{"product_id":"defiant-acts-paperback","title":"Defiant Acts - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Stewart III\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDrawing on the author's experiences, this debut novel follows an interracial blended family living in Chicago in the 1990s.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e James Stewart III's powerful debut novel documents the life of a working-class interracial couple and their children in a Chicago suburb in the early 1990s. The father, Jim, is a Black man married to Connie, a white woman with two white sons from a previous marriage. Connie and Jim have three more children together, and the entire family lives in a cramped two-bedroom apartment in a well-to-do, predominantly white community. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eDefiant Acts\u003c\/i\u003e follows the Stewarts through a year in which Jim fights to earn a promotion, the adolescent boys struggle to find themselves, one of the younger children becomes gravely ill, and the parents try to stay afloat in a shaky economy. Within the walls of the Stewarts' home, race doesn't factor, but when the family interacts with the outside world, it is inescapable, a basis for identity and inclusion as well as a spur for exclusion and abuse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Rooted in the tradition of Black authors from Chicago and drawing on the author's own experiences, \u003ci\u003eDefiant Acts\u003c\/i\u003e eschews a conventional plot, presenting a series of captured moments--past and present--and multiple perspectives to build a mosaic of the family's lives. In clear, concise prose, Stewart focuses on the complexities of human relationships and on race relations both in and outside the domestic space, placing emphasis on the values that bind this tight-knit family together: solidarity, care, and hope.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames Stewart III\u003c\/b\u003e is a Black writer whose work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including \u003ci\u003eLampblack, Zone 3, Midwest Review, The Forge\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003e580 Split\u003c\/i\u003e. He is a cofounder of the reading series Exhibit B and board president of the Guild Literary Complex. Stewart lives with his wife and daughter at the end of DuSable Lake Shore Drive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 192\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.71 x 8.43 x 5.51 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 17, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43156819443775,"sku":"9781946724892","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/vX0MYF0OGq9781946724892.webp?v=1776975491","url":"https:\/\/dhl-adrianne.myshopify.com\/products\/defiant-acts-paperback","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}