FiveCarat Soul, James McBride
FiveCarat Soul, James McBride
2 Rating(s)
List: $17.50 | Sale: $12.25
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Five-Carat Soul

Author: James McBride

Narrator: Arthur Morey, Nile Bullock, Prentice Onayemi, Dominic Hoffman

Unabridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 09/26/2017


Synopsis

One of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2017

“A pinball machine zinging with sharp dialogue, breathtaking plot twists and naughty humor... McBride at his brave and joyous best.” —New York Times Book Review

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Deacon King Kong, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a James Brown biography.
 
The stories in Five-Carat Soul—none of them ever published before—spring from the place where identity, humanity, and history converge. They’re funny and poignant, insightful and unpredictable, imaginative and authentic—all told with McBride’s unrivaled storytelling skill and meticulous eye for character and detail. McBride explores the ways we learn from the world and the people around us. An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by Civil War General Robert E. Lee now sits in the home of a black minister in Queens. Five strangers find themselves thrown together and face unexpected judgment. An American president draws inspiration from a conversation he overhears in a stable. And members of The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Band recount stories from their own messy and hilarious lives. 
 
As McBride did in his National Book award-winning The Good Lord Bird and his bestselling The Color of Water, he writes with humor and insight about how we struggle to understand who we are in a world we don’t fully comprehend. The result is a surprising, perceptive, and evocative collection of stories that is also a moving exploration of our human condition.

About The Author

James McBride is an accomplished musician and author of the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, the bestselling American classic The Color of Water, and the bestsellers Song Yet SungMiracle at St. Anna, and Deacon King Kong. He is also the author of Kill ’Em and Leave, a James Brown biography. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2016, McBride is also a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Will

Crown offered a promo for a time in which stories were sent to those who signed on. This is how I came to read The Christmas Dance, the tale reviewed here. I did not read the entire collection, only this one from it. But the short story per se does not have its own ISBN, so reviewers must post revie......more

Goodreads review by Trish

On his website James McBride has a short biographical video in which he talks about his mother, his music, and his writing. Every one of the twelve kids in his New York City family growing up played music and read books. McBride himself plays saxophone, and played in a traveling band while writing h......more

Goodreads review by Matt

Discovering James McBride's writing with Five-Carat Soul was like wrapping myself in a warm blanket of literary comfort. I had an absolute blast every time I pulled up in my trusty social isolation chair (it rocks!) to see what McBride had in store for me. There's a lot of wit, humanity, humour, and......more


Quotes

Praise for Five-Carat Soul:

“These brilliant miniatures display all of the rambunctious fearlessness of [McBride's] deeply empathetic imagination... Five-Carat Soul [is] a delight.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Brash, daring and defiantly original... [these] stories are bound to stay with readers for a very long time.” —NPR

“A furious joy drives these glimpses of brave lives in perilous places.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Serious fun.” —Newsday 

“McBride is such an agile writer that each voice feels authentic and somehow familiar. …These are stories of and from the soul.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Unpredictable, exhilarating, and, often, hilarious. ... a wild and utterly delightful ride.” —BuzzFeed

“Poignant, imaginative, and 'literary' in the best sense of the word.” —Christian Science Monitor

“Funny, strange and touching. … McBride proves once again that he is a master conjurer of African Americana.” —Seattle Times

“McBride delivers pure gold... Five-Carat Soul shakes with laughter, grips with passion and oozes wisdom.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review)