MOLI VIEW™

Tracie Howard may have more empathy for the so-called gold digger than the average woman, but she mos def gives a damn about how the other half lives. During last weekend's Miami Book Fair International, the author carved out time and space for me at a crowded post-reading dais. This, despite my being two hours late, squinting at her sketchily through bleary eyes, and rocking an inherited and too-tight John Deere T-shirt.

Gold Diggers, Howard's sixth novel, looks at four black New York women — one of whom hooks up with a jock bound for professional glory — in their quests to gain admission to the Good Life. It seemed a solid idea to hit Howard up for a take on one of sport's historically compelling peripheral issues, one that reaches across the racial spectrum.

Is the idea of the gold digger who preys on the professional athlete an overblown cliché?

Athletes in general are just a huge target, and a lot of women make it their business to be in that circle. Some of them just hope to get a one-night stand, to say "I was with this guy." Maybe they'll get a little trinket. Maybe they'll end up being their mistresses. Some end up being their wives. You can look at all of them and ask, "When does gold-digging start and stop?"

Previous Page  1  2  Next Page