A Peculiar Legacy by Rashid Darden
Winner, 2025 North Street Book Prize, Mainstream/Literary Fiction
The silence of a spiritual community is shattered by the murder of one of their own.
Jordan and Rahman Gaffney-Bruce, newly married men, move into the eccentric Washington neighborhood known as Slope to start building a life together. Built precariously on a hill, Slope is home to descendants of the Great Migration and is now a lower-middle-class Black community trapped in a cycle of spiritual depression.
In the midst of this community, the Gaffney Bruces gather with the other residents every Sunday in quiet prayer and contemplation, in hopes that their collective dreams will be realized: To be seen. To be known. To thrive—on their own terms.
Alongside them is Pops, the quiet old man who has seen it all; Miss Sandra, the matriarch and maven of Sunday dinners; Royce, one of the few good cops left; and the Gang of Four—soft-spoken Peek, angry Korey, flamboyant Ziggy, and Gino, the natural leader.
When one of the youths is felled by gun violence, generations-old secrets threaten to unravel the serenity of this peculiar community.
With diverse queer representation and distinctive character voices, this novel demonstrates the power of empathy and forgiveness.
—From the critique by Jendi Reiter, final judge of the North Street Book Prize
His story and characters are funny, poignant, illuminating, surprising, tragic, bawdy, and redemptive. I wept reading the last chapter.
—Steve Chase, author of Letters to a Fellow Seeker: A Short Introduction to the Quaker Way
Rashid Darden's A Peculiar Legacy pulled me into a world where history and mysticism intertwine, long-held traditions echo across generations, and tenderness emerges in the most unexpected places. Set against a backdrop of risk and revelation, Darden crafts a novel as bold as it is immersive. This book lingers long after the final page—unsettling, moving, and utterly original.
—Peterson Toscano, performance artist, storyteller, and co-host of the Quakers Today podcast
