In "Our Time," John Wideman bravely dives into the pits of a scorpion society - one that juxtaposes the poor and minorities with the rich and people in power - in an attempt to understand how society affects the lives of each individual in its clutches. Wideman's path is angular to that of his brother, Robby's. They both start off in the same situation, same locale, but their paths stray off to different ends. Wideman attempts to find an explanation for why he was allowed to become successful and his brother, Robby, was sentenced to imprisonment. Wideman's own success and dealing with his own adversaries may not be as blunt as his brother's plight, but it cements the fact that a society can clutch an individual in its claws and hold him or her submissive to its wills - much like a scorpion traps its...