The Hit

Well-plotted, extremely perceptive. — Kirkus Reviews

In Harlem of the 1950s, the age-old dream of sudden wealth centers on the numbers game. Hubert Cooley, an avid gambler, would do anything to get enough money to place a bet. For him, the possibility of a hit represents the solution to everything that’s wrong with his life and the chance to escape from his demeaning job as a superintendent, from the pressures of family life, and from Harlem itself.

This compelling novel traces a day in the life of Hubert and his family, from its ordinary start to its increasingly dramatic episodes of conflict, violence, and disillusionment. Author Julian Mayfield was a distinguished interpreter of the Black experience in fiction, journalism, theater, and cinema. His vivid and compassionate tale of ghetto life portrays not only its pitfalls but also the redemptive possibilities to be found in self-knowledge and the recognition of human truths.