The 2nd must listen audio book for Black History Month or any month is the mind breaking MUMBO JUMBO by the great Ishmael Reed.
Ishmael Reed, who was honored with the MacArthur “genius” award, is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time nominee for the National Book Award. Mumbo Jumbo, a literary masterpiece, is an ironic and unconventional detectivestory infused with African-American cultural heritage. A strange psychic epidemic called “Jes Grew” is spreading through the country, affecting millions. PaPa LaBas, a HooDoo detective, is trying to find the origins of the JesGrew – not because he wants to cure it, but because he’s ready for a new kind of society.
Composed of the memorable personalities and the little remembered tragedies and triumphs of the roaring 20s, MUMBO JUMBO weaves these truths into an overarching fictional narrative that goes from the beginning of civilization to the fall of man.
But the fiction is so peppered with essential truths, like the best of all fiction, that it will change fundamentally how you look at everything, from museums to curse words to bull fights. If MIDDLE PASSAGE is my favorite audio book, MUMBO JUMBO I think , in opposition to its name, is the most enlightening and powerful audio book I’ve ever listened to, for the way it opened up my mind to… broader definitions of history and broader definitions of ourselves. Magnificent.
Version:
| Unabridged | |
| Author: | Ishmael Reed |
| Narrator: | J. D. Jackson |
| Genres: | Fiction & Literature |
| Publisher: | Recorded Books |
| Published In: | July 2005 |
| # of Units: | 8 CDs |
|---|---|
| Length: | 8 hours, 30 minutes |
Get your copy here:
Heroic Times 