Ash Dark as Night

Ash Dark as Night by Gary Phillips (2024) 295pp
You know you are getting older when you read historical fiction that you lived through. Phillips has set his novel in the heart of LA in 1965 in what has been deemed the Watts Riots. The protagonist, Harry Ingram, is in the middle of the action as the insurrection takes place and in his job as a lone African-American photojournalist he describes a variety of incidents, looting, burning and shooting, culminating in his photographing the murder by police of a young activist. On a personal note, I was a photojournalist in the 1970s and found myself in a few, albeit minor, civil disturbances similar to those described in the book, Phillips’ description of the mayhem and uncertainty reflects my experience. I remember the march of the police phalanx as it confronted “rioters” and the need to seek shelter as night fell and cars burned. One dubious detail is the description of photo equipment used by Ingram. I found it unlikely that he would use a large format press camera in a such a tense environment. In his defense though, he does use the sheet-film camera as a plot element in a true-to-life scenario. Following the riot, Ingram, after surviving a brutal beating, becomes involved in a noir mystery tracking down a missing person and unraveling a knot of corruption. Many characters are introduced, including his love interest, a no-nonsense woman with a number of secrets and a fascinating back story. This fictional re-telling of the infamous incident takes the point-of-view of the people living in the area and reflects a narrative untold in the main-stream media of the era.