
The Awkward Black Man
Stories
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Narrated by:
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Mirron Willis
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By:
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Walter Mosley
About this listen
Best-selling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. The Awkward Black Man collects 17 of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to showcase the full range of his remarkable talent.
Mosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in each of these stories - heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved, and, on the whole, odd. He overturns the stereotypes that corral black male characters and paints a subtle, powerful portrait of each of these unique individuals. In "The Good News Is", a man's insecurity about his weight gives way to a serious illness and the intense loneliness that accompanies it. Deeply vulnerable, he allows himself to be taken advantage of in return for a little human comfort in a raw display of true need.
"Pet Fly", previously published in the New Yorker, follows a man working as a mailroom clerk for a big company - a solitary job for which he is overqualified - and the unforeseen repercussions he endures when he attempts to forge a connection beyond the one he has with the fly buzzing around his apartment. And "Almost Alyce" chronicles failed loves, family loss, alcoholism, and a Zen approach to the art of begging that proves surprisingly effective.
©2020 Walter Mosley (P)2020 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
Living in an abandoned apartment building in South-Central L.A., Socrates is one step away from the streets. He bags groceries at the supermarket, collects bottles and cans to recycle for pennies, and feels himself slipping toward invisibility - that is, until he meets 11-year-old Darryl, whose already committed murder and is perilously close to slipping into a life filled with only violence and bloodshed. Socrates' determination to fight for and save Darryl lights his own pathway to self-forgiveness.
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Awesome
- By funblackeagle2 on 03-08-20
By: Walter Mosley
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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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A masterful, moving novel about age, memory, and family from one of the literary icons of our time. Ptolemy Grey is 91 years old and has been all but forgotten - by his family, his friends, even himself - as he sinks into a lonely dementia. His grand-nephew, Ptolemy's only connection to the outside world, was recently killed in a drive-by shooting, and Ptolemy is too suspicious of anyone else to allow them into his life. Until he meets Robyn, his niece's 17-year-old lodger and the only one willing to take care of an old man at his grandnephew's funeral.
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Old People Turn into Chores For The Young
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 02-02-13
By: Walter Mosley
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Fearless Jones
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Abridged
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Walter Mosley, "one of crime fiction's brightest stars" ( People), returns to mysteries at last! Fearless Jones is a dazzling new thriller, set in 1950s L.A. and featuring the most engaging hero since Easy Rawlins.
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Mosley at Perfection
- By Gypsy Wife on 08-27-12
By: Walter Mosley
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47
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Ossie Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In his first book for young adults, best-selling author Walter Mosley deftly weaves historical and speculative fiction into a powerful narrative about the nature of freedom.
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Poignant, powerful tale, richly narrated
- By Stef on 03-15-07
By: Walter Mosley
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Miss Pearly's Girls
- By: ReShonda Tate Billingsley
- Narrated by: Patricia R. Floyd
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Raising four very different daughters on her own in rural Arkansas wasn't easy for Miss Pearly Bell. And she's always regretted that the sisters went their separate ways for good - and never wanted to see each other again. But when Pearly is stricken with a terminal illness, she summons them all home - determined to somehow help them get right with each other and forgive.... But that means dealing with past secrets and lies first.
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Felt like family
- By Gregory Cody on 04-16-22
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Elements of Fiction
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In his essential writing guide, This Year You Write Your Novel, Walter Mosley supplied aspiring writers with the basic tools to write a novel in one year. In this complementary follow up, Mosley guides the writer through the elements of not just any fiction writing, but the kind of writing that transcends convention and truly stands out. How does one approach the genius of writers like Melville, Dickens, or Twain? In Elements of Fiction, Walter Mosley contemplates the answer.
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An organic way of storytelling
- By Amazon Customer on 12-18-19
By: Walter Mosley
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The Gift of Fire & On the Head of a Pin
- Two Short Novels from Crosstown to Oblivion
- By: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman, Beresford Bennett
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In ancient mythology, the Titan Prometheus was punished by the gods for bringing man the gift of fire - an event that set humankind on its course of knowledge. As punishment, Prometheus was bound to a rock. But in The Gift of Fire, those chains cease to be, and the great champion of man walks from that immortal prison into present-day South Central Los Angeles. Disheveled and lost, he is thrown in jail, where he meets lifelong criminal Nosome Blane....
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Love Mosley's take on science fiction and fantasy!
- By mary on 09-26-12
By: Walter Mosley
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She Had it Coming
- By: Mary Monroe
- Narrated by: Patricia R. Floyd
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of New York Times best-selling novels like God Don't Play, Mary Monroe is especially adept at capturing the tumultous highs and lows of the unforgettable characters who populate her books. In She Had It Coming,it's the best of times and the worst of times for Dolores Reese, who's married to two different men in two different cities.
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She Had It Coming is Definitely All Right!!
- By Andra D. Johnson on 01-12-09
By: Mary Monroe
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Black Noir
- Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction by African-American Writers
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Sean Crisden
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Some of the best-known and most influential pieces of crime fiction have been from African American writers. Be it Walter Mosley's great Detective Easy Rawlins, or the mean streets of Harlem at the hands of Chester Himes, the stories and characters in this anthology have shaped the mystery genre with their own unique viewpoints and styles. Contributors to the collection include Robert Greer, Chester Himes, Walter Mosley, Cary Phillips, Frankie Bailey, and Richard Wright.
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good sorry stories
- By Birdie's mom on 12-08-24
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The Son of Mr. Suleman
- A Novel
- By: Eric Jerome Dickey
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s the summer of 2019, and Professor Pi Suleman is a Black man from Memphis with a lot to endure - not only as a Black man in Trump’s America but in his hard-earned career as an adjunct professor. Pi is constantly forced to bite his tongue in the face of one of his tenured colleague’s prejudices and microaggressions. At the same time, he’s being blackmailed by a powerful professor who threatens to claim he has assaulted her, when in fact the truth is just the opposite, trapping him in a he-said-she-said with a white woman that, in this society, Pi knows he will never win.
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He Went Home
- By alec on 05-02-21
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In Sheep's Clothing
- By: Mary Monroe
- Narrated by: Susan Spain
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Trudy Bell needs to do something to spice up her life and hopes that her new job with the Bon Voyage Travel Agency will do the trick. But envy for her boss' glamorous lifestyle turns into a downward spiral that could end up costing her more than just her job.
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Full of suspense!
- By N. Hall on 01-28-08
By: Mary Monroe
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Mrs. Wiggins
- By: Mary Monroe
- Narrated by: Shari Peele
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of a prostitute mother and an alcoholic father, Maggie Franklin knew her only way out was to marry someone upstanding and church-going. Someone like Hubert Wiggins, the most eligible man in Lexington, Alabama - and the son of its most revered preacher. Proper and prosperous, Hubert is glad to finally have a wife, even one with Maggie's background. For Hubert has a secret he desperately needs to stay hidden. And Maggie's unexpected charm, elegance, and religious devotion makes her the perfect partner in lies....
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Really enjoyed
- By avidreader on 04-07-21
By: Mary Monroe
What listeners say about The Awkward Black Man
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- Dawn
- 12-26-20
So much fun!
What a range of stories, characters, and insights into the characters' lives! The best narration I've heard in a long time- like going to a play. Some of the stories do have humor, some of it sarcastic, and some of it just the way life is. I'll reread several of them for fun.
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3 people found this helpful
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- @bookbae_ne
- 01-12-25
Great Stories
Such a wonderful and diverse group of stories! You can read it all at once or take your time.
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- Lorenzo James Woods
- 12-03-24
A masterful humanization of the black man
Every story was remarkably human and refreshingly black without being explicitly stated or rammed down our throats. Walter Mosley normalizes being uniquely black in a world where blackness is an old familiar trope. Each story was nothing more than an interesting and satisfying look into the life of another.
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- James Avinger
- 01-10-21
Love the stories disliked narrator’s voice.
The stories were great, but with narrator trying to talk with southern accent was painful to hear. He was putting extra emotions at times throughout this book and just doing too much. I would recommend this book only if somebody else narrated it.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Carolyn J.
- 01-03-24
Navigating the Parallel Universe With Consequences
These amazing stories give us a glimpse into the lives of citizens of this society whose identities demand them to navigate a parallel universe that most segments of dominant culture pretend not to recognize even though daily they participate in and sustain its existence.
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- Mary Lane
- 02-28-24
A multiverse of imaginative stories
Each story covered different territory--past, present, future--and a wide range of characters and circumstances, all interesting and thought-provoking.
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- Alonzo
- 04-13-21
Don't just listen, think.
I enjoyed listening to stories about black people, not people being black. There's a difference.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Michele Faith Wallace
- 03-18-23
Love these stories
All I need is more. Think I will try Mosley’s science fiction. There is just something about audible performances of his writings that can’t be beat. Its the combination of the reader and the writing..
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-13-24
thought provoking!
Didn't love or initially relate to every story... BUT, as Mr. Mosley does as well or better than anyone else...i found common ground with EVERY CHARACTER/ concept. Loved these lil character sketches and find myself thinking of them daily as i go about my work. thank you AGAIN Mr. Mosley! Brilliant Narration as well. Cheers
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- Quita
- 08-28-24
Stories of Could Have Beebs but for...
I was not really in tune with this one by Mr. Mosley. I felt the possibilities of bad things happening for no good reason in just about all the stories except for or especially for the story titled Breathless. I don't think I would recommend it to anyone other than how you tell a friend to "taste this" knowing it's not good but you want them to have your same bad taste experience.
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