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The Fool Who Thought Too Much

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The Fool Who Thought Too Much

By: Ishmael Reed
Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
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About this listen

It’s tough to be a buffoon when the Age of Reason is trying to downsize your job. When the King’s Fool dies unexpectedly, a professional buffoon tries to move up the ranks and grab the top slot. But the politics involved in becoming a court jester are no laughing matter. The rules of becoming the top fool are simple: The winner is the one who performs the most outrageous act. Our buffoon and his fellows struggle for supremacy in a profession that is heading for extinction.

Ishmael Reed is a playwright, poet, and author of such groundbreaking novels as Mumbo Jumbo and Reckless Eyeballing as well as the best-selling Audible Original Malcolm and Me. Now the acclaimed writer returns to the form that introduced him to reading when he was a child: fairy tales.

©2020 Ishmael Reed (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.
Fairy Tales Fantasy Fiction Literary Fiction Funny Witty Thought-Provoking
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About the Creator

Ishmael Reed is the author of more than 30 books, including his essay collection, Why No Confederate Statues in Mexico (Baraka Books, 2019); his 11th novel, Conjugating Hindi (Dalkey Archive Press, 2018); and his 11th nonfiction work, The Complete Muhammad Ali (Baraka Books, 2015). In 2019, New York’s Nuyorican Poets Café premiered his ninth play, The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda, which garnered three AUDELCO Awards. His poetry collection, Why the Black Hole Sings the Blues: Poems 2007-2019 (Dalkey, 2020), features "Just Rollin' Along," a poem about the 1934 encounter between Bonnie and Clyde and Oakland Blues artist L.C. "Good Rockin'" Robinson, which was chosen for The Best American Poetry 2019. In addition, Reed has edited numerous magazines and 14 anthologies, including Black Hollywood Unchained (Third World Press, 2015). He is also a publisher, songwriter, cartoonist, public media commentator, lecturer, teacher, and founder of the Before Columbus Foundation and PEN Oakland, nonprofit organizations run by writers for writers.
After teaching at the University of California, Berkeley for more than 30 years, he retired in 2005. Now a Distinguished Professor at California College of the Arts, he also taught a spring 2019 creative writing class at UC Berkeley. He is a MacArthur Fellow and the recipient of many other honors, including a National Book Award, the 2018 Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Award, the 2017 AUDELCO Pioneer Award for the Theater, the University of Buffalo’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award, a Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Award, San Francisco LitQuake’s 2011 Barbary Coast Award, and Pulitzer Prize nominations. Reed was also named 2008 Blues Songwriter of the Year by the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame, and his collaborations with jazz musicians spanning 40 years were recognized by SFJazz Center with his appointment, from 2012 to 2016, as San Francisco’s first Jazz Poet Laureate. Additionally, in 2016 he became the first recipient of the Alberto Dubito International Award in Venice, Italy, recognized as "a special artistic individual who has distinguished himself through the most innovative creativity in the musical and linguistic languages."
Photographed by Jason Henry

About the Performer

Adam grew up in New York City, went to public school, The Fieldston School and then Harvard University, graduating with Honors in Government & Political Philosophy. He started at Quarterback for The Harvard Crimson and played guitar and saxophone in The Harvard Jazz Band.
Coming soon as Captain Cam Wilson romancing Wanda Sykes, and across from Mike Epps on the new Netflix show, The Upshaws—Adam's recent work includes the hit film, The Gift, The Blacklist, Lethal Weapon, Glow and Scandal. Adam is known for his 25 year acting career, which began on Living Single, Martin, Hangin’ w/ Mr. Cooper, continued on Will & Grace, The Parkers, as the notorious Flynn in the Emmy-winning NBC mini-series, The Temptations, and being nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his lead role as Nathan Hastings on The Young & The Restless. Notable roles include Ocean’s 13 with Al Pacino, Grey’s Anatomy, Rosewood, Criminal Minds, Royal Pains, Private Practice and starring as Ian on Heroes.
Now, the newest member of the NCIS New Orleans writing team for Season 7—which began airing on Sunday, November 8th, 2020, Adam was a senior writer on Vin Diesel’s groundbreaking web-series, The Ropes (available on Netflix). As a director, Adam reached the third round of Oscar voting with his short film 200 Years produced by Rob Fried ( Collateral, Rudy, Boondock Saints). Adam co-wrote, produced and starred in, Forgiveness with Richard T. Jones, which won The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, International Black Film Festival; swept The San Diego Black Film Festival; was featured at The Pan-African Film Festival and more. Adam adapted and produced TV movies for Proctor & Gamble: Just Passin’ Through and What Angles Fear—both won Emmys for Regional TV and Adam won Regional Emmys as Leading Actor in both. His theatre credits include Mercutio in Michael Arabian’s Romeo & Juliet, Trojan Women; Bobby Seale (Black Panther leader) in Ron Sossi’s Chicago Conspiracy Trial, Neil LaBute’s This Is How It Goes, LATC’s You Morons Shoulda Stayed Home; and John Bishop’s Confluence and Legacies, at Circle Rep West where he was an executive member. Adam is the Founder of ALW Acting Studios, teaching beginners, intermediate, and advanced actors. He is a highly regarded acting coach who coached all the NBA stars in the popular film, Uncle Drew. His students include many well-known working actors. Adam taught at AMDA Conservatory in Los Angeles; at Gray Studios, and was a guest professor for the both drama and film departments at the U. of Alabama, when his film, 200 Years, and presentation, Media, Race & The Power of The Pen were featured at the Civil Rights and Arts Conference at UAB, alongside Harry Belafonte, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

What listeners say about The Fool Who Thought Too Much

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I would recommend it

The Fool who Though To Much by Ishmael Reed, narrated by Adam Lazarre-White, has entertained me much. The story of a French Kings fool, how everything has been tweeted at the end of the story. Five 💫 well done.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Timeless

A story everyone should not just experience, but remember. Life lessons taught to us by the fools of our past...

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Lessons to be learned….

Well, if one cannot find a lesson in this fun story then one might want to read it again. There are lessons here for just about everyone. I thought it was going to have a different outcome but it was perfect exactly as written.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Funny but not for littles

This book was really funny, but, like it says in the tile, it isn’t a little kid book like we thought. It is great for teens and grownups tho. It was thought provoking and light hearted, all at the same time!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Grim humor

if Dark humor is your thing, i recommend this story. Gallows humor if you will. you'll see what I mean if you give it a listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

seemingly foolish but not

I picked this up randomly. And oh boy. There was a lot more to it than I thought. A fictitious historical tale of fools and society's foolishness.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fun & insightful!

A child would take this book is just a silly fun story. But anyone with any awareness of the current political climate here in the US will find this insightful, charming, and funny.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This short story is really good

I wish there was more to this. I was captivated by the story and the narrator did a good job. I’m going to recommend this to my friends.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A good quick read!

I would categorize this as a "random read". I enjoyed the ending for the main character. I enjoyed listening to it, and thinking about how today's society probably does some of the same things; it just looks different.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting and a little strange

This story is short, a little strange, and has a feeling of history and modern times at the same time. The narration was a little too slow, but I think it might have been the nature of the book. Still, solid 4 stars all around, plus it's a story so doesn't take long to listen. I'm interested in reading more by this author.

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