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Title details for Little Family by Ishmael Beah - Available

Little Family

A Novel

by Ishmael Beah
Dion Graham
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
From the #1 New York Times–bestselling 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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 28, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593166963
      • File size: 227888 KB
      • Duration: 07:54:45

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 24, 2020
      The allure of wealth tests a makeshift family in this vibrant outing from Beah (A Long Way Gone). Eighteen-year-old Khoudiemata acts as a motherly figure for a group of five young people living on the margins of the city of Foloiya in an unnamed African country that will remind readers of Sierra Leone. They spend their days roving through town and stealing essentials to survive. Twenty-year-old Elimane, a member of the family, connects with a rich man they call William Handkerchief, who enlists the “little family” in shady dealings in exchange for payments of hundreds of dollars. Khoudiemata uses her share to hide the reality of her current situation and befriend a group of young wealthy elites in Foloiya, including Frederick Cardew-Boston, scion of a powerfully connected family. Khoudiemata agrees to a weekend away with Frederick and his friends, but Elimane’s concern about her involvement with Frederick leads to devastating consequences. Beah informs his characters’ blend of street savvy and naïveté with bursts of details about the experiences that shaped them in a bustling and crooked society. Fans of African postcolonial fiction are in for a treat. Agent: Flip Brophy.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Dion Graham captures listeners' attention in this heartbreaking audiobook about five orphans in an unnamed coastal town in an unnamed African country. Each of the five main characters has such a distinct personality that it could have made sense to hire a full cast, but with Graham narrating, it was unnecessary. The various dialects, accents, and quirks of the characters are so distinct that listeners will recognize each one without even having to hear their name. Graham's ability to switch from a documentary-type narrator's voice, to a teenage girl's, to an old man's and back is seamless and engrossing. Don't make plans once you hit play on this. You won't be able to stop. A.R.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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