The Son of Mr. Suleman

A Novel

By: Eric Jerome Dickey

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Named in USA Today's "5 books not to miss", and New York Post's "The best new books to read"

From New York Times best-selling author Eric Jerome Dickey - named one of USA Today’s 100 Black Novelists and Fiction Authors You Should Read - comes his final work: an unflinchingly timely novel about history, hearts, and family.

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.

When he meets Gemma Buckingham, a sophisticated entrepreneur who has just moved to Memphis from London to escape a deep heartbreak, things begin to look up. Though Gemma and Pi hail from separate cultures, their differences fuel a fiery and passionate connection that just may consume them both.

But Pi’s whirlwind romance is interrupted when his absentee father, a celebrated writer, passes away and Pi is called to Los Angeles to both collect his inheritance and learn about the man who never acknowledged him. With the complicated legacy of his famous father to make sense of, Gemma’s visa expiration date looming, and the threats of his colleague becoming increasingly intense, Pi must figure out who he is and what kind of man he will become in his father’s shadow.

In The Son of Mr. Suleman, Eric Jerome Dickey takes readers on a powerful journey exploring racism, colorism, life as a mixed-race person, sexual assault, microaggressions, truth and lies, cultural differences, politics, family legacies, perceptions, the impact of enslavement and Jim Crow, code-switching, the power of death, and the weight of love. It is an extraordinary story, page-turning and intense, and a book only Dickey could write.

©2020 Eric Jerome Dickey (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“This book is a powerhouse. It is impossible not to become fully absorbed in every scene, the vibrant, dynamic characters drawing you in again and again.... All in all, the world through Pi Suleman’s eyes is dark, complex, and endlessly compelling.” (Associated Press)

“For 25 years, Eric Jerome Dickey’s best sellers have made Black women feel seen and, more importantly, understood.... The Son of Mr. Suleman is full of his trademark humor and vibrantly rendered characters.... With this page-turner, Dickey once again lives up to his motto: 'Writers do'." (Essence)

"Eric Jerome Dickey is the king of writing Black joy. His characters evoke a sense of esteem for self, showing how they might be if white folks just left them alone. If we could just be our happy, sensual, ambitious, free selves we would be modeling one of his characters. However, this book takes on grief, racism, and microaggressions in a big way, too; it's the first of his works to do so with such detailed intention." (W Magazine, Delores Williams)

Still can't believe he's gone....

I'll miss that witty dialogue in every book... I miss the original plot lines and characters who he so delicately pieced together. I miss the idea he taught me that romance is okay.... I miss his love for black men, black women ,and people in general.... I never met the man but he's had a profound impact on my life.. This is a fitting end to an omage of current times and old beliefs... he wouldn't have wrote it any other way...

A little bit of everything....

Loved the story, characters & vivid description of each. This read have you a little bit of everything- romance, mystery, sex & history! The narrator did a nice job, especially since there were several characters throughout... Perfect ending

Outstanding

Loved the story. Loved the performance. Relative to today's issues and the themes that represent our history. EJD will be missed.

Enjoy his last work

Just wish that he could have continued on. Don’t know how I’m going to enjoy reading without EJD. I can read others but I was true to his work. Sleep easy Sir. You were much appreciated.

Great job as Always!

With heavy heart and loss of words knowing that there may not be another Gideon boo or any from such a wonderful and gifted person...I pray God welcomed you home and said Job Well Done!!!
Thank you!

EJD is KING and Dion's vocie is icing

I love the voice of Dion Graham, his vocie makes any book worth listening to. I have been a fan of EJD forever. He will be missed in the literary world. He has never disapoointed well, just a little I guess the "Gideon" series will be an unfinished read along with "Wanted Woman" . RIP <3

Easy listening

Love the story and the narrator’s voice. Listening to him tell this story makes the time fly by.

Amazing! Absolutely amazing!

I loved this book! It is amazing! Eric has always been my favorite author! May he rest in peace!!❤❤

What an intriguing story!

Eric had me captivated from the first page of this story. He hit all kinds of topics and situations known to befall man. From male assault to racism, to absent fathers, single parents, code-switch talking, interracial relations, passé blanc, murder-suicide and not to forget love and relationships. Each topic was handled with a deep and raw sensitivity that may trigger some readers. I was ready to read it all and inhale and captured every nuance of the story. But if you are sensitive to language and intense sex scenes, this is not the story for you.

Pi Maurice Sulemon thought he was in love with a bi-racial Brixton from across the pond. But she was not who he thought she was, and it broke his heart when he realized that his across-the-street neighbor fits him to a T but he was too afraid of being rejected and so was she. Pi had a lot he had to deal with in his life, but it seems as though everything would be okay for a black man in Memphis after all.

The narrator Dion Graham did an excellent job of capturing the voice of each character. He really made the story come to life. His voice was easy to listen to. He did female voices and voices with accents to perfection. I'll probably will be finding more stories he has narrated to listen to.

An Absolute Amazing Read

I am pleasantly surprised and pleased with this book. Great storyline and narration is on point. I miss EJD but I thank the literary Gods for his body of work.