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Title details for Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - Available

Friday Black

Stories

by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Corey Allen
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
PEN/Jean Stein Award
Carnegie Medal
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The acclaimed debut collection from the author of Chain Gang All Stars; a piercingly raw and, at times, heartbreakingly satirical look at what it's like to be young and Black in America.
From the start of this extraordinary debut, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's writing will grab you, haunt you, enrage and invigorate you. By placing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, Adjei-Brenyah reveals the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities that Black men and women contend with every day in this country.
These stories tackle urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest, and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world.
  • In "The Finkelstein Five," Adjei-Brenyah gives us an unforgettable reckoning of the brutal prejudice of our justice system.
  • In "Zimmer Land," we see a far-too-easy-to-believe imagining of racism as sport.
  • "Friday Black" and "How to Sell a Jacket as Told by Ice King" show the horrors of consumerism and the toll it takes on us all.
    Entirely fresh in its style and perspective, and sure to appeal to fans of Colson Whitehead, Marlon James, and George Saunders, Friday Black confronts readers with a complicated, insistent, wrenching chorus of emotions, the final note of which, remarkably, is hope.
    "An unbelievable debut, one that announces a new and necessary American voice."—New York Times Book Review

    • Creators

    • Publisher

    • Awards

    • Release date

      October 23, 2018

    • Formats

      • OverDrive Listen audiobook

        • ISBN: 9781980002819
        • File size: 205749 KB
        • Duration: 07:08:38

    • Languages

      • English

    • Reviews

      • Publisher's Weekly

        Starred review from July 9, 2018
        Adjei-Brenyah dissects the dehumanizing effects of capitalism and racism in this debut collection of stingingly satirical stories. The arguments that exonerate a white man for brutally murdering five black children with a chainsaw in “The Finkelstein 5” highlight the absurdity of America’s broken criminal justice system. “Zimmer Land” imagines a future entertainment park where players enter an augmented reality to hunt terrorists or shoot intruders played by minority actors. The title story is one of several set in a department store where the store’s best salesman learns to translate the incomprehensible grunts of vicious, insatiable Black Friday shoppers. He returns in “How to Sell a Jacket as Told by IceKing” to be passed over for a promotion despite his impeccable record. Some stories take a narrower focus, such as “The Lion & the Spider,” in which a high school senior has to take a demanding job to keep money flowing into his family’s house after his father’s disappearance. In “Light Spitter,” a school shooting results in both the victim and gunman stuck in a shared purgatory. “Through the Flash” spins a dystopian Groundhog Day in which victims of an unexplained weapon relive a single day and resort to extreme violence to cope. Adjei-Brenyah has put readers on notice: his remarkable range, ingenious premises, and unflagging, momentous voice make this a first-rate collection. Agent: Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, DeFiore and Company.

      • AudioFile Magazine
        Narrators Corey Allen and Carra Patterson perform this collection of powerful stories, most of which are set in a believable future, although some are speculative or dystopian fiction. Allen narrates the bulk of the pieces, giving the prose a free-verse style and letting the author's words and the characters' emotions rise to the surface. Patterson delivers the final two stories in a voice that is world-weary yet tinted with a drop of optimism. The themes include the power divide, minimum-wage work, racism, education, and the consequences of ethical decisions. The strength of these stories lies in how they reflect contemporary society and connect listeners to the characters' journeys. Allen's performance is near perfect, and Patterson's work is equally impressive. C.B.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

    Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

    subjects

    Languages

    • English

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