PanThe Philadelphia InquirerAdd a silly romance angle, underdeveloped characters, and subplots that go nowhere, and what do you have? You have Amiable with Big Teeth, a recently discovered novel by the Harlem Renaissance standout Claude McKay. It's a complex book that should have been published in 1941, when it was written ... McKay evidently fell ill while writing it. Had he not, perhaps the writing would have been solid enough for present-day readers to read it for enjoyment and learn about the Ethiopia-Harlem movement in the process. But it's not. And unless you're a big Claude McKay fan, or specifically want to learn about Harlem's Ethiopia movement, this is a novel you might want to give a pass.
