Hiding Place (Wideman novel)
Hiding Place is a novel by American writer John Edgar Wideman, set in Pittsburgh during the 1970s. It was first published in 1981 by Avon Books in New York, with a London edition released in 1984 by Allison & Busby.
The story follows Tommy, a character who also appears in Wideman’s short-story collection Damballah. After taking part in a bungled smash-and-grab that leaves a dead man in a parking lot, Tommy hides out with Mother Bess, a wild, elderly woman who lives in Homewood, a predominantly African-American neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s East End.
Elements of Tommy’s life parallel Wideman’s own brother Robbie, a theme Wideman explores further in his memoir Brothers and Keepers (1984).
Hiding Place is considered by some critics to be the middle work of The Homewood Trilogy, which also includes Damballah and Sent for You Yesterday. In 1992, the University of Pittsburgh Press published all three volumes together in a single edition titled The Homewood Books. Wideman has said he dislikes labeling the books a formal trilogy because he did not intend them to be connected in that way.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:04 (CET).