-
See Our Best Book
Club Books of 2026!
A gripping, elegant debut novel about a young Black man caught between worlds of race and class, glamour and tragedy, a friend's mysterious death and his own arrest, from an electrifying new voice.
An arrest for cocaine possession on the last day of a sweltering New York summer leaves Smith, a queer Black Stanford graduate, in a state of turmoil. Pulled into the court system and mandated treatment, he finds himself in an absurd but dangerous situation: his class protects him, but his race does not.
It's just weeks after the death of his beloved roommate Elle, the daughter of a famous soul singer, and he's still reeling from the tabloid spectacle—as well as lingering questions around how well he really knew his closest friend. He flees to his hometown of Atlanta, only to buckle under the weight of expectations from his family of doctors and lawyers and their history in America. But when Smith returns to New York, it's not long before he begins to lose himself to his old life—drawn back into the city's underworld, where his search for answers may end up costing him his freedom and his future.
Smith goes on a dizzying journey through the nightlife circuit, anonymous recovery rooms, Atlanta's Black society set, police investigations and courtroom dramas, and a circle of friends coming of age in a new era. Great Black Hope is a propulsive, glittering story about what it means to exist between worlds, to be upwardly mobile yet spiraling downward, and how to find a way back to hope.
"Smart, scintillating… Subjects that might make for solemn reading are rendered thoroughly absorbing by the author's radiant prose and razor-sharp observations. A captivating novel of dissolution and redemption." ―Kirkus Reviews(starred review)
"[R]adiant...What makes the novel really shine, however, is Franklin's deeply perceptive view into Smith's self-appraisal...Readers will be rapt." —Publishers Weekly
"If Tom Wolfe, Jay McInerney, and Margo Jefferson somehow collaborated, this might have been the delightful result." —The Atlantic
"Rob Franklin's debut novel, Great Black Hope, is a masterpiece– at once fresh and original while delighting the reader with hints of Franzen, McInerny, Baldwin. The specificity of the language is like fine lacework, a beauty to behold. This novel – a whodunit, a coming-of-age, a New York novel – heralds the arrival of a rarefied talent. Wow wow wow." ―Elin Hilderbrand, author of Swan Song
"What a marvel to discover a voice so authentic, urgent, and undeniable. Great Black Hope is a rare thing: a coming-of-age novel that examines the individual as well as the complex systems that shape his life. An intensely intimate yet expansive work of art." ―Tania James, author of Loot
"The precision and ecstasy of Rob Franklin's prose had me entranced. Great Black Hope marks the arrival of a breathtakingly talented writer." ―Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning
This information about Great Black Hope was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Rob Franklin is a writer of fiction and poetry, and a cofounder of Art for Black Lives. A Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and finalist for the New England Review Emerging Writer Award, he has published work in New England Review, Prairie Schooner, and The Rumpus among others. Franklin lives in Brooklyn, New York, and teaches writing at the School of Visual Arts. Great Black Hope is his first novel.
The Sister's Curse
by Nicola Solvinic
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
by Chanel Cleeton
The Vanishing Place
by Zoë Rankin
 (1).gif)
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
