"An ode to Chicago, Kenya, and soul music as humanity's worldwide hum... [a] remarkable and groundbreaking novel." - Colorado Review
Ndiya Grayson returns to her hometown of Chicago as a young professional, but even her high-end job in a law office can't protect her from half-repressed memories of childhood trauma. One evening, vulnerable and emotionally disarrayed, she goes out and meets Shame Luther.
Luther is a no-nonsense construction worker by day and a self-taught piano player by night. The love story that ensues propels them on an unforgettable journey from Chicago's South Side to the coast of Kenya as they navigate the turbulence of long-buried pasts and an uncertain future.
A stirring novel tuned to the clash between soul music's vision of our essential responsibility to each other and a world that breaks us down and tears us apart, Another Kind of Madness is an indelible tale of human connection.
"In prose by turns lyrical and mesmerizing, Pavlic taps deeply into what it means to be Black in America, tossing in some surprising narrative tricks along the way." - Booklist