Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta

By: James Hannaham

Narrated by: James Hannaham, Flame Monroe

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In this “dangerously hilarious” novel (Los Angeles Times), a trans woman reenters life on the outside after more than twenty years in a men’s prison, over one consequential Fourth of July weekend—from the author of the PEN/Faulkner Award winner Delicious Foods.

Carlotta Mercedes has been misunderstood her entire life. When she was pulled into a robbery gone wrong, she still went by the name she’d grown up with in Fort Greene, Brooklyn—before it gentrified. But not long after her conviction, she took the name Carlotta and began to live as a woman, an embrace of selfhood that prison authorities rejected, keeping Carlotta trapped in an all-male cell block, abused by both inmates and guards, and often placed in solitary.

In her fifth appearance before the parole board, Carlotta is at last granted conditional freedom and returns to a much-changed New York City. Over a whirlwind Fourth of July weekend, she struggles to reconcile with the son she left behind, to reunite with a family reluctant to accept her true identity, and to avoid any minor parole infraction that might get her consigned back to lockup.

Written with the same astonishing verve of Delicious Foods, which dazzled critics and readers alike, Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta sweeps the listener through seemingly every street of Brooklyn, much as Joyce’s Ulysses does through Dublin. The novel sings with brio and ambition, delivering a fantastically entertaining listen and a cast of unforgettable characters even as it challenges us to confront the glaring injustices of a prison system that continues to punish people long after their time has been served.

©2022 James Hannaham (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“As if by means of some mashup of Hubert Selby, Darius James, and Bruce Wagner, James Hannaham’s tripwire provocations and dazzling verbal fireworks give way to a fathomless tenderness and remorse. His Carlotta is spectacularly Brooklyn and devastatingly human all the way down to the bone.” (Jonathan Lethem, New York Times best-selling author of Motherless Brooklyn)

Carlotta is a narrator you will never forget

If life were a game of Texas Hold 'em, Carlotta was surely dealt a 2 and 7 off suit - essentially, a whole lot of nothing. Despite the shitty cards, Carlotta's indomitable spirit bursts from these pages, commands your attention, and tells you exactly what's what. Her internal monologues are poignant, cutting, and often hilarious. Loved this book. Loved the dual narration.

yes, carlotta

accurate depictions of the subject matter and great readings. Wish the parole commissioners would read it.

I give a sh$t about Carlotta!

The performance of this story is outstanding. I won’t soon forget Carlotta or her odyssey. Listen to this story

Funny, real, complex, perfect

What I loved about this book is that it was like nothing else I’ve ever experienced on audible. The author along with Flame Monroe are nothing short of sublime. I mean just amazing! If you can get beyond the quirky nature of this narration and storytelling, you will see that Hannaham is brilliantly peeling back layers of a complicated slice of life that we rarely think about. Traumas, resilience, gentrification, poverty, racism, misogyny, and so much more. I loved the characters and especially the protagonist. Carlotta in her one shoe makes you want to just take on life and give it all you have. I would highly recommend this book for so many reasons. I am a narrator snob and, best of all, this narration is just one of the very best I’ve heard. Loved it.

Life Affirming, Freedom Loving MissAdventure!

I was hooked. I gave a shit about Carlotta and couldn’t stop cheering her on. Funny, disturbing, exalted. Great story, creative form, and excellent performances from the narrators.

Funny!!

Fast moving and hilarious content. Fort Green Brooklyn up front and in person. Love all the characters.

Great use of comedy to portray the injustices of life

The story itself, fiction, or not, will touch your heart. Carlotta, like many people of color, did not get a fair shake in life. Then, sent to prison for for too long. The audio version allows the opportunity for the different parts of Carlotta‘s life and experiences to come to life! I highly recommend this audiobook to everyone

Best narrator

The narration for this book had me laughing and tearing up. Carlotta is a gem!

Exuberant

Despite character Carlotta's profanity-spewing vocabulary, I could not help ending up loving cheering for her!

Yassss queen!

Wow I absolutely loved this book. The first person narrative with her inner monologue and her voice pull me into Carlotta’s world!