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Rainbow Milk
- Narrated by: Paul Mendez
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
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Rainbow Milk
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Publisher's summary
Shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize.
An Observer Top 10 Debut 2020.
Rainbow Milk is an intersectional coming-of-age story following 19-year-old Jesse McCarthy as he grapples with his racial and sexual identities against the backdrop of a Jehovah's Witness upbringing and the legacies of the Windrush generation.
In the Black Country in the 1950s, ex-boxer Norman Alonso is a determined and humble Jamaican who has moved to Britain with his wife to secure a brighter future for themselves and their children. Blighted with unexpected illness and racism, Norman and his family are resilient in the face of such hostilities but are all too aware that they will need more than just hope to survive.
At the turn of the millennium, Jesse seeks a fresh start in London - escaping from a broken immediate family, a repressive religious community and the desolate, disempowered Black Country - but finds himself at a loss for a new centre of gravity and turns to sex work to create new notions of love, fatherhood and spirituality.
Rainbow Milk is a bold exploration of race, class, sexuality, freedom and religion across generations, time and cultures. Paul Mendez is a fervent new writer with an original and urgent voice.
Critic reviews
"Sensuous and thrillingly well written." (Observer)
"When did you last read a novel about a young, black, gay, Jehovah Witness man from Wolverhampton who flees his community to make his way in London as a prostitute? This might be a debut, but Mendez is an exciting, accomplished and daring storyteller with a great ear for dialogue. Graphic Erotica Alert! Don't [listen to] this book if you like your fiction cosy and middle-of-the-road." (Bernardine Evaristo, winner of the 2019 Booker Prize for Girl, Woman, Other)
"The kind of novel you never knew you were waiting for. An explosive work that reels from sex, to sin, to salvation all the while grappling with what it means to black, gay, British, a son, a father, a lover, even a man. A remarkable debut." (Marlon James, Booker Prize winning author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf)
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What listeners say about Rainbow Milk
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sergio Pérez Llanos
- 01-12-23
Came for the story, stayed for the narration
Much as I had wanted (and expected) to, I didn’t seem to connect with the story 100% (or most of the characters, for that matter, even if I did find the protagonist quite compelling) but It’s been an interesting read/listen nevertheless. Kudos to the author for his mastery of the various accents. Yes, there is a lot of sex and I’m aware that may put some readers off, but I seldom found it to be a gratuitous inclusion and at least it sounded both natural and honest to me, so I don’t regard that aspect as negatively as others may.
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