James McBride's "The Good Lord Bird"

Over the weekend I finally finished James McBride's "The Good Lord Bird," which won a National Book Award for fiction in 2013. It's the closest book I've ever read to "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," which might be my favorite novel. The story -- about a young male slave who takes up with abolitionist John Brown by posing as a girl -- might superficially seem absurd. But the voice of the character -- Henry/Henrietta, or Onion as Brown calls him -- is alternately sage, knowing, silly, humorous, immature, stubborn and frightened. All the things young people are between the ages of 12-14.
I interviewed Mr. McBride today for a story that will be published later this month in the Tribune-Review. Look for it before his appearance on Sept. 22 as a guest of Pittsburgh Arts &  Lectures.