Friday Black

By: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Narrated by: Corey Allen, Carra Patterson

A piercingly raw debut story collection from a young writer with an explosive voice; a treacherously surreal and, at times, heartbreakingly satirical look at what it's like to be young and black in America.

From the start of this extraordinary debut, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's writing will grab you, haunt you, and enrage and invigorate you. By placing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, Adjei-Brenyah reveals the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities that black men and women contend with every day in this country. These stories tackle urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world.

In "The Finkelstein Five", Adjei-Brenyah gives us an unforgettable reckoning of the brutal prejudice of our justice system. In "Zimmer Land", we see a far-too-easy-to-believe imagining of racism as sport. And "Friday Black" and "How to Sell a Jacket as Told by Ice King" show the horrors of consumerism and the toll it takes on us all.

Entirely fresh in its style and perspective and sure to appeal to fans of Colson Whitehead, Marlon James, and George Saunders, Friday Black confronts listeners with a complicated, insistent, wrenching chorus of emotions, the final note of which, remarkably, is hope.

©2018 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (P)2018 Recorded Books

Memorable

Authentic story lines
thought provoking
requires are critical mind to understand the depth of his work

More than violent

I had read that this book if short stories contained a lot of violence, and I tolerate violence well. But these stories for the most part took on a futuristic and absurd lens so that people were eviscerated and their lives seemed meaningless. The first 2/3 were manageable, not so the last.
I hope I don't sound ignorant as a white reader-i have read reviews where these haunted stories evoke a black experience that is surreal in its gruesomeness-and I can recognize this quality in many of the stories, however, for me, it rendered life as too horrific to even imagine. Perhaps that's the point.

Simple stories told in an ultra violent world

Was a fun listen, the narrators performed excellently and added a depth to the stories themselves. The stories describes life in a violent dystopia, showing the perseverance of good and bad of the human spirit in such a setting. While the stories do not transcend the narrative, they are an absolute blast (or heart wrench) to listen to

This is America

This was a dark almost satirical view of America and its broken pieces. My favorite is the Finklestein Five and Black Friday.

fantastic!

I can't say enough good things about this book!

it's brilliant and you should read and give it a try!