• Neighbors and Other Stories

  • By: Diane Oliver
  • Narrated by: Emana Rachelle
  • Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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Neighbors and Other Stories  By  cover art

Neighbors and Other Stories

By: Diane Oliver
Narrated by: Emana Rachelle
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Publisher's summary

A remarkable talent far ahead of her time, Diane Oliver died in 1966 at the age of 22, leaving behind these crisply told and often chilling tales that explore race and racism in 1950s and 60s America. In this first and only collection by a masterful storyteller finally taking her rightful place in the canon, Oliver’s insightful stories reverberate into the present day.

There’s the nightmarish “The Closet on the Top Floor,” in which Winifred, the first Black student at her newly integrated college, starts to physically disappear; “Mint Juleps not Served Here,” where a couple living deep in a forest with their son go to bloody lengths to protect him; “Spiders Cry without Tears,” in which a couple, Meg and Walt, are confronted by prejudices and strains of interracial and extramarital love; and the high-tension titular story that follows a nervous older sister the night before her little brother is set to desegregate his school.

These are incisive and intimate portraits of African American families in everyday moments of anxiety and crisis that look at how they use agency to navigate their predicaments. As much a social and historical document as it is a taut, engrossing collection, Neighbors is an exceptional literary feat from a crucial once-lost figure of letters.

©2024 Diane Oliver (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

What listeners say about Neighbors and Other Stories

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mesmerizing

truly a hidden gem. the story telling was unique and original in perspective and material.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Definitely a mixed bag

I am a fan of short stories, but have mixed feelings about this collection. I’ll just say some were better than others in terms of content and storyline. Also the woman’s voice was very good, but I do not like when women impersonate a man’s voice. It’s so artificial that it takes away from the story.

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