-
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Nile Bullock, Sidik Fofana, Dominic Hoffman, DePre Owens, André Santana, Bahni Turpin, Jade Wheeler
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
SELECTED FOR THE RUSA 2023 LISTEN LIST FOR OUTSTANDING AUDIOBOOK NARRATION!
WINNER of the Gotham Book Prize * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award, and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence * Longlisted for the Story Prize
Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Chicago Review of Books, LitHub, and Electric Lit
“A standout achievement…American speech is an underused commodity in contemporary fiction and it’s a joy to find such a vital example of it here.”—The Wall Street Journal
From a superb new literary talent, a rich, lyrical collection of stories about a tight-knit cast of characters grappling with their own personal challenges while the forces of gentrification threaten to upend life as they know it.
At Banneker Terrace, everybody knows everybody, or at least knows of them. Longtime tenants’ lives are entangled together in the ups and downs of the day-to-day, for better or for worse. The neighbors in the unit next door are friends or family, childhood rivals or enterprising business partners. In other words, Harlem is home. But the rent is due, and the clock of gentrification—never far from anyone’s mind—is ticking louder now than ever.
In eight interconnected stories, Sidik Fofana conjures a residential community under pressure. There is Swan, in apartment 6B, whose excitement about his friend’s release from prison jeopardizes the life he’s been trying to lead. Mimi, in apartment 14D, hustles to raise the child she had with Swan, waitressing at Roscoe’s and doing hair on the side. And Quanneisha B. Miles, in apartment 21J, is a former gymnast with a good education who wishes she could leave Banneker for good, but can’t seem to escape the building’s gravitational pull. We root for the tight-knit cast of characters as they weave in and out of one another’s narratives, working to escape their pasts and blaze new paths forward for themselves and the people they love. All the while we brace, as they do, for the challenges of a rapidly shifting future.
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs brilliantly captures the joy and pain of the human experience in this “singular accomplishment from a writer to watch” (Library Journal, starred review).
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Gone Like Yesterday
- A Novel
- By: Janelle M. Williams
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gone Like Yesterday follows two Black women—Zahra, a listless college prep coach, and Sammie, a teenage girl and budding activist soon off to college—who are drawn to each other through the songs of gypsy moths. Gypsy moths have been singing the songs of Zahra’s ancestors to her for years, so when Zahra realizes that Sammie might be a moth person too, their paths become intertwined. Then, the unthinkable happens: Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing.
-
-
This novel is definitely “ALRIGHT”… it’s relatable and intriguing!
- By Teni-Ola Ogunjobi on 09-08-23
-
Never Meant to Meet You
- A Novel
- By: Alli Frank, Asha Youmans
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When tragedy strikes Marjette’s street, and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school with an uncle who has all the class moms aflutter, Marjette is forced to contend with both her neighbor and her own heartache over losing the life she once thought was guaranteed.
-
-
A good story of friendship
- By Darlin on 01-31-23
By: Alli Frank, and others
-
Dead Letters from Paradise
- By: Ann McMan
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One sunny Spring morning, EJ's simple life is turned upside down when the town's master gardener unceremoniously hands her a stack of handwritten letters that have all been addressed to a nonexistent person at the garden. This simple act sets in motion a chain of events that will lead EJ on a life-altering quest to uncover the identity of the mysterious letter writer―and into a surprising head-on confrontation with the harsh realities of the racial injustice that is as deeply rooted in the life of her community as the ancient herbs cultivated in the Moravian garden.
-
-
Perfection
- By AGC on 09-08-22
By: Ann McMan
-
Honor
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past.
-
-
Wow.
- By Robert Bryant on 01-19-22
By: Thrity Umrigar
-
Wake
- The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
- By: Rebecca Hall, Tyler English-Beckwith - adapter
- Narrated by: DeWanda Wise, Chanté Adams, Jerrie Johnson, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women warriors planned and led slave revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage. They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas, and then they were erased from history. Wake tells the story of Dr. Rebecca Hall, a historian, granddaughter of slaves, and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery. The accepted history of slave revolts has always said that enslaved women were not involved, but Rebecca decides to look deeper.
-
-
Not what I expected
- By Earlene Doll on 01-05-23
By: Rebecca Hall, and others
-
Nowhere Girl
- A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood
- By: Cheryl Diamond
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.
-
-
As Diamond said in an interview, “It is a horrific story at times, but also absolutely magical.”
- By Teela Klekotka on 02-11-23
By: Cheryl Diamond
-
Gone Like Yesterday
- A Novel
- By: Janelle M. Williams
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gone Like Yesterday follows two Black women—Zahra, a listless college prep coach, and Sammie, a teenage girl and budding activist soon off to college—who are drawn to each other through the songs of gypsy moths. Gypsy moths have been singing the songs of Zahra’s ancestors to her for years, so when Zahra realizes that Sammie might be a moth person too, their paths become intertwined. Then, the unthinkable happens: Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing.
-
-
This novel is definitely “ALRIGHT”… it’s relatable and intriguing!
- By Teni-Ola Ogunjobi on 09-08-23
-
Never Meant to Meet You
- A Novel
- By: Alli Frank, Asha Youmans
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When tragedy strikes Marjette’s street, and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school with an uncle who has all the class moms aflutter, Marjette is forced to contend with both her neighbor and her own heartache over losing the life she once thought was guaranteed.
-
-
A good story of friendship
- By Darlin on 01-31-23
By: Alli Frank, and others
-
Dead Letters from Paradise
- By: Ann McMan
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One sunny Spring morning, EJ's simple life is turned upside down when the town's master gardener unceremoniously hands her a stack of handwritten letters that have all been addressed to a nonexistent person at the garden. This simple act sets in motion a chain of events that will lead EJ on a life-altering quest to uncover the identity of the mysterious letter writer―and into a surprising head-on confrontation with the harsh realities of the racial injustice that is as deeply rooted in the life of her community as the ancient herbs cultivated in the Moravian garden.
-
-
Perfection
- By AGC on 09-08-22
By: Ann McMan
-
Honor
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past.
-
-
Wow.
- By Robert Bryant on 01-19-22
By: Thrity Umrigar
-
Wake
- The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts
- By: Rebecca Hall, Tyler English-Beckwith - adapter
- Narrated by: DeWanda Wise, Chanté Adams, Jerrie Johnson, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women warriors planned and led slave revolts on slave ships during the Middle Passage. They fought their enslavers throughout the Americas, and then they were erased from history. Wake tells the story of Dr. Rebecca Hall, a historian, granddaughter of slaves, and a woman haunted by the legacy of slavery. The accepted history of slave revolts has always said that enslaved women were not involved, but Rebecca decides to look deeper.
-
-
Not what I expected
- By Earlene Doll on 01-05-23
By: Rebecca Hall, and others
-
Nowhere Girl
- A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood
- By: Cheryl Diamond
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time she was in her teens, Diamond had lived dozens of lives and lies, but as she grew older, love and trust turned to fear and violence, and her family—the only people she had in the world—began to unravel. She started to realize that her life itself might be a big con, and the people she loved, the most dangerous of all. With no way out and her identity burned so often that she had no proof she even existed, all that was left was a girl from nowhere.
-
-
As Diamond said in an interview, “It is a horrific story at times, but also absolutely magical.”
- By Teela Klekotka on 02-11-23
By: Cheryl Diamond
-
Lucky Turtle
- By: Bill Roorbach
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When sixteen-year-old Cindra Zoeller is sent to a reform camp in Montana after being involved in an armed robbery, she is thrust into a world of mountains and cowboys and prayers and miscreants and people from all walks of life like she’s never seen in suburban Massachusetts. At Camp Challenge, she becomes transfixed by Lucky, a camp employee of mysterious origin—an origin of constant speculation—and the chemistry between them is instant, and profound. The pair escape together into the wilderness to create an idyllic life far from the reach of the law.
-
-
Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By Tricolor on 05-06-22
By: Bill Roorbach
-
Imposter
- By: Bradeigh Godfrey
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lilian and Rosie were once the closest of sisters, but the untimely death of their parents pulled them apart. Now, three years on, Rosie has reached out to her big sister, asking to meet. Driving on an icy road in the middle of a snowstorm, Rosie admits that she has something important to tell Lilian—a secret she describes as a matter of life and death. But before she has a chance to tell Lilian, a car careens into theirs, with devastating consequences. Lilian is convinced that someone deliberately rammed Rosie’s car. But why?
-
-
AWFUL!! These good reviews are mind blowing - so slow & boring
- By Jessica on 09-23-22
By: Bradeigh Godfrey
-
A Place to Land
- By: Lauren K. Denton
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Violet Figg and her sister Trudy have lived a quiet life in Sugar Bend ever since a night forty years ago stole Trudy’s voice and cemented Violet’s role as Trudy’s fierce and loyal protector. Now, Trudy spends her days making sculptures from found objects and speaking via notes written on scraps of paper, while Violet runs their art shop, monitors the bird activity up and down the water, and tries not to think of her one great love she gave up in order to keep her sister safe.
-
-
Tedious and unimaginative
- By angela r on 10-19-22
By: Lauren K. Denton
-
Impossible To Forget
- By: Imogen Clark
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just turned eighteen, Romany is on the cusp of taking her first steps into adulthood when tragedy strikes, and she finds herself suddenly alone without her mother, Angie, the only parent she has ever known. In her final letter, Angie has charged her four closest friends with guiding Romany through her last year of school—but is there an ulterior motive to her unusual dying wish? Each of the four guardians possesses an outlook on life that Angie wants to give her daughter as a legacy.
-
-
Rather Boring...
- By M. Hutton on 08-05-22
By: Imogen Clark
-
Take It from Me
- A Novel
- By: Jamie Beck
- Narrated by: Ann Richardson, Angela Dawe
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wendy Moore hides her collection of pilfered bric-a-brac from everyone, including her husband. He thinks she licked her kleptomania in therapy more than a decade ago. Therapy did help, as did focusing her attention on motherhood. But now Wendy’s gardening and furniture-refinishing hobbies fill up only so much of the day, leaving the recent empty nester lonely and anxious—a combination likely to trigger her little problem. She needs a project, fast. Luckily, Harper Ross—a single, childless younger woman in desperate need of highlights—just moved in next door.
-
-
Friendship & exposed secrets
- By LydiaJ on 09-23-22
By: Jamie Beck
-
Moonrise over New Jessup
- By: Jamila Minnicks
- Narrated by: Karen Chilton
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1957, and after leaving the only home she has ever known, Alice Young steps off the bus into the all-Black town of New Jessup, Alabama, where residents have largely rejected integration as the means for Black social advancement. Instead, they seek to maintain, and fortify, the community they cherish on their “side of the woods.” In this place, Alice falls in love with Raymond Campbell, whose clandestine organizing activities challenge New Jessup’s longstanding status quo and could lead to the young couple’s expulsion—or worse—from the home they both hold dear.
-
-
Wonderful!
- By Blee on 03-21-23
By: Jamila Minnicks
-
Carolina Built
- By: Kianna Alexander
- Narrated by: Shayna Small, Leon Nixon
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Josephine N. Leary is determined to build a life of her own and a future for her family. When she moves to Edenton, North Carolina, from the plantation where she was born, she is free, newly married, and ready to follow her dreams. As the demands of life pull Josephine’s attention away, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to pursue her real estate aspirations. She finds herself immersed in deepening her marriage, mothering her daughters, and being a dutiful daughter and granddaughter.
-
-
WOMEN: Dream Plan Work Achieve
- By Nana on 02-28-22
By: Kianna Alexander
-
Rabbit
- The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
- By: Patricia Williams, Jeannine Amber
- Narrated by: Patricia Williams
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons, and petty crimes. At age seven, Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At 12, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by 13, she was pregnant. By 15, Pat was a mother of two. Alone at 16, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighth-grade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive.
-
-
Amazing story but dry reading
- By SpazzyMaggee on 11-03-17
By: Patricia Williams, and others
-
Dolores Claiborne
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Frances Sternhagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dolores Claiborne is suspected of killing Vera Donovan, her wealthy employer, and when the police question her, she tells the story of her life, harkening back to her disintegrating marriage and the suspicious death of her violent husband 30 years earlier. Dolores also tells of Vera's physical and mental decline and how she became emotionally demanding in recent years.
-
-
Absolutely Fantastic!
- By Matthew S. Hill on 06-06-16
By: Stephen King
-
Carnegie's Maid
- A Novel
- By: Marie Benedict
- Narrated by: Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Clara Kelley is not who they think she is. She's not the experienced Irish maid who was hired to work in one of Pittsburgh's grandest households. She's a poor farmer's daughter with nowhere to go and nothing in her pockets. But the other woman with the same name has vanished, and pretending to be her just might get Clara some money to send back home.
-
-
Shallow
- By Mary Smiroldo on 06-26-18
By: Marie Benedict
-
The Street Lawyer
- A Novel
- By: John Grisham
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Brock is billing the hours, making the money, rushing relentlessly to the top of Drake & Sweeney, a giant DC law firm. One step away from partnership, Michael has it all. Then, in an instant, it all comes undone. A homeless man takes nine lawyers hostage in the firm's plush offices. When it is all over, the man's blood is splattered on Michael's face - and suddenly Michael is willing to do the unthinkable. Rediscovering a conscience he lost long ago, Michael is leaving the big time for the streets where his attacker once lived.
-
-
A Life Changing Moment
- By R. Pontiflet on 03-14-14
By: John Grisham
-
The Summer House
- By: Lauren K. Denton
- Narrated by: Devon O'day
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having just moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated. New to town and knowing no one, Lily finds herself in desperate need of a job and a new place to live. When Lily hears that a hair stylist is needed at small retirement community, she decides to apply.
-
-
A Gentle Story of Loss Regrets and Renewal
- By sharon on 06-08-20
By: Lauren K. Denton
Critic reviews
"After a moody jazz riff, Sidik Fofana and a stand-out cast of performers transport listeners to the Banneker Terrace apartments in Harlem. Written in vibrant Black American vernacular, these witty, sad, uplifting stories are ideal for audio. Joniece Abbott-Pratt’s Mimi is a beautician behind on the rent. Fofana’s Swan might mess up because of a visitor. André Santana’s Darius tries to earn funds by offering therapy instead of prostitution. Bahni Turpin’s Ms. Dallas is a classroom aide bossed too often by a Harvard-educated teacher. DePre Owens’s Kandese manages a candy-selling ring of girls. Nile Bullock’s Najee and pals dance for tips in the subway. Jade Wheeler’s Quanneisha handles residents she doesn’t like. Dominic Hoffman’s Mr. Murray earns money playing chess. They’re all unforgettable."—AudioFile Magazine
Related to this topic
-
Rabbit
- The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
- By: Patricia Williams, Jeannine Amber
- Narrated by: Patricia Williams
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons, and petty crimes. At age seven, Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At 12, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by 13, she was pregnant. By 15, Pat was a mother of two. Alone at 16, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighth-grade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive.
-
-
Amazing story but dry reading
- By SpazzyMaggee on 11-03-17
By: Patricia Williams, and others
-
Tryin' To Sleep In the Bed You Made
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gayle was the beauty who believed that a man could make her life complete. Patricia was the intellectual who thought that rising to the top of her career would make her happy. And then there is Marcus Carter, who has been linked to both Gayle and Pat since the tragedy that occurred when they were all children. Can either one save him from himself? Can friends survive a love that comes between them? Each of them gets what she wants, but no one counts on the price they have to pay.
-
-
Better with each chapter!
- By Cyn B. on 02-09-16
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
-
Whistling in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Lesley Kagen
- Narrated by: Lesley Kagen
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sally O'Malley made a promise to her daddy before he died. She swore she'd look after her sister, Troo. Keep her safe. But like her Granny always said, actions speak louder than words. And Sally would have to agree with her.
-
-
One of the worst books I've read in a long time
- By Dianne on 08-13-21
By: Lesley Kagen
-
Far From the Tree
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celeste English and Ronnie Frazier are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Celeste is a doctor's wife, living a perfect and elegant façade. But secretly, her marriage is falling apart and her need to control people around her threatens to destroy them all. Ronnie is an actress, living in New York. But she has no money, she has no home, and her life is held together by "chewing gum, paper clips, and spit." When their father dies, the sisters inherit a house in Prosper, North Carolina.
-
-
My Favorite Book So Far, by Far!
- By Dee on 04-19-09
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
-
Devil in a Blue Dress
- An Easy Rawlins Mystery
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.
-
-
Beware of Mysterious Sexy Women with Big Suitcases
- By Jefferson on 02-13-11
By: Walter Mosley
-
Tyrell
- By: Coe Booth
- Narrated by: Barrie Buckner
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tyrell is a young African-American teen who can't get a break. He's living (for now) with his spaced-out mother and little brother in a homeless shelter. His father's in jail. His girlfriend supports him, but he doesn't feel good enough for her - and seems to be always on the verge of doing the wrong thing around her. There's another girl at the homeless shelter who is also after him, although the desires there are complicated. Tyrell feels he needs to score some money to make things better. Will he end up following in his father's footsteps?
-
-
Great book for Teenagers
- By Anonymous User on 10-10-22
By: Coe Booth
-
Rabbit
- The Autobiography of Ms. Pat
- By: Patricia Williams, Jeannine Amber
- Narrated by: Patricia Williams
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of five children, Pat watched as her alcoholic mother struggled to get by on charity, cons, and petty crimes. At age seven, Pat was taught to roll drunks for money. At 12, she was targeted for sex by a man eight years her senior; by 13, she was pregnant. By 15, Pat was a mother of two. Alone at 16, Pat was determined to make a better life for her children. But with no job skills and an eighth-grade education, her options were limited. She learned quickly that hustling and humor were the only tools she had to survive.
-
-
Amazing story but dry reading
- By SpazzyMaggee on 11-03-17
By: Patricia Williams, and others
-
Tryin' To Sleep In the Bed You Made
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gayle was the beauty who believed that a man could make her life complete. Patricia was the intellectual who thought that rising to the top of her career would make her happy. And then there is Marcus Carter, who has been linked to both Gayle and Pat since the tragedy that occurred when they were all children. Can either one save him from himself? Can friends survive a love that comes between them? Each of them gets what she wants, but no one counts on the price they have to pay.
-
-
Better with each chapter!
- By Cyn B. on 02-09-16
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
-
Whistling in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Lesley Kagen
- Narrated by: Lesley Kagen
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sally O'Malley made a promise to her daddy before he died. She swore she'd look after her sister, Troo. Keep her safe. But like her Granny always said, actions speak louder than words. And Sally would have to agree with her.
-
-
One of the worst books I've read in a long time
- By Dianne on 08-13-21
By: Lesley Kagen
-
Far From the Tree
- By: Virginia DeBerry, Donna Grant
- Narrated by: Fran L. Washington
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celeste English and Ronnie Frazier are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Celeste is a doctor's wife, living a perfect and elegant façade. But secretly, her marriage is falling apart and her need to control people around her threatens to destroy them all. Ronnie is an actress, living in New York. But she has no money, she has no home, and her life is held together by "chewing gum, paper clips, and spit." When their father dies, the sisters inherit a house in Prosper, North Carolina.
-
-
My Favorite Book So Far, by Far!
- By Dee on 04-19-09
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
-
Devil in a Blue Dress
- An Easy Rawlins Mystery
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.
-
-
Beware of Mysterious Sexy Women with Big Suitcases
- By Jefferson on 02-13-11
By: Walter Mosley
-
Tyrell
- By: Coe Booth
- Narrated by: Barrie Buckner
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tyrell is a young African-American teen who can't get a break. He's living (for now) with his spaced-out mother and little brother in a homeless shelter. His father's in jail. His girlfriend supports him, but he doesn't feel good enough for her - and seems to be always on the verge of doing the wrong thing around her. There's another girl at the homeless shelter who is also after him, although the desires there are complicated. Tyrell feels he needs to score some money to make things better. Will he end up following in his father's footsteps?
-
-
Great book for Teenagers
- By Anonymous User on 10-10-22
By: Coe Booth
-
Perfect Chemistry
- By: Simone Elkeles
- Narrated by: Roxanne Hernandez, Blas Kisic
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created perfect life is about to unravel before her eyes. She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.
-
-
Perfect Chemisty has perfect chemistry.
- By Leslie on 04-21-10
By: Simone Elkeles
-
We Were Here
- By: Matt de la Pena
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When it happened Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge only gave him a year in a group home - said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he'd actually done Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened Miguel’s mom can't even look him in the eye. Any home besides his would be a better place to live. But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting across the border to where he could start over....
-
-
Loved it!!!
- By Emmanuel Mangata on 03-17-18
By: Matt de la Pena
-
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
- By: Rebecca Wells
- Narrated by: Judith Ivey
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Vivi and Siddalee Walker, an unforgettable mother-daughter team, get into a savage fight over a New York Times article that refers to Vivi as a "tap-dancing child abuser", the fallout is felt from Louisiana to New York to Seattle. Siddalee, a successful theater director with a huge hit on her hands, panics and postpones her upcoming wedding to her lover and friend, Connor McGill. Vivi's intrepid gang of lifelong girlfriends, the Ya-Yas, sashay in and conspire to bring everyone back together.
-
-
As usual the book is better than the movie
- By Denzil and Judy's Account on 03-25-10
By: Rebecca Wells
-
The Sweet By and By
- A Novel
- By: Todd Johnson
- Narrated by: Becky Ann Baker, Adriane Lenox, Robin Miles, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the longleaf pines and family farms of eastern North Carolina, days seem to pass without incident for Margaret Clayton and Bernice Stokes until they discover each other in a friendship that will take them on the most important journey of their lives. Margaret, droll and whip smart, has a will of iron that never fails her even when her body does, while Bernice, an avid country-music fan, is rarely lucid.
-
-
Great 2/3 of a book.
- By Tracy on 07-09-12
By: Todd Johnson
-
The Turner House
- By: Angela Flournoy
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Turners have lived on Yarrow Street for over 50 years. Their house has seen 13 children grown and gone - and some returned; it has seen the arrival of grandchildren, the fall of Detroit's East Side, and the loss of a father. The house still stands despite abandoned lots, an embattled city, and the inevitable shift outward to the suburbs. But now, as ailing matriarch Viola finds herself forced to leave her home and move in with her eldest son, the family discovers that the house is worth just a 10th of its mortgage.
-
-
The narrator's performance made the difference.
- By KT on 06-11-15
By: Angela Flournoy
-
The Skin I'm In
- By: Sharon G. Flake
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maleeka Madison is a dark skinned African-American girl. She feels uncomfortable and wishes she had lighter skin. When her teacher, Miss Saunders, who suffers from a rare skin condition, shows that there is more to people than the color of their skin, Maleeka learns to appreciate and accept who she truly is.
-
-
For the young Black women
- By Romee on 12-04-07
By: Sharon G. Flake
-
American Street
- By: Ibi Zoboi
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie - a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by US immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins - Chantal, Donna, and Princess - the grittiness of Detroit's West Side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.
-
-
A lot to unpack
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-18-17
By: Ibi Zoboi
-
The Residue Years
- By: Mitchell S. Jackson
- Narrated by: Corey Allen
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mitchell S. Jackson grew up black in a neglected neighborhood in America’s whitest city, Portland, Oregon. In the ’90s, those streets and beyond had fallen under the shadow of crack cocaine and its familiar mayhem. In his commanding autobiographical novel, Mitchell writes what it was to come of age in that time and place, with a break-out voice that’s nothing less than extraordinary. The Residue Years switches between the perspectives of a young man, Champ, and his mother, Grace.
-
-
Dense in cultural details
- By Angel on 12-04-15
-
Mexican WhiteBoy
- By: Matt de la Pena
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Danny's tall and skinny. Even though he's not "built", his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce that any college scout would sign him on the spot. Ninety-five-mile-an-hour fastball, but the boy's not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound, he loses it. Ball ends up so far out of the strike zone it's laughable. But at his private school, they don't expect much else from him. Danny's brown. Half-Mexican brown....
-
-
Where does a Mexican whiteboy fit in?
- By Thin Lizzy on 03-19-21
By: Matt de la Pena
-
Dear Carolina
- By: Kristy Woodson Harvey
- Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer, Meredith Mitchell
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances "Khaki" Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan - everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband's 19-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone.
-
-
A Sweet Summer Read
- By Mona-Alisa on 06-10-20
-
Pronto
- By: Elmore Leonard
- Narrated by: Alexander Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The feds want Miami bookmaker Harry Arno to squeal on his wiseguy boss. So they're putting word out on the street that Arno's skimming profits from "Jimmy Cap" Capotorto - which he is, but everybody does it. He was planning to retire to Italy someday anyway, so Harry figures now's a good time to get lost. U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens knows Harry's tricky - the bookie ditched him once in an airport while in the marshal's custody - but not careful.
-
-
Great character, even better dialogue!
- By Ron on 11-15-11
By: Elmore Leonard
-
Girls Like Us
- By: Gail Giles
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 3 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quincy and Biddy are both graduates of their high school's special ed program, but they couldn't be more different: suspicious Quincy faces the world with her fists up, while gentle Biddy is frightened to step outside her front door. When they're thrown together as roommates in their first "real world" apartment, it initially seems to be an uneasy fit.
-
-
Worth Hearing a Second Time!!!
- By Daizy on 10-30-17
By: Gail Giles
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Oye
- A Novel
- By: Melissa Mogollon
- Narrated by: Elena Rey
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Luciana is the baby of her large Colombian American family. And despite usually being relegated to the sidelines, she now finds herself the voice of reason in the middle of their unexpected crisis. Her older sister, Mari, is away at college and reduced to a mere listening ear on the other end of their many phone calls, so when South Florida residents are ordered to evacuate before a hurricane, it’s up to Luciana to deal with her eccentric grandmother, Abue, who’s refusing to leave. But the storm isn’t the only danger.
-
-
Family
- By Vicki L. Wright on 08-31-24
By: Melissa Mogollon
-
Congratulations, the Best Is Over!
- Essays
- By: R. Eric Thomas
- Narrated by: R. Eric Thomas
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After going viral “reading” the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas finally knew who he was and where he was going. He was living his best life. But then everything changed. In this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas moves back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore (a place he never wanted to return, even to be buried) and behaving completely out of character.
-
-
so delightful, and relatable
- By Susannah on 06-21-24
By: R. Eric Thomas
-
Black Buck
- By: Mateo Askaripour
- Narrated by: Zeno Robinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother's home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC's hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.
-
-
A struggle to finish
- By jessica+josiah on 03-05-21
By: Mateo Askaripour
-
I Shouldn't Be Telling You This
- (But I'm Going to Anyway)
- By: Chelsea Devantez
- Narrated by: Chelsea Devantez
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are things Chelsea Devantez probably shouldn’t be telling you. Many of them are in this book: some are embarrassing (like when she tried to break her three year spell of celibacy using a guide of seduction tips). Some are confessional (getting sentenced to the “hell hill” at Mormon church camp). Some are TMI (a series of outrageous doctor visits that ended with one doctor misdiagnosing her as “pregnant.” Woopsies!).
-
-
A large missing piece
- By F. Pryne on 06-18-24
By: Chelsea Devantez
-
Charlie Hustle
- The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
- By: Keith O'Brien
- Narrated by: Ellen Adair, Keith O'Brien
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He compiled more hits than anyone in the history of baseball, a record he set decades ago, which still stands. At the same time, he was a working-class white guy from Cincinnati who made it; less talented than tough, and rough around the edges. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn’t. Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies, the rise and fall of Pete Rose, one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
-
-
Unflinching look at America through Baseball and Pete Rose
- By Brian G White on 04-02-24
By: Keith O'Brien
-
Heavy
- By: Kiese Laymon
- Narrated by: Kiese Laymon
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kiese Laymon is a fearless writer. In his essays, personal stories combine with piercing intellect to reflect both on the state of American society and on his experiences with abuse, which conjure conflicted feelings of shame, joy, confusion, and humiliation. Laymon invites us to consider the consequences of growing up in a nation wholly obsessed with progress yet wholly disinterested in the messy work of reckoning with where we’ve been.
-
-
Be prepared
- By Amy Eberle on 10-30-18
By: Kiese Laymon
-
Oye
- A Novel
- By: Melissa Mogollon
- Narrated by: Elena Rey
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Luciana is the baby of her large Colombian American family. And despite usually being relegated to the sidelines, she now finds herself the voice of reason in the middle of their unexpected crisis. Her older sister, Mari, is away at college and reduced to a mere listening ear on the other end of their many phone calls, so when South Florida residents are ordered to evacuate before a hurricane, it’s up to Luciana to deal with her eccentric grandmother, Abue, who’s refusing to leave. But the storm isn’t the only danger.
-
-
Family
- By Vicki L. Wright on 08-31-24
By: Melissa Mogollon
-
Congratulations, the Best Is Over!
- Essays
- By: R. Eric Thomas
- Narrated by: R. Eric Thomas
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After going viral “reading” the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas finally knew who he was and where he was going. He was living his best life. But then everything changed. In this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas moves back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore (a place he never wanted to return, even to be buried) and behaving completely out of character.
-
-
so delightful, and relatable
- By Susannah on 06-21-24
By: R. Eric Thomas
-
Black Buck
- By: Mateo Askaripour
- Narrated by: Zeno Robinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother's home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC's hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.
-
-
A struggle to finish
- By jessica+josiah on 03-05-21
By: Mateo Askaripour
-
I Shouldn't Be Telling You This
- (But I'm Going to Anyway)
- By: Chelsea Devantez
- Narrated by: Chelsea Devantez
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There are things Chelsea Devantez probably shouldn’t be telling you. Many of them are in this book: some are embarrassing (like when she tried to break her three year spell of celibacy using a guide of seduction tips). Some are confessional (getting sentenced to the “hell hill” at Mormon church camp). Some are TMI (a series of outrageous doctor visits that ended with one doctor misdiagnosing her as “pregnant.” Woopsies!).
-
-
A large missing piece
- By F. Pryne on 06-18-24
By: Chelsea Devantez
-
Charlie Hustle
- The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
- By: Keith O'Brien
- Narrated by: Ellen Adair, Keith O'Brien
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He compiled more hits than anyone in the history of baseball, a record he set decades ago, which still stands. At the same time, he was a working-class white guy from Cincinnati who made it; less talented than tough, and rough around the edges. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn’t. Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies, the rise and fall of Pete Rose, one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
-
-
Unflinching look at America through Baseball and Pete Rose
- By Brian G White on 04-02-24
By: Keith O'Brien
-
Heavy
- By: Kiese Laymon
- Narrated by: Kiese Laymon
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kiese Laymon is a fearless writer. In his essays, personal stories combine with piercing intellect to reflect both on the state of American society and on his experiences with abuse, which conjure conflicted feelings of shame, joy, confusion, and humiliation. Laymon invites us to consider the consequences of growing up in a nation wholly obsessed with progress yet wholly disinterested in the messy work of reckoning with where we’ve been.
-
-
Be prepared
- By Amy Eberle on 10-30-18
By: Kiese Laymon
-
All the Sinners Bleed
- A Novel
- By: S. A. Cosby
- Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes.
-
-
Visceral, gripping, thrilling and entertaining
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 06-26-23
By: S. A. Cosby
-
Challenger
- A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
- By: Adam Higginbotham
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Chernobyl comes the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster, based on fascinating in-depth reporting and new archival research—a riveting history that flows like a thriller.
-
-
Even though I have read a lot of books about this disaster. This has been the most comprehensive and enjoyable.
- By Andy on 05-25-24
-
Say Nothing
- A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Matthew Blaney
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes.
-
-
On a par with I'll Be Gone in the Dark, plus...
- By Grace O'Malley on 03-01-19
-
Martyr!
- A Novel
- By: Kaveh Akbar
- Narrated by: Arian Moayed
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past.
-
-
One of the best novels I have ever read/heard.
- By James on 04-06-24
By: Kaveh Akbar
-
Station Eleven (Television Tie-in)
- A Novel
- By: Emily St. John Mandel
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
-
-
gah!
- By Stacy on 10-08-14
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
-
Story Telling At Its Best
- By Regina on 05-06-23
By: Abraham Verghese
-
The Deep
- By: Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and others
- Narrated by: Daveed Diggs
- Length: 4 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yetu holds the memories for her people - water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners - who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one - the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu. Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities.
-
-
why was this read by a dude?
- By Nathaniel on 12-14-19
By: Rivers Solomon, and others
-
Allegedly
- By: Tiffany D. Jackson
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mary B. Addison killed a baby. Allegedly. She didn't say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary, and the jury made it official. But did she do it?
-
-
Chilling, raw, and gut-wrenching
- By Ida on 02-08-17
-
Before I Let Go
- By: Kennedy Ryan
- Narrated by: Wesleigh Siobhan, Jakobi Diem
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything. It couldn’t save their marriage. Yasmen wasn’t prepared for how her life fell apart, but she’s finally starting to find joy again. She and Josiah have found a new rhythm, co-parenting their two kids and running a thriving business together. Yet like magnets, they’re always drawn back to each other, and now they’re beginning to wonder if they’re truly ready to let go of everything they once had.
-
-
Didn't Give What Everyone Said It Gave!!!
- By Annette Williams on 11-23-22
By: Kennedy Ryan
-
False Witness
- A Novel
- By: Karin Slaughter
- Narrated by: Kathleen Early
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leigh Collier has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defense attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilized - her life is just as unremarkable as she’d always hoped it would be. But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood that was far from average...a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.
-
-
Wait, is this a thriller, CNN special report or Surgeon General Warning?
- By Tawny on 07-21-21
By: Karin Slaughter
-
The Guncle
- By: Steven Rowley
- Narrated by: Steven Rowley
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed. So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.
-
-
In two words . . . Loved it!!
- By Donna Rauch Lanford on 06-05-21
By: Steven Rowley
-
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
- Monk & Robot, Book 1
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Em Grosland
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
-
-
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
- By Daniel Cascaddan on 07-15-21
By: Becky Chambers
What listeners say about Stories from the Tenants Downstairs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kristinATL
- 02-06-23
Not when I expected.
This is an urban story about a tenement in Harlem. I guess I didn’t read about it well, enough, because I wasn’t aware of that. The first story is interesting. Second one painful, third one excellent. I was hooked from there. It really leaves you wanting to know more about each of the people.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Leslie Schroer
- 01-30-23
Real life glimpse into others lives.
This truly is a real life glimpse into what life is like for some - a bit graphic at times but raw and real. I worked in an urban area in property management - including managing apartment complexes - for 15 years. These stories pulled me right back into that time of my life and reminded me of friends I haven't talked to in awhile. made me wonder what other obstacles they are facing currently. Sidenote: the narration is fantastic! I've listened to thousands of audio books and this is well done! Thanks for all who worked hard to make this happen and to bring to light a world that many have not entered, and that many live in every day.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. Nickey
- 08-23-22
Interesting
An interesting collection of interwoven stories from different perspectives of tenants in the same building. I enjoyed the range of style and storytelling in this
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- lovewearinboots
- 01-24-23
Loved these stories!
It’s always good to view life experiences from different perspectives, encouraging folks learn and respect the truth(s) from those most affected.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jlajoanne
- 02-17-23
Excellent & Original Stories & Performance
The recording and dialogues were like sitting at the best theatre. Congratulations to the author and the readers of this original collection of stories!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JrAtch
- 02-05-23
not what I expected
This book is very well written and narrated but it was not at all what I expected. It's also out of my awareness zone which is why I listened through to the end. I am really, really glad that I did.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lamya Elias
- 09-26-23
Couldn’t have been any better
And actually wish there had been more stories. Excellent writing, excellent stories, excellent cast for the reading. Thank you for your labeling us on this wild roll and coaster!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jefferson
- 02-02-24
Slices of Harlem Life: “Is it despair or prevail?”
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs (2022) is a set of eight slice of life tales depicting various inhabitants of Banneker Terrace apartment building in Harlem: Mimi, a young single mother trying multiple strategies to come up with $350 for rent, hindered by her sweet lead poison brain damaged little son Fortune; Swan, the boy’s father still living in his mother’s apartment realizing that despite a black president he and his freshly out of prison friend will never really change; Ms. Dallas, Swan’s mother trying to earn rent money while working two jobs, one as “para” chaperoning a special needs child at the precarious Sojourner Truth Middle School; an anonymous girl living in Clinton and mutely falling under the spell of Kandese, who, after being expelled from Sojourner Truth, stays the summer with her grandmother; Dary, a young gay man trying to become a hairdresser while not becoming a prostitute; Najee, a twelve-year-old writing a letter explaining how he came to start dancing for money on trains and cause a tragic accident; Neisha, an ex-gymnast and university dropout returning to Banneker to work on the Committee of Concern connecting a lawyer to residents on the eviction list (including the childhood friend who ruined her gymnastics dream); and Mr. Murray, a philosophical old man who likes keeping a low profile and sitting on the sidewalk playing chess with passersby.
Many of the stories end abruptly without our learning how the protagonist is going to be. We get hints as to that when characters from earlier stories are referenced in later ones, but the stories are not linked plot-wise. In Swan’s story, he never mentions his son or Mimi; in Najee’s story, he doesn’t really mention Kandese; in Ms. Dallas’ story, she never mentions her grandson or Mimi). It’s not a composite novel.
The stories mostly lack epiphanies and metamorphoses and often end on a note of quiet devastation. The characters have their dreams, but we know (and they mostly come to know) they ain’t coming true. The rap-like “Intro” ends, “Everybody got a story, everybody got a tale/ Question is: Is it despair or prevail?” And Fofana’s people rarely “prevail.” So I wince whenever a character says something like, “Imma get a job and buy a house for my mother.” I also get frustrated at key moments when the sensitive but often passive characters know they should say or do something but end up staying silent or watching. Fofana is showing how the difficult and stressful lives of people of color drain positive vigor from them, and it often makes for depressing reading.
On the plus side, some of the characters have an impressively uncompromising pride and ethical standard. Although when pushed to it Mimi will charge double to do her friend’s daughter’s hair and use her son’s backpack to shoplift diapers, she will NOT move back home with her tail between her legs to live with her mother and four sisters on welfare; although Dary will have sex with a stranger in a DC hotel room, he will NOT take money for it. Small moments of resistance and integrity if not victory.
These are stories FROM the tenants, so seven of them are first person, one second person, and each has a distinctive, savory, demotic, AAVE voice talking to the reader, like in this excerpt from the first story, “Rent Manual—Mimi, 14D”:
“Banneker Terrace on 129th and Fred Doug ain't pretty, but it's home. Until now, it's been the same since you moved here when you was pregnant with Fortune. One long gray-ass building, twenty-five floors, three hundred suttin apartments. Four elevators that got minds of they own. Laundry full of machines that don't wash clothes right. Bingo room that the old folks hog up and a trash chute that smell like rotten milk.”
Fofana writes conversations without quotation marks:
You gonna go over there and live by yourself? Your ma asked.
That’s what I said, Ma, didn’t I?
Chase after a man that don’t want nothin to do with no baby? And how you gonna make for rent?
Imma get a job like responsible people.
I heard that before.
And he writes lots of the n word and lots of the mf word and lots of slang and expressions like “be like that's what I'm tryna say,” or “I know suttin that make you happy,” or “big-ass pot.”
The distinct voices of the character-narrators are enhanced by each story having a different—excellent—audiobook reader. My favorite is Dominic Hoffman as the old chess playing Mr. Murray (what a savory voice!), but Bahni Turpin as Mimi is also great.
There is some telling social criticism, like about liberal white people naively thinking they can enrich ghetto kids’ lives by making them read literature* or about the trend in companies forcing low-income residents out and renovating apartments to get higher paying ones and upscale restaurants replacing older ones.
*Actually, young and white Mr. Broderick, who constantly boasts about graduating from Harvard, force feeds Steinbeck and Shakespeare to the poor Sojourner Truth kids, and unfairly resents and scorns Ms. Dallas is a little too clueless to believe.
As I am white, grew up comfortably, and only once temporarily got a mild taste of poverty (living on a TA’s salary in graduate school) and disappointment (having my cv rejected 300 times), it was illuminating, moving, and sobering to read these stories.
I would read another book by Fofana.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- w.l.
- 01-19-23
Good, despite not usually liking short stories.
This is a collection of stories revolving around the residents of Banneker Homes, a Harlem High Rise. Each story has a different angle on the goings-on in the building, and each is read by a different narrator. It works!
Banneker Homes has a new owner bent on enforcing evictions in order to raise the rent and attract a higher end clientele. The residents, whether working or just getting by, can rarely pay their rent - some through poor spending habits, others through circumstances. Their association has warned them this will happen and has tried to help them, but it does not look good.
The stories each show a different attitude, vocabulary, and personality. Some can be quite vulgar, others achingly sad. The thread that holds the stories together is the threat of homelessness. I was pleasantly surprised by the final story, "The Federation of the Like-minded," told in the words of an elderly man who enjoyed sitting out on the sidewalk waiting to play chess with anyone. it was beautiful.
A stunning collection.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DavidT
- 04-11-23
Wonderful stories
Totally enjoyed this book the last story rounds the series out in a sweet way.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!