In The Soul Brothers and Sister Lou, Hunter creates a realistic and compelling picture of life in the inner city.

Hunter's carefully selected images and symbols evoke a complex world in which poverty, violence, and despair dominate the landscape. As a means of coping with these persistent features of their environment, many residents join youth gangs or storefront churches. By controlling certain sections of their neighborhood through verbal and physical intimidation, the gangs offer frustrated teen-agers a tempting illusion of power.

Ironically, the gangs' influence does not extend to their most potent adversary, the white power structure. For many older blacks, the church, with its promise of a glorious life after death, also represents a desirable escape from the unpleasant realities of their surroundings. Lou's mother is one of countless such people who immerse themselves in religion as they strive to make sense of their narrow...