Some Sing, Some Cry

By: Ntozake Shange, Ifa Bayeza

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 26 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Audible presents the multigenerational epic Some Sing, Some Cry. Created by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza, this audiobook takes listeners on a journey through Reconstruction, two world wars, the Harlem renaissance, and Vietnam to modern day America.

Some Sing, Some Cry begins at the threshold of one family’s freedom. We meet Betty Mayfield, newly emancipated from Sweet Tamarind, a lush and haunted rice plantation off the Carolina coast. Betty and her feisty teenage granddaughter Eudora are leaving for the mainland, bringing with them the ghosts, scars, and songs they have carried for so long as they meet unknown challenges ahead. From there, we meet seven generations of Mayfield men and women, and hear the songs that provide the score to their lives. Acclaimed narrator Robin Miles goes beyond the prose to transform song lyrics sprinkled throughout the book into beautiful music, making this a uniquely rich literary and audio experience.

Playwright, poet, and novelist Ntozake Shange’s Obie Award-winning for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf will be a star-studded major motion picture this fall, directed by Tyler Perry.

Ifa Bayeza is an Edgar Award-winning playwright, producer, and conceptual theater artist.

Yale Drama School-trained Robin Miles has appeared on stage and TV and narrated over 100 audiobooks.

Free with this audiobook: an exclusive interview with the authors.

©2010 Ntozake Shange, Ifa Bayeza (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“If there are shoulders modern African-American women's literature stands upon they belong to Ntozake Shange who revolutionized theater and literature with her iconic work for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf in the 1970's. Any of us writing today are inheritors of her genius. Some Sing, Some Cry will show her to be as potent and irrepressible a force as she was thirty years ago.” (Sapphire, author of Push)

“In this epic saga, the sister-sister author combination of Bayeza and Shange offers a richly detailed and boldly colored account of one family’s experience in slavery and its legacies for the generations that followed. Some Sing, Some Cry is both moving and arresting.” (Annette Gordon-Reed, author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family)

“This is a complex poetic treatise on race, culture, love, and family, the use of regional vernacular, dialect, and pure song, resulting in a provocative fictional history.” (Publishers Weekly)

"Vibrant... Some Sing, Some Cry is Shange and Bayeza at their poetic best." (Essence)

"Keeps the reader turning page after page…. This story of lifesaving music and heartbroken maternity is engaging from start to finish. The Mayfield women are hilarious and sexy, gorgeous and strong." (New York Times Book Review)

Southern Soul

This book was beautifully narated by a voice that can take you to another time, a time in the deep south in the depth of slavery, and forward to an era a jazz and soul music. The can feel the love for music of the authors as they take you on a journey of stuggles and triumphs with a family that evokes a strenth of love and pride. Robin Miles, brings the voices of these characters to life. The voice characterizations brings forth a mental visionary story you will enjoy, with a delivery that will make you too, sing and cry.
I loved this book! Excellant listen!

A compelling black history lesson

What made the experience of listening to Some Sing, Some Cry the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed the strong female characters and Robin Miles' beautiful and versatile singing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Some Sing, Some Cry?

When Lizzie's father sold his farm and left his family. The banker's treatment of the sale made me sick.

Which scene was your favorite?

When LIzzie helped children escape the Nazi's in France.

If you could rename Some Sing, Some Cry, what would you call it?

I thought it was well titled as it was about generations of women and the mostly poor choices in men. They were almost all singers and performers, but had many heartbreaking experiences throughout their lives.

Any additional comments?

I really liked this book but would have liked it better if they wrote more about each character and either made the book longer, or wrote more than one book. There were too many characters, especially toward the end. It was hard to develop emotions for some who were in the story for such a short time.

Amazing Story Line

Any additional comments?

This book captured the pain, struggles and beautiful history of a soulful family legacy

Unbelievably Good!

Truthfully, I'd grown weary of slavery/post slavery books. I am an African American woman, so of course had read a great deal of them. Thus, I hesitated about downloading this one. I'm so very glad I did. I listened to this book about 2 months ago, and it is still with me. The focus, suprisingly, was not on all the pain and humiliation of slavery, but on the love, hate and music of one family. I learned so much about the possible origins of some of the hidden truths in our lives, and as a consequence have learned to embrace these hidden truths. More than anything, as a lover of music of all types, I was astounded by the absolutely wonderful singing talents of Ms. Miles, everything from old colored hymns to classical music, to hip hop. And the JAZZ! Wow! Don't misunderstand, this is not a musical, it is a truely awesome story with some songs in it that underscore the different time periods of the book. I have a friend that insists she cannot listen to audiobooks because she falls asleep. I'm going to attempt to download this onto cd's or if necessary buy the audio version for her. I know she will love it as much as I have. Most people saw "For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enough" by this author, and may have been moved to read this book because of that wonderful story. For me it was just the opposit, I went to see "For Colored Girls..." because of this book!

Lyrics for the Soul

Listening to the first chapter, I did not think I would last too far with this book. So glad I did. The richness of the language, combined with the memorable characters, linked with the music, led to an exceptional listening experience. Robin Miles is to be congratulated for her masterful narration and singing! I believe that had I read the book instead of listened, I would have missed a valuable component. Simply stated, this audio book is beautiful and enriching.

great read!!!

great character development, I felt as if I was there!!! and Robin Miles read amazingly!!!

Good book, good narrator, surprising glitch!

I am an avid audio book listener and I have NEVER heard a recording glitch like the one that occurs in Part 2 of Some Sing, Some Cry. At 19:39 minutes into chapter 9 of 10, the narrator begins, then says clearly, "No, let me..one more time." She begins again.

The narrator's voice is fantastic and she does all of the voices and songs beautifully. It's too bad her work was undermined by poor engineering.

A family saga.

What did you like best about Some Sing, Some Cry? What did you like least?

There was actually singing in the book which was kind of amusing.

Would you recommend Some Sing, Some Cry to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, it's pretty good, but not an all time favorite or anything. Just OK.

Which scene was your favorite?

Some sad and disturbing riots scenes made for some interesting insight into the racial struggles of the past.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably.

Any additional comments?

To be fair, I listened to this right after listening to "Roots" so that was a hard act to follow.

Definetly an audio experience

If you could sum up Some Sing, Some Cry in three words, what would they be?

Beautiful, intriguing, different

What other book might you compare Some Sing, Some Cry to and why?

This Bitter Earth, a story about family struggles and family secrets

Any additional comments?

This is a book that you will defintely want to listen to -So much is added by the singing. I enjoyed the story and loved the narration.

This book should be on Broadway!

Didn't know what to expect, but these women their story and the music stayed with me. I kept rewinding just to hear a song again. Robin Miles has become one of my favorite narrators, not only because of the songs, but because she gave each of the characters life through the narration and I hung on every word. At times, I thought it was a true story which I'm sure it is someone's story.. The characters of Eudora, Lizzy and Cinnamon had strong convictions about their lives and the hardships were building blocks for the future. These are the kinds of stories our children should read about our history the stories that are not shameful, but inspiring.