The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

By: Dinaw Mengestu

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Ethiopian émigré Dinaw Mengestu is a skilled observer of people who offers a colorful debut work of fiction. Insightful and swiftly paced, this novel evokes past and present in the course of its compelling narrative. It's the `70s, and one D.C. neighborhood is undergoing big changes. In the mix is Ethiopian grocery owner Sepha Stephanos - a man with a complex past who fled his homeland after seeing his father brutalized by themilitary. He hopes for new prospects in D.C.'s gentrification process, but his store is struggling. Next door to his apartment building lives Judith, a successful white woman working to renovate her house. As Sepha bonds with Judith and her biracial, 11-year-old daughter Naomi, he is inevitably subject to the mounting pressures of race and class that are in flux around them.

©2007 Dinaw Mengestu (P)2008 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

Mengestu has told a rich and lyrical story of displacement and loneliness. I was profoundly moved by this tale of Ethiopian immigrant's search for acceptance, peace, and identity. (Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns)

This is not a story for only an immigrant audience. The author, Dinaw Mengestu, writes in a way that makes this a universal story. In doing so, he does what the best writers accomplish. ( The Oregonian)

[W]onderfully written and moving. ( Esquire)

Fantastic Narrator

What did you like best about The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears? What did you like least?

The narrator was incredible. The voices of different characters were clearly distinguishable. He did a great job with the reading.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was a bit anti-climactic.

Was The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears worth the listening time?

Yes!!!

Life unfulfilled

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

the book drags on from one disappointment to the next. Good news is never realized, the main character just constantly struggles in a depressing story of an immigrant's life trying to realize a better life in the US.

Enchanting!

Beautiful story about an Ethiopian man who immigrated to America in the seventies and owns shabby grocery store in Logan Circle. Covers the immigrant experience, love and gentrification. I really enjoyed every word.

Compelling story, excellent narrator

Well-told story of an Ethiopian immigrant who runs a corner grocery store in Washington, DC. The characters come to life in Dion Graham's narration. Especially good is his African accents as well as the various American characters. High recommend it as an engaging story.

Beautiful, wonderful

This is a fascinating and beautiful book. Dion Graham reads it well, though sometimes he feels a bit off. But the story is so wonderful and so absorbing that nothing else seems to matter.

Lovely story

It was easy to listen to but the narrator should work on his Ethiopian English. He sounds more Nigarian than Ethiopian.

Raw, poignant, moving

I thoroughly enjoyed this revelation of an immigrant's life in the US that is at once deeply personal and able to reflect on nearly universal truths. Dion Graham's narration is superb, as is Mengestu's writing.

Beautiful story

What a beautiful story. The only thing I can point out is, it would be perfect if the narrator pronounce ethiopian words correctly.

Great book, wonderful reader

This is a wonderful, heartrending book book about an African immigrant trying to survive in the United States. He owns a shabby little convenience store in a rough (though gentrifying) section of Washington D.C. and lives with tragic memories and lonliness. The author writes with insight and eloquence. The story was enhanced by the excellent narration, which contributed greatly to my enjoyment.

No frills, just characters and real emotions

What did you like best about this story?

I could easily picture places, people, facial expressions, tension, tenderness; all of it, thanks to the author's intricate descriptions. I felt for and with the characters, as though I were standing in the same room as them in each scene. Realistic dialogue puts the reader right into the character's mind. Mengetsu is a wonderful writer with a gift for observing and replicating human behavior at its realest.

Which character – as performed by Dion Graham – was your favorite?

Sepha

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.