"Petry is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we
need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment." -(Tayari Jones,
author of An American Marriage)
A rare, previously unpublished short story by Ann Petry (1908-1997),
one of America's most distinguished African American writers.
On a snowy Christmas Eve in an unnamed American city, the archangel
Michael wanders the streets. He is alone and hungry, his clothes
tattered, and when he sees his face reflected in a store window, it is
that of a young African American boy. Who will offer him food and
shelter and who will turn him away? And when he becomes a blonde,
freckle-faced child, is his fate different? Ann Petry's beautiful fable
reveals all her gifts as a storyteller and a sage.