Hell of a Book by Jason Mott, Read by JD Jackson and Ronald Peet
Moving and Memorable Listening
Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.
If there ever was a piece of fiction suited to becoming an audiobook, Hell of a Book is it. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff tells host Jo Reed of these two distinct yet interlocking stories of what it is to be Black in America. Narrator JD Jackson’s inspired portrayal of an unnamed author on a boozy book tour has the sandy sadness of a man coming to terms with fame, race, and death. Ronald Peet, whose voice has a fine and magisterial sound, delivers the parallel story of “Soot,” a 10-year-old Black boy. This bittersweet audiobook is moving and memorable.
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