Capturing all the rueful irony and racial ambivalence of small-town Mississippi in the late 1950s, Melinda Haynes' celebrated novel is a wholly unforgettable exploration of family, identity and redemption. "Mother of Pearl" revolves around twenty-eight-year-old Even Grade, a black man who grew up an orphan and Valuable Korner, the fifteen-year-old white daughter of the town whore and an unknown father. Both are passionately determined to discover the precious things neither experienced as children: human connection, enduring commitment and above all, unconditional love. A startlingly accomplished mixture of beauty, mystery, and tragedy, "Mother of Pearl" marks the debut of an extraordinary literary talent.