In Knucklehead we meet Marcus Hayes, a black law student who struggles, sometimes unsuccessfully, with the impulse to confront everyday bad behavior with swift and antisocial action. The cause of this impulse is unknown to him.
When Marcus unexpectedly becomes involved with the brilliant and kind Amalia Stewart, her love and acceptance pacify his demons. But when his demons return, he is no longer inclined to contain them.
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“By setting his novel in the ’90s, Smyer, who lives in Oakland, has crafted some brutal deja vu. As [protagonist] Marcus reflects on Rodney King, the Million Man March, and the Oklahoma City bombing, we think of Freddie Gray, Black Lives Matter, and school shootings that have become a way of life. And when Marcus laments San Francisco’s dwindling black population, here we are more than twenty years on, and it’s only gotten worse. We should all be furious.”
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San Francisco Chronicle