Little Family

A Novel

By: Ishmael Beah

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of A Long Way Gone

A powerful novel about young people living at the margins of society, struggling to replace the homes they have lost with the one they have created together.

Hidden away from a harsh outside world, five young people have improvised a home in an abandoned airplane, a relic of their country's tumultuous past. Elimane, the bookworm, is as street-smart as he is wise. Clever Khoudiemata maneuvers to keep the younger kids - athletic, pragmatic Ndevui, thoughtful Kpindi, and especially their newest member, Namsa - safe and fed. When Elimane makes himself of service to the shadowy William Handkerchief, it seems as if the little family may be able to keep the world at bay and their household intact. But when Khoudi comes under the spell of the "beautiful people" - the fortunate sons and daughters of the elite - the desire to resume an interrupted coming of age and follow her own destiny proves impossible to resist. 

A profound and tender portrayal of the connections we forge to survive the fate we're dealt, Little Family marks the further blossoming of a unique global voice.

©2020 Ishmael Beah (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Arguably the most-read African writer in contemporary literature." (Vanity Fair)

"[A] vibrant outing.... Beah informs his characters' blend of street savvy and naïveté with bursts of details.... Fans of African postcolonial fiction are in for a treat." (Publishers Weekly) 

"An ingenious setup...readers will be drawn to discover what befalls a group fending for itself amid conflict and crime. Beah draws on both his life and imagination to depict children leading brave, provisional lives." (Kirkus)

Disappointed

I really wanted to love this book, especially after reading "A long way gone" but... alas, that was not to be! The first few chapters when looking at the different members of the little family were interesting. I would have preferred to learn more about each of the characters' history in order to understand them more though perhaps the author has his reasons for not going into their backgrounds. This would also have given the author a richer opportunity to explore the post-colonial scars on Zimbabwean life (or African life in general), which he touched on but didn't do enough with. I was annoyed that this book was supposed to be set in Zimbabwe however, none of the names of the characters, languages spoken or food eaten is accurate for that region of the world. Might as well have made up a fictional monolith African country.
The later chapters were predictable and corny and mostly focused on one character from the Little Family. The ending was abrupt. I would give 2.5 stars

get it and listen!

loved this book. Complex and multidimensional characters and clash of cultures and identity. excellent narration