Speak No Evil

A Novel

De: Uzodinma Iweala

Narrado por: Prentice Onayemi, Julia Whelan

Duración: 6 h y 21 m

Resumen del Editor

In the long-anticipated novel from the author of the critically acclaimed Beasts of No Nation, a revelation shared between two privileged teenagers from very different backgrounds sets off a chain of events with devastating consequences.

On the surface, Niru leads a charmed life. Raised by two attentive parents in Washington, DC, he's a top student and a track star at his prestigious private high school. Bound for Harvard in the fall, his prospects are bright. But Niru has a painful secret: He is queer - an abominable sin to his conservative Nigerian parents. No one knows except Meredith, his best friend, the daughter of prominent Washington insiders - and the one person who seems not to judge him.

When his father accidentally discovers Niru is gay, the fallout is brutal and swift. Coping with troubles of her own, however, Meredith finds that she has little left emotionally to offer him. As the two friends struggle to reconcile their desires against the expectations and institutions that seek to define them, they find themselves speeding toward a future more violent and senseless than they can imagine. Neither will escape unscathed.

In the tradition of Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah, Speak No Evil explores what it means to be different in a fundamentally conformist society and how that difference plays out in our inner and outer struggles. It is a novel about the power of words and self-identification, about who gets to speak and who has the power to speak for other people. As heart-wrenching and timely as his breakout debut, Beasts of No Nation, Uzodinma Iweala's second novel cuts to the core of our humanity and leaves us reeling in its wake.

©2018 Uzodinma Iweala (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Part 2 Let Me Down

Iweala presents a beautiful voice in Part 1 of Speak No Evil. Niru is genuine, confused, and complex. His perspective rings true to his circumstances and walking through the journey of his own self-acceptance is engaging for the reader. However, Iweala in Part 2 ditches the elements that make Speak No Evil unique and enjoyable. He abandons the voice so artfully depicted in Part 1 and loses the opportunity to further explore an emotionally complex and relatively undiscussed topic. For me, hearing this shift in the audiobook format exemplified the jarring change in direction. I loved Part 1, but Part 2 was a painful disappointment.

And easy, emotional and enveloping listen

Prentice Onayemi’s buttery voice is wonderfully paired with Mr. Iweala’s descriptive writing- I felt deeply connected to the main character during this sad sombering tale.

Loved it! Beautifully written

The character voices were riveting, the writing was stunning , evokes many emotions particularly the ending

fabulous

I absolutely loved this story. Told from two different perspectives from the two main characters. Devastating, heart wrenching and honest portrayal of one of the biggest issues society struggles with today.

Pretty good

As this is my first review it might not be as good.
The story was very interesting but ilI didn't like how they changed voices in part 2, they could have just kept the same. Overall first experience is really good.

What Does This Novel Want Me to Know?

While I enjoyed listening to this book--the narration is terrific--I couldn't quite see what the central story is. The focus shifts dramatically as the first-person narrator changes about halfway through, and the story I thought I was experiencing goes somewhere else, almost as if the first half of the novel never happened. Maybe this novel is too ambitious, trying to pull in all the injustices someone like its main character has to live through. Beautiful descriptions of city and landscape. The beginning of the novel tends toward cliche and the ending toward the sentimental.

Wow!!!

Incredibly well written, produced and performed. Sad, dark, surprising, relevant, compulsively moving, incisive insightful story.

Sad story of misunderstandings

The author reached inside the conflicts of expectations and realities. The sadness of how men of color are too often perceived and treated. Very much worth a read to see inside a gay man of a heritage completely un accepting of him except as a scholar and athlete. I was grieved but found hope in the outcome. I’d love to have a book club to read this in.

So real, so touching

This book is beautifully written. You fall in love with the characters and they break your heart. The performance was one of the best.

Two incomplete stories...

I want so badly to give this an overall 5 stars, but, sadly, I cannot. What was the story the author meant to tell? The story of a Nigerian dealing with his son's homosexuality, or a Black young man being wrongly shot down by cops, during a disagreement with his White best friend? Both stories are incomplete. One or both should have been completed.