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The Unfortunates

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The Unfortunates

By: J K Chukwu
Narrated by: Deanna Anthony
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About this listen

'A gripping call to action—and a daring triumph of a novel' ADORAH NWORAH

'Masterfully portrays the splintering of the mind in its most striking, unfiltered form' AIWANOSE ODAFEN

'A playful, powerful debut' ZAKIYA DALILA HARRIS

A RAZOR-SHARP NOVEL FROM AN UTTERLY UNIQUE NEW VOICE.

A lot is happening to Me. Will Me survive?

Sahara is a student at one of the most elite universities in America – and she is Not Okay. Her grades are subpar, she’s not Nigerian enough for her family, and her long-term Life Partner* is threatening to take over. When she’s not contemplating killing herself or the wealthy white students around her, she’s receiving an increasing number of ‘Unfortunate News’ emails, which inform her that the few Black classmates she has are disappearing.

Will Sahara end up joining the ranks of ‘The Unfortunates’, or can she avoid becoming yet another statistic?

Written in the style of a thesis, J K Chukwu’s highly original debut is a darkly funny and biting take on the campus novel, set in the mind of a young Black woman who is losing hers.

*depression

©2012 J K Chukwu (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
African American Dark Humour Fiction Historical Fiction Humorous Literary Fiction World Literature
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Critic reviews

'Teeming with dark humor and astute observations about academia through the lens of a queer, Black woman, Chukwu’s The Unfortunates is a gripping call to action—and a daring triumph of a novel' Adorah Nworah

'Masterfully portrays the splintering of the mind in its most striking, unfiltered form, blending humour and resilience… a work that's refreshing in its uniqueness. We would benefit from more like it' Aiwanose Odafen

‘[A] playful, powerful debut… A poignant reminder of how tight a hold mental illness can have’ Zakiya Dalila Harris, New York Times Book Review

‘Meticulously and brilliantly balances tough topics like depression with biting comedy, crafting a narrative about a young woman trying to survive and help others do the same’ Shondaland

‘An extraordinary coming-of-age novel, with a fascinating protagonist and a tone that is just right for her material. The book’s dark atmosphere is enhanced by the presence of the author's own black-and-white illustrations. The result is a tour-de-force’ Booklist

‘Formidable…powerful. This blistering anthem brims with rage and hope’ Publishers Weekly

‘A powerful call to arms by a promising young writer who is not afraid to take risks, and for that we are very fortunate indeed’ Bookpage

‘Required reading…What do you do when your fellow Black co-eds are disappearing, and you fear you’re next? Sahara, a queer, half-Nigerian student at an elite college, pens her opus, a no-holds-barred thesis to the racist institution that has stolen a part of her soul, but she and her community of BIPOC women won’t give up without a fight’ Ebony

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Great story but not suitable for the audio format

The story was great, relatable, shocking at times, infuriating, inspiring and very easy to get lost into. I loved the main character in all her flawed glory. The voice is also really nice to listen to. However, this book doesn't seem fit for an audiobook format. There are a lot of email addresses and website URLs to laboriously and repetitively read out, and a whole chapter that's basically just the narrator spelling out words which I completely got lost in and ended up skipping. That's on me though, and I should have looked more into it before I chose this format. The naming of the characters, although I understood why it was done that way, was also a bit confusing: very few are named, a lot are referred to by acronyms such as LP for Life Partner and it's easy to forget who's who if you haven't listened for a few days. Overall, I really recommend the book, just get it somewhere else!

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