Great Black Hope

A Novel

By: Rob Franklin

Narrated by: Justice Smith, Rob Franklin

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Cool and concise; a talent to watch.” —Jay McInerney author of Bright Lights, Big City

“You’re going to get papercuts, you’re going to turn the pages so fast.” —Brad Thor, Today

A gripping debut from an electrifying new voice about an upwardly mobile and downwardly spiraling Black man caught between worlds of race and class, glamourous parties and sudden consequences, a friend’s mysterious death and his own arrest.

An arrest for cocaine possession on the last day of a sweltering New York summer leaves Smith, a queer Black Stanford graduate, in a state of turmoil. Pulled into the court system and mandated treatment, he finds himself in an absurd but dangerous situation: his class protects him, but his race does not.

It’s just weeks after the death of his beloved roommate Elle, the daughter of a famous soul singer, and he’s still reeling from the tabloid spectacle—as well as lingering questions around how well he really knew his closest friend. He flees to his hometown of Atlanta, only to buckle under the weight of expectations from his family of doctors and lawyers and their history in America. But when Smith returns to New York, it’s not long before he begins to lose himself to his old life—drawn back into the city’s underworld, where his search for answers may end up costing him his freedom and his future.

Smith goes on a dizzying journey through the nightlife circuit, anonymous recovery rooms, Atlanta’s Black society set, police investigations and courtroom dramas, and a circle of friends coming of age in a new era. Great Black Hope is a propulsive, glittering story about what it means to exist between worlds, to be upwardly mobile yet spiraling downward, and how to find a way back to hope.

awesomr

Touching story. Elegant prose. Fiercly honest. and somehow the story of Anerica,too. Franklin is something special!

Nuanced, Relatable and Engaging

This was a captivating read. The way Franklin describes his experiences allows the reader to pick up the nuances naturally, without being told everything outright. As a New Yorker, I recognized so many familiar faces and dynamics in the characters—friendships with people you “know” but don’t really know, and the constant dance of being seen for who you are versus what others perceive. Thoughtful, engaging, and very relatable.

Overly described

The author is very good at describing things. I have a very good picture in my mind after listening to the explanations. However, I don’t need everything described! I want to move on with the story, and I found myself frustrated when instead of moving the story forward, I was listening to another description of a situation or Person.

Revolutionarily personal

We talk of privilege and race and gender and class and sexuality and addiction, as if they are intangible ideologies by which we are assigned to dissect. Franklin shows us that through the individual exploration of a world so fleshed out as to be understood complexly.,. This is where we find our values, our priorities. This is where we find empathy and growth. In the personal yet so so so universal story of this book, we find some version of
Truth, or at least we learn to ask better questions.

Verbal Masterbation

I made myself listen to every word of this book because I wanted to give the writer every opportunity to redeem himself. What could very well have been an interesting, provocative story about Black upward mobility, privilege, gay life, grief, deep friendship, drug addiction and recovery, or night life in New York, was none of those things. Why? Because they were strangled, bludgeoned, or smothered by an over abundance of flowery, descriptive narratives that overshadowed the story itself. I can’t imagine a good editor not taking a red pen and wiping out at least a third of the book!

Awful

It was boring. Didn’t really have a plot. I didn’t get it. Narration was good. Just a bunch of rich kids doing rich kid things - who cares if they’re black.

Beautifully written but i did not feel attached to David. And I really wanted to.

Characters to vague. But descriptions so beautifully written. I was disappointed I wanted to connect with this book