Summary

In “The Voice,” Al and his friends had a singing group called the Expressions. They “sang gospel and blues all over Harlem” (296). Then one day, one of their group members, Spencer, “got sick” and died (296). After the funeral, the boys were unsure what to do with themselves. They were supposed to see Arnold audition to replace Spencer. On their way to Arnold’s, they encountered a rabbi and a preacher. Because of Spencer’s death, the boys were questioning God. The rabbi and preacher gave them their interpretations of who God was. At Arnold’s, the boys sang “The Hills of Love” (309). Together, they made “one voice” (309).

In “Thalia,” the narrator writes “a book of songs” for his absent lover, Thalia (311). Wherever he goes he sees her. While at a lounge, he encounters a group of girls. Thalia’s...