It's a pleasure, occasionally, to get away from the mayhem, violence and mania that are so vividly depicted in much of today's fiction; and Al Young's "Sitting Pretty" provides just such an opportunity. In this novel, Young introduces Sidney J. Prettymon, a.k.a., Sitting Pretty or just Sit—one of the most charming and engaging characters I've encountered in some time….

There is almost no plot, to speak of, in this tale. Young's first-person narrative just rolls easily along, and the feeling is that the story could have begun or ended almost anywhere. What happens is that one simply listens and watches as Sit moves through the normal routine of his life….

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book. In Sitting Pretty, Al Young presents a character who in many ways reminds one of Jesse B. Semple, Langston Hughes's unforgettable creation, except that Sit is less a caricature...