three Wishes
by Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter
© Entrée to Black Paris

The Viper is one of the millions of African Americans who left the South for a better life, landing in Harlem in 1936 with the intent to become a jazz trumpeter.  While his hopes of becoming a musician are dashed on his second day in town, he is immediately introduced to life in the fast lane and seduced by the effects of "Mexican loco weed." 

Viper becomes a "principled gangster" who supplies marijuana to jazz men with the intent to heighten their creativity and performing ability while thoroughly disapproving of the destructive inroads that heroin carves in their community.  His rise in the criminal world is swift, and we watch him negotiate life among the musicians he loves and the dealers he despises.

During the course of their conversation, Bruce engaged Lamar about the depth and breadth of U.S. history and culture woven into Viper's story.  The Great Migration, World War II, jazz culture, and the multi-ethnic population of Manhattan all serve as backdrop for the plot, which takes place largely in Harlem.

Paris gets a nod in the book when Viper travels to the City of Light to make business arrangements for importing marijuana from Thailand into the States.  He goes to a Saint-Germain jazz club and discovers Yo-Yo singing there. The two finally become romantically involved after all the years Viper has pined for her, and they return to the U.S. together.

But the lovers become star-crossed again.  You'll have to read the book to find out how!

Bruce and Lamar spoke for about 45 minutes and Lamar responded to questions from the audience for an additional 15 minutes or so before moving to the reception area of the library to sign books.

Jake Lamar at book signing table
© Entrée to Black Paris

 Conversation at the table was lively and sales were brisk.

Chatting and signing books
© Entrée to Black Paris

Viper's Dream is a quick and thoroughly enjoyable read.  It is available for purchase at:

The Red Wheelbarrow
11 rue de Medicis and 9 rue de Medicis
75006 Paris
Telephone: 01.42.01.81.47.
Metro: Odéon (Lines 4 and 10), RER B (Luxembourg)
Internet: https://theredwheelbarrowbookstore.com/