honestcritic

Thought provoking with many strengths and a few weaknesses.

Revisado: 05-03-24

Deconstruction of the notion of race was mostly well done except for outdated terminology like slaves and slave owners. Also Biracial kids who have parents who make racial jokes like the dad does about Native Americans sometimes struggle and feel like they’re a joke so maybe don’t gloss over the impact of Henry doing that in the beginning. . Other than that, well done.

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Andoh is an exceptional narrator

Revisado: 03-30-17

Would you consider the audio edition of City of Friends to be better than the print version?

Absolutely, Adjoa Andoh has an extraordinary capacity to depict moods and tone of voice and that amplifies the author's wit and wisdom. Andoh also has a stunning command of multiple accents and manners of speaking so that you get a real sense of the age, ethnicity, gender and other aspects of the diversity of the characters in the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of City of Friends?

The speech Melissa gave regarding men hitting on women in the workplace and her relaxed, firm refusal to let Will buy her a drink afterward as the glory of that speech was not his to revel in. Well done!

Which character – as performed by Adjoa Andoh – was your favorite?

Andoh did them all so well. Something about the terseness of Beth was dead on as was the depiction of teenage angst and emerging sagacity in Tom.

If you could rename City of Friends, what would you call it?

The title is fine. This might be a bit on the nose but might I suggest "World of Friends" for the sequel as they travel to see Beth in Switzerland?

Any additional comments?

I am interested in this author now and my first pick of her other books is "daughters in law" but so far the narration is comparably quite bland.

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This is an autobiography of a racist sex offender

Revisado: 11-30-16

Listening to this one wonders why this guy didn't get charged with sexually motivated hate crimes against women of color. The way he gleefully objectifies Asian women is disgusting enough but wait there's more. He describes drunkenly luring a young Black female bartender into going to Vegas with him and enjoys humiliating her by defacing her almost as much as he enjoys painfully sodomizing her only to joke about the awkward ride home after. It's truly disgusting to listen to, especially considering that he felt he did not deserve to be humiliated sexually or brutalized in prison. Think of all the people who are brutalized in prison who have done far less harm than him. Does he really think all those prostitutes were at the age of consent? That they did not suffer terribly for his thrills? He describes all the women of color as people he f...d and the white girls as angels he made love to who were so pure. This guy is a racist sex offender and its sad that white privilege kept him out of the much longer and harsher sentence he deserves. Also, for someone who is college-educated he does not come across as such. Stupid mistakes in the book such as referring to the DSM as the DSSM undermine his attempts to sound intelligent.

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esto le resultó útil a 19 personas

poorly researched and poorly written

Revisado: 09-20-15

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who like hearing about a main character who likes slapping his wife's ass in the shower and who know nothing about the horrors of African slavery and the real worthwhile efforts Black people have made to seek reparations

Would you ever listen to anything by Dwayne Alexander Smith again?

No, he needs to finish that schooling he dropped out of and learn a thing or two before writing again

Would you be willing to try another one of Andre Blake’s performances?

The narrarator was fine

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was appalled to listen to the author villianize Black men who were trying to figure out reparations ( the author should look that word up) by casting them as sociopaths. The dumbest thing about the book is that he had so called business men wasting their time and money to run a mine that produced little to nothing, If your characters were businessmen, they would have run a prrofitable business down there, making clothes, shoes, African history memorabilia, something! No believable businessmen would pay to run a business that yielded no profit. Also the sexism is disgusting, why isnt Anna getting aroused and dry humping someone? The heroine is virtuous and the men get their freak on like the ass slapping main character, Worst of all the author disgraces the names of Micheal Brown, Eric Garner, Temir Rice, Sandra Bland and the Charleston Nine by making their story a backdrop to his heroic rescue of a beautiful blond white girl. If he ever wrties again - he should stick to books about ass slapping and fucking hard. That is this authors only believable area of expertise. What this author knows about Black history and the struggle for justice clearly indicates that he left school too soon.

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esto le resultó útil a 22 personas

Lovely tribute

Revisado: 05-12-15

Robin Miles continues to be one of the best narrators of all time. The story is beautiful, spiritual and rich. It's a lovely tribute to Emmett Till.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas