A Novel by Percival Everett - Monk Ellison is a Black writer frustrated that a stereotypical novel about life in the inner city becomes a bestseller while his own serious work is repeatedly rejected. As a joke, he writes a parody of these exploitative stories under a fake name, but publishers mistake it for an authentic voice and turn it into a huge success. Suddenly famous, Monk must decide how far he's willing to go to maintain the deception.