Visits, p. 4-19 Summary

Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman centers on the relationship between John, the narrator and an educated, black professional, and Robby, his youngest brother. Robby serves a life sentence in prison. The book focuses on John's visits to the prison and how both brothers describe how they ended up on such different paths in life.

John, the narrator, receives a call from his mother. She says that his youngest brother, Robby, and two friends murdered a man in a botched robbery attempt. Robby is wanted for armed robbery and murder. He is a fugitive because he fled the scene. The robbery took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the family's hometown and where the family still lives, except for John, who lives in Laramie, Wyoming. Even though John is two thousand miles away from Robby, he still feels Robby is...