John Vercher's "After the Lights Go Out"

John Vercher lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons. He has a Bachelor’s in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program. He is a contributing writer for WBUR Boston’s Cognoscenti, and NPR features his essays on race, identity, and parenting. His debut novel, Three-Fifths, was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Tribune, CrimeReads, and Booklist. It was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Strand Magazine Critics’ Awards for Best First Novel.

Here Vercher dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, After the Lights Go Out:

As a film and television fanatic, I tend to think cinematically when writing a book. For me that means envisioning the actors who I think could embody my main characters on the screen. This was especially true for the After the Lights Go Out. Who’s here I would love to see in the main roles.

Jesse Williams as Xavier “Scarecrow” Wallace – Williams would bring both the physicality and nuance to Xavier’s challenges of his deteriorating mind and body.

Brian Tyree Henry as Shemar “Shot” Tracy – I’m a huge fan of the show Atlanta and my love for it almost all centered on Henry’s portrayal of Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles. He is equal parts subtle and explosive, and I can’t picture anyone else playing Shot, the cousin Xavier loves and fears in nearly equal measure.

Viola Davis as Evelyn Wallace – I’m not sure this needs any explanation. Davis is a powerhouse, and she would bring an incredible amount of gravitas to the role of Evelyn, a woman unfairly and incorrectly maligned by her son, Xavier.

Bryan Cranston as Sam Wallace – Breaking Bad demonstrated Cranston’s ability to shift gears from complicatedly endearing to volatile and loathsome—the same qualities present in Xavier’s father, Sam, as he loses his faculties (and his filters) to end-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

Visit John Vercher's website.

Q&A with John Vercher.

--Marshal Zeringue